&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "FIDE Candidates: Indian grandmaster Koneru Humpy withdraws citing 'personal safety and well-being'")
Koneru Humpy, the 38-year-old Indian chess Grandmaster, has decided to withdraw from the upcoming FIDE Chandidates tournament citing ongoing crisis in West Asia. The FIDE Cadidates tournament is scheduled to be played from March 28 in Cyprus. The host country isn't exactly in the war zone but faced a missile strike during the initial days of US-Israel-Iran war which started Feb 28. The ongoing war also also forced cancellation of two Formula 1 races - in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain - both the country are in impact zone of Iran's strikes in response to US-Israel war.
Why Koneru Humpy withdrew from FIDE Candidates tournament?
The 38-year-old took to social media platform X to announce her decision which read: “After deep reflection, I have taken the difficult decision to withdraw from the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. No event, no matter how important, can come before personal safety and well-being. Despite the assurances provided, I do not feel fully secure under the current circumstances.”
Humpy, however, was disheartned by the decision and acknowledged: "This is a painful but necessary decision, and I stand by it."
Why FIDE Candidates event is important?
The winner of FIDE Candidates tournament winnner gets to challenge the FIDE World Champion. With Humpy out of contention, R Vaishali and Divya Deshmukh will now represent Indian women in the event. The winner of the tournament will challenge China's Ju Wenjun for the women's title.
What did FIDE say about Humpy's withdrawl?
The apex chess body, FIDE, confirmed Humpy's withdrawl from the tournament and announced "Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine)" as her replacement as well.
“Humpy Koneru (India) has officially withdrawn from the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026, scheduled to take place in Cyprus from March 28 to April 16. In accordance with the tournament regulations, her place was offered to the next highest finisher in the Women’s Events Series 2024–25 who has not yet secured qualification,” FIDE stated in its statement.
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