Arkady Dvorkovich: “We are ensuring the safe return of players to their homes”
Following the announcement of the government of the Russian Federation about suspending all flights to and from the country as of March 27, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) has decided to halt the 2020 Candidates Tournament which was taking place in Yekaterinburg. In an interview for the Russian news agency TASS, FIDE President explained his decision. Q: Has FIDE discussed this decision to stop the event with the players, what do they think? Arkady Dvorkovich: We have been in touch with the players every day during the event and we were weighing all the risks all the time. FIDE believes that this is the best course of action under these circumstances. We remain committed to popularising chess and raising the spirits at this grave time, but we have always said that people’s lives and health are a priority for us. Q: Air traffic with other countries has been suspended by Russia. Won’t it be a problem for all the chess players to go home? Arkady Dvorkovich: This unique situation transpired suddenly. We are doing everything we can to provide the necessary support to everyone and get them home safely. Tickets for all the players and most other people involved in the tournament have already been purchased, and we are organizing all necessary logistics. FIDE is organizing and paying for all the travel costs and is working closely with everyone to ensure all is done safely and efficiently. Q: In your opinion, will the tournament be finished this year or when? Will Yekaterinburg remain the host? Arkady Dvorkovich: We will do our best for everything to be sorted out as soon as possible, following regulations and protecting the safety and interests of all involved. We remain confident that the event will be completed this year, in cooperation with our main partner – SIMA-land. The issue of exact dates and locations will be resolved in the near future, as soon as the global situation stabilizes. Q: Why did you decide to start the tournament when the virus was already spreading strongly around the world? Arkady Dvorkovich: This is a very important event for the players and the chess world. The situation in Russia was different at the beginning. We looked at different trajectories of the situation, including potential cancellations. At the same time, in terms of the medical safety measures, the Candidates Tournament was well prepared. All the players, arbiters and staff had medical checkups twice a day, tests for the detection of COVID-19 have been done and all came back as negative. Also, the spectators have been banned from the venue and the interaction between the players and the media has been put to a minimum. However, we concluded that the flight ban announced this morning would put too much pressure on the players and participants in terms of how and when they will be able to return home. Unfortunately, the situation with the pandemic is developing in the most negative scenario. We, therefore, believe that our decision to suspend the Tournament at this moment was correct. Again, we are doing everything we can to ensure the safe and secure return of everyone to their homes. Q: Is there a significant financial loss for FIDE due to the transfer? Arkady Dvorkovich: Our priority was and remains to make sure that everyone involved is safe and returns to their home. Losses are minimal and definitely not a factor in making this decision. We have a mutual understanding with our partners and sponsors, and we are grateful for their support. Q: In general, what is your view of what is happening in the spirting word and how things will develop? Arkady Dvorkovich: It is difficult to give estimates – no one knows for how long the acute phase of the crisis caused by the coronavirus will last. There are different opinions about how long the events should be postponed – 2-3 months or six months to a year. I believe that with the joint efforts of all countries and tough measures, we will be able to defeat the pandemic. Of course, it will be a slightly different world afterwards, but we will be stronger. The coming period will be used by FIDE to search for and find new ways and ideas, expand links between national federations, strengthen partnerships and share experiences. Nowadays we must use all the latest online formats to communicate with current and potential chess fans. We will, therefore, step up our online activities and do more to attract chess audiences to our online services and platforms through training, tournaments, and conferences. These are challenging times, but we see this as an opportunity and want to do our best to help the chess community and promote the game. Q: And an important question about the match for the title of World Champion. Is the match also being postponed? Arkady Dvorkovich: The match for the chess crown is due to take place at the end of the year. There is no question of changing dates.
