- Official reactions (FIDE)
- Player reactions
- Questions about resumption, e.g. GM Radjabov
The major chess news sources had plenty of commentary, from the pundits and from the fans, but which site to use as a reference? Since I had four references from each, I decided to go with all three (in no particular order).
Chessbase.com:
- 2020-03-26: Breaking News: FIDE stops the Candidates Tournament! • Copy of the FIDE announcement
- 2020-03-26: FIDE postponed the Candidates: first reactions on Twitter
- 2020-03-27: Cancelled: When the war put a stop to top chess events • Carlos Alberto Colodro; Mannheim 1914, Buenos Aires 1939
- 2020-03-30: The postponed Candidates: an interview with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave • Links to reports on first seven rounds
Chess.com (Peter Doggers):
- 2020-03-26: FIDE Candidates Tournament Postponed • 'Updated: Mar 27, 2020' w/ player reactions; Dvorkovich, Wang Hao, Vachier-Lagrave, Sutovsky, Anand, Nakamura, Kramnik
- 2020-03-27: Teimour Radjabov: "I should consult a lawyer" • Video: Teimour Radjabov Reacts to Candidates Tournament Postponement (youtube.com)
- 2020-03-30: Azerbaijan National Team Writes Open Letter Regarding Radjabov, Candidates
- 2020-03-30: FIDE Candidates: Alekseenko, Carlsen, Giri, MVL Speak Out
Chess24.com (Colin McGourty):
- 2020-03-26: FIDE Candidates Tournament stopped at halfway
- 2020-03-27: Carlsen, Dvorkovich & Kramnik on ending the Candidates
- 2020-03-29: Anish Giri: “The tournament ended surprisingly chaotically”
- 2020-03-30: What to do now with Radjabov?
Re GM Radjabov, my page on the 2020 Candidates Tournament, Yekaterinburg quotes the announcement from FIDE (6 March): 'Teimour Radjabov has informed FIDE about his decision to withdraw from the Candidates Tournament, citing personal reasons.' That statement, making no mention of the coronavirus pandemic as the underlying 'personal' reason, is about as intellectually dishonest as any statement I've seen from FIDE, including the weirdness that emanated frequently during the Ilyumzhinov reign.
How FIDE treats Radjabov in any resumption of the tournament will again show what it really thinks of its top players. Are they partners -or- Are they pawns?
***
Later: I should have mentioned a related FIDE announcement that appeared a day before the Candidates tournament was stopped.
- 2020-05-25: Statement by the FIDE Council regarding the Chess Olympiad (fide.com) •: 'FIDE has decided to postpone the 44th Chess Olympiad (including the competition for players with disabilities) and the FIDE Congress. These events, to be held in Moscow and Khanty-Mansiysk during the summer of 2020, are rescheduled to the summer of 2021 at the same locations.'
The FIDE calendar currently shows:-
World Chess Cup 2021 • Minsk, Belarus • 01 Aug 2021 • 28 Aug 2021
The World Cup will be one of the most important qualifying events for the World Championship cycle, 2021-2022. Many players who participate in the World Cup also represent their country in the Olympiad. Something's got to give.
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