Koneru Humpy faces massive penalty after last-minute pull-out from Candidates 2026; here's how

Koneru Humpy had expressed concern over the 2026 Candidates – both the 'Open' as well as the 'Women' editions – taking place in Cyprus ever since war broke out in the Middle East between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other.

And on Sunday, Humpy decided it was no longer safe for her to travel to the Mediterranean island nation that is in close proximity to the warzone, announcing her decision to withdraw from the Women's Candidates.

The decision has since been met with mixed reactions. On one hand, Humpy claimed in an exclusive conversation with Firstpost that many organisers have praised her for "speaking out courageously". And on the other, Cyprus Chess Federation president slammed the veteran Indian Grandmaster for "spreading unfounded concerns" as well as showing lack of respect for organisers as well as players.

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What FIDE's rules state about withdrawing from Candidates 

Will her last-minute withdrawal from the Candidates, where she was set to make a third consecutive appearance, lead to Humpy getting fined?

As per FIDE's handbook for the Women's Candidates, a player who fails to provide a satisfactory reason for withdrawing from the tournament after signing the player's contract may be fined up to €10,000, or INR 10.88 lakh.

FIDE, however, are yet to make an official statement on fining Humpy, and it remains to be seen whether they accept war as a satisfactory reason for her absence.

Humpy had secured her Candidates qualification after setting up a historic all-Indian final with Divya Deshmukh at last year's FIDE World Cup in Georgia in July, which she ended up losing by a 2.5-1.5 scoreline.

Fellow GM R Vaishali would then join Divya and Humpy to take the number of Indians in the tournament to three after winning the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss that took place in Uzbekistan in September.

Following her withdrawal, FIDE decided to replace Humpy with Ukrainian GM Anna Muzychuk, who qualified on the basis of being the highest-ranked player in FIDE Women's Events 2024-25 not already qualified for the tournament.