Wadim Rosenstein

Wadim Rosenstein
Wadim Rosenstein.png Wadim Rosenstein.png
Born	1990 Zhytomyr Region, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
🏳️ Citizenship	German
💼 Occupation	Entrepreneur, chess organizer
🏢 Organization	WR Group Holding, WR Chess
Known for	Founder of WR Group and WR Chess; candidate for President of FIDE

Wadim Rosenstein (born 1990) is Russian entrepreneur and chess organizer. He is the founder and chairman of WR Group and the founder of the chess organization and team WR Chess. In 2026, he became the German Chess Federation's delegate to the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and announced his candidacy for President of FIDE.

Rosenstein's business career has included extensive work in project logistics, certification and engineering, including projects connected with the Russian oil and gas sector. His former and continuing business links to Russia became a subject of public attention during the 2026 FIDE presidential campaign.

Early life and education

Rosenstein was born in 1990 in the Zhytomyr region of what was then the Ukrainian SSR. According to Rosenstein, his father is Ukrainian and his mother is Russian. His family moved to Germany in 2000, where he grew up and was educated. Rosenstein has stated that he holds only German citizenship.

He studied business administration and later attended the SGMI Management Institute St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Business career

While studying, Rosenstein founded Business and Trade Solutions in Düsseldorf in 2011. In 2014, he founded WR Group, initially focusing on certification, technical compliance and logistics. The group later expanded into engineering, infrastructure and real estate.

WR Group was involved in logistics, certification, customs clearance, engineering and consulting services for industrial companies operating in the markets of Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union. Its portfolio included work related to major Russian energy projects such as Cryogas-Vysotsk, the NOVATEK complex in Ust-Luga and the Amur Gas Processing Plant.

In 2020, Rosenstein became involved in TECBERG ROSENSTEIN GmbH. He also worked as an adviser to the management of TGE Gas Engineering RUS, whose activities included engineering and construction projects in the Russian energy and petrochemical sectors.

Before 2022, WR Group publicly emphasized its experience in the Russian market. Reuters reported in 2026 that the company had previously carried out logistics, certification and other projects in Russia, including projects in the oil and gas industry. Rosenstein told Reuters that these projects had been discontinued after sanctions were imposed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The continuing activity of the Russian company was subsequently reported by Ukrainian media during the FIDE election campaign.

Chess activities

Rosenstein became publicly involved in high-level chess organization in the early 2020s. He founded WR Chess, which organized and sponsored international tournaments and assembled a team of leading grandmasters.

In 2023, the first WR Chess Masters tournament was held in Düsseldorf with a field of elite players. Rosenstein also established the WR Chess team, which has competed in FIDE team competitions.

In 2023, Rosenstein announced plans to stand for president of the German Chess Federation (Deutscher Schachbund), but later withdrew his candidacy before the election.

In May 2026, the German Chess Federation appointed Rosenstein as its FIDE delegate, replacing the traditional practice under which the federation's president also served as its FIDE representative.

2026 FIDE presidential election

On 26 June 2026, Rosenstein announced his candidacy for President of the International Chess Federation. His candidacy was supported by the German Chess Federation.

Rosenstein submitted a presidential ticket with Gordon Tang as candidate for Deputy President ahead of the 2026 FIDE election.

The election campaign changed substantially in July 2026 after incumbent FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich was placed under European Union sanctions. Dvorkovich suspended the exercise of his presidential powers, with Viswanathan Anand assuming the role of interim president, and Dvorkovich did not submit a ticket for another term.

During the campaign, Rosenstein advocated governance reforms, stronger conflict-of-interest rules and greater commercial development of FIDE. He also said that FIDE should comply with Court of Arbitration for Sport decisions concerning Russia and Belarus and that he would seek to bring Magnus Carlsen back into the classical World Championship cycle.

The election was scheduled for 26 September 2026 during the FIDE General Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Business links to Russia and public allegations

Rosenstein's connections with Russia have received media attention both before and during his FIDE campaign. He spent part of his life in Russia and his companies historically specialized in business and logistics involving the Russian market. Rosenstein has rejected claims that this amounted to political dependence on Russia, describing himself as German and stating that his Russian connections were primarily commercial and personal.

During the 2026 election campaign, an dossier concerning Rosenstein's business background circulated among chess delegates. German chess publication Perlen vom Bodensee, which said it had examined the dossier, reported that some corporate figures in it could be verified but that it also contained apparently fabricated details. Rosenstein's press office described allegations concerning his professional background as defamatory and factually inaccurate.

The continued operation of OOO VR Rus in Russia also attracted attention. Russian corporate data showed substantial growth in the company's revenue after 2023. Ukrainian outlets cited these figures when questioning Rosenstein's claim that his Russian business activities had ended after the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Wikipedia article about WR Group

As part of a broader PR campaign, Rosenstein apparently had an article about WR Group placed on the Russian-language Wikipedia. Later, as publications about Rosenstein and his business activities were disappearing from the public information space, the Wikipedia article was also deleted in December 2021 following a deletion discussion. The closing administrator stated that the article relied primarily on commissioned or promotional publications and interviews and therefore did not demonstrate compliance with Wikipedia's general notability guideline.

Allegations during the FIDE election campaign

In September 2026, the Russian-language publication Sledst.org reported allegations concerning Rosenstein's FIDE campaign. Citing sources in several African and Balkan chess federations, the publication claimed that attempts had been made in late August to obtain votes for Rosenstein in exchange for payments allegedly beginning at US$15,000–20,000.

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