Following the elections at the 38th ICCD Congress which took place in Almeria, Spain on Thursday 14th May 2026, ICCD is pleased to announce the election of the new ICCD President, Alfredo Gomez Fernandez [SPAIN] who replaces the outgoing President, Phillip Gardner [ENGLAND] who stepped down after 12 years as the President and 24 years in total as the member of the ICCD in a variety of roles.

Egle Marcinkeviciene [LITHUANIA] has been appointed the new General Secretary for the new term – replacing Ilan Dwek [ENGLAND] who now becomes the Vice-President.

It is also agreed that Ilan Dwek who has been acting as the Interim Treasurer since 2025 would continue in this role for another year until the new Financial Director will be appointed for 2027 and beyond.

Tributes were paid to Phillip Gardner at the Roquetas la Mar hotel that evening in recognition of his 47 years service to chess in England and worldwide