Viswanathan Anand supports Fide’s Cyprus call for Candidates 2026 as war worries grow: 'Location is amazing'

Legendary Indian chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, who is also the vice-president of Fide, has defended the global body's decision to stick with Cyprus as the venue for the upcoming Candidates tournaments despite its proximity to the ongoing war in West Asia.

The Persian Gulf and major West Asian countries have been severely impacted due to the ongoing war between the USA, its ally Israel, and Iran. The war broke out over two weeks ago when the USA and Israel attacked Iran. While the Island country of Cyprus is situated in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, it has not been left untouched by the war, as a drone strike hit a British air base on 1 March.

Viswanathan Anand defends FIDE Candidates in Cyprus 

It has raised concerns among the Grandmasters who will take part in the FIDE Candidates 2026 and Women's Candidates 2026 tournaments. The tournaments will kick off from 28 March and will be hosted at the St. Georges Hotel & Resort in Cyprus.

Indian chess star Koneru Humpy has already announced that she will likely withdraw from the tournament, as it poses a significant risk amid the ongoing war.

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But five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand has defended Fide's decision not to change the venue that was selected before the war began. He said it will be a "good venue and the location is amazing."

“Fide tries to first find a good high-quality venue, and) I think we’ve succeeded in that. Cyprus will be a very good venue and I think the location is going to be amazing and we try to keep the players informed.

“It’s just a tournament in the end, once you’re told when to go, where to go you block that in your head… I think everything’s been settled four months in advance and looking forward to it," Anand told PTI.

Anand is the second high-profile Fide official to back Cyprus as the host venue after CEO Emil Sutovsky said there are no plans to change the venue.

“Our plans have not changed. We are in the final stages of preparing the Candidates’ Tournament. Of course, we are monitoring the situation. Cyprus is not too far from, let’s say, the war zone or conflict zone, but at the same time, it is not directly involved in any way and is not in a state of war,” Sutovsky said.

Besides Humpy, Divya Deshmukh and R Vaishali will be part of the Women's Candidates, while R Praggnanandhaa will be the sole Indian in the Open section. The winner of the eight-player FIDE Candidates 2026 will compete against D Gukesh in the next World Chess Championship.