Former Russian Minister of Sport elected to FIDE leadership
Pavel Kolobkov became one of the vice presidents of the International Chess Federation
Former Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov was elected as one of the vice presidents of the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
Kolobkov received 78 votes.
Also vice-presidents of FIDE were Chinese Xu Yuhua (100 votes) and American Michael Khodarkovsky (93).
To elect another vice president, a second round will be needed. There were 14 candidates for four positions.
The elections are held at the FIDE General Assembly in Samarkand.
Earlier on Saturday, the new president of FIDE was elected representative of Kazakhstan, founder and CEO of Freedom Holding Timur Turlov. The first vice-president of FIDE was the 15th world champion Vishwanathan Anand (India), who ran in tandem with Turlov.
Kolobkov is 57. He served as Minister of Sports of Russia from October 2016 to January 2020.
During his sports career, Kolobkov became the 2000 Olympic champion in Sydney in sword fencing, as well as a two-time silver and three-time bronze medalist of the Olympic Games. He is also a six-time world champion and two-time European champion.
