The upcoming Candidates 2026 have been facing scrutiny over the tournament's venue, set to be held in Cyprus. FIDE has decided to stick to the venue despite security concerns raised by players, including Koneru Humpy who withdrew citing safety concerns.
Cyprus Chess Federation chief Criton Tornaritis slammed Humpy, stating that her decision was based on fear and misinformation. FIDE responded with a safety manual, stating that Cyprus is a safe country to travel and that the risk is extremely low and overstated.
However, players like Hikaru Nakamura and Anish Giri have expressed their concerns, with Nakamura highlighting the dire situation in Cyprus due to constant power outages and Giri taking a dig at FIDE for releasing a statement addressing security concerns.
