Corona Daily 489: The Only Sport Tournament in March

Just one major international sport event took place this March. “Candidates” is the most important chess tournament that happens every two years. Eight best players in the world battle for three weeks to decide the challenger to the World Champion. The tournament was scheduled to open on 16 March and close on 4 April in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

As luck would have it, two of the eight players were Chinese. A month before the tournament, Russia banned entry for Chinese citizens. FIDE, the international chess body, governed by Russians, managed to issue ‘humanitarian’ visas to the Chinese delegates. On arrival, Ding Liren, the leading Chinese player, and his team were taken to an isolated cottage outside Moscow and quarantined for two weeks. A great way to prepare for the tournament.

On 6 March, Teimour Radjabov, the Azerbaijani grandmaster told FIDE it was wrong to hold the tournament in the current climate. FIDE said legally and practically they could not postpone the event. FIDE tweeted Radjabov was withdrawing for personal reasons, and replaced him with a French grandmaster.

On 16 March, the grand opening ceremony was attended by 5000 spectators, but the players were absent for safety reasons. They were replaced by specially made dolls shaking hands with one another. On the previous day, the Russian sports ministry had ordered cancellation of all sports events in Russia. Fide tweeted the decree would not affect this event. The FIDE president had received assurances the event was safe and could go ahead. (FIDE president was Putin’s assistant, and a deputy PM before turning to the chess body).

The tournament began with no spectators allowed. Ian Nepomniatchtchi, a Russian player, fondly called Nepo because nobody can pronounce his surname, was leading. He was playing fantastic chess. But after the fourth round, he started coughing, and feeling feverish. It is not known whether his moves or his cough were more intimidating for the opponents.

Nepo tested negative. But the Russian government announced closure of international flights in 48 hours. Getting trapped in freezing Yekaterinburg is not an idea any grandmaster cherishes, even when that is a route to becoming a world champion. Everyone rushed to the airports to board the last flights. The tournament was postponed to an undisclosed date in the future.

Radjabov, who had seen the game a few moves ahead, now wants to sue FIDE. He will have to wait for some courts to open somewhere.

Ravi