LAUSANNE: The second half of the FIDE Candidates Tournament has been postponed. The imminent interruption of air traffic between Russia and other countries demands the decision, according to a statement by FIDE.
The players were informed Thursday morning and were told to start packing their bags. For the international players, the organizers are trying to arrange a charter flight from Yekaterinburg to Amsterdam.
The government of the Russian Federation announced that starting March 27, Russia interrupts air traffic with other countries without indicating any time frames.
FIDE cannot continue the tournament without guarantees for the players' and officials' safe and timely return home. In this situation and on the basis of clause 1.5. Rules of Candidates Tournament, the FIDE president decided to stop the tournament.
It will be continued later, with the exact dates to be announced as soon, as the global situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic will allow.
As it was stipulated by the special rules agreed with the players before the start of the event, the results of the 7 rounds played remain valid, and the tournament will be resumed in the same composition starting with the games of the 8th round. FIDE is grateful to the players, officials, volunteers and the entire team of organizers, including the Chess Federation of Russia and the main partner of the tournament - SIMA-Land.
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