Regulations of the Eighth FIDE World Cup in Composing 2020 published
REGULATIONS on holding the Eighth FIDE World Cup in Composing 2020: 1. TASKS AND OBJECTIVES The Eighth FIDE World Cup in Composing is held with the aim to: – develop and promote chess; – develop and promote chess composition as a constituent of chess culture; – expand the geography of participants; – decide the winners. 2. ORGANIZERS The organizers are the International Chess Federation (www.fide.com), with the participation of the World Federation for Chess Composition (www.wfcc.ch). The holding of the tournament is the direct responsibility of the Director and the Panel of Judges: The Director of the tournament is Alexander Bulavka (Belarus). A. Two-movers – Judge: Dragan Stojnic (Serbia) B. Three-movers – Judge: Miodrag Mladenovic (Serbia) C. Moremovers – Judge: Mikhail Marandyuk (Ukraine) D. Endgame studies – Judge: Yochanan Afek (Netherlands) E. Helpmates – Judge: Mikhal Dragoun (Czech Republic) F. Selfmates – Judge: Alexander Azhusin (Russia) G. Fairies – Judge: Vlaicu Crisan (Romania) H. Retros and Proofgames – Judge: Nikolas Dupont (France) 3. THE TIME FRAME OF THE EVENT The tournament will be conducted from April 1 to October 10, 2020. The closing date for submitting the entries is May 15, 2020. The director will send all compositions to the judges on uniform and anonymous diagrams by June 1, 2020. All judges are to submit their awards by August 1, 2020. 4. PARTICIPANTS Anyone wishing to take part in the tournament can do so. 5. PROCEDURE FOR PARTICIPATION In each section, only one composition by each author is acceptable and joint compositions are not allowed. The theme is free in all sections. In the fairies section (G), there is no restriction on stipulations, conditions, the use of fairy pieces, or the number of moves. In the selfmate section (F) and fairies section (G), only computer-tested problems (using Alybadix, Popeye, or WinChloe) are allowed; the participants should specify the version of the program they used to test their entry. Entries must be sent on diagrams with complete solutions and any comments by e-mail only to the Director’s address: tischka@tut.by. Participants should mention their postal address in the email. 6. TOURNAMENT AWARD After receiving the entries in anonymous form from the Director, the judges consider the submitted compositions, determine their originality, difficulty, esthetic appeal, search for possible anticipations, and decide their ranking in the tournament. In each section, compositions in first, second, and third places must be determined, as well as entries receiving honorary mentions and commendations. It is also possible to specify prize-winning compositions (no more than three per section). After ranking the entries, the judges are to send, within the preset period, their award, with the indication of numbers of the compositions in the award and related comments, to the Director of the tournament. After receiving the awards from the judges, the Director is to enter the names of the authors and provide the preliminary results for publication on the websites of FIDE and WFCC before August 15, 2020. During one month after the publication of the preliminary results, claims of defects and anticipations can be sent to the Director, who will accumulate and forward them to the judges. After receiving the claims, the judges will make the final decision on the results of the World Cup and send the final award to the Director. 7. PUBLICATION OF RESULTS The final results of this competition will be published on the FIDE and WFCC websites no later than Oсtober 1, 2020. 8. PRIZE-GIVING In each section, the Cup winner will be entitled to a money prize of 500 Euro, a Cup, a medal, and a certificate. Composers in 2nd and 3rd places will be awarded medals and respective certificates. The certificates for 1st-3rd places will be signed by the President of FIDE. The prizes and other distinctions are to be presented to the laureates on October 9, 2020, at the closing ceremony of the World Chess Composition Congress in Rodos (Greece) 9. ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES These Regulations shall constitute an official invitation to the tournament.
2020 Executive Board Minutes
FIDE publishes the Minutes of 2020 Executive Board meeting which was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE on February 29th. Download 2020 FIDE Executive Board minutes (pdf)
FIDE stops the Candidates Tournament
Today, the government of the Russian Federation announced that starting March 27, 2020, Russia interrupts air traffic with other countries without indicating any time frames. FIDE can not continue the tournament without guarantees for the players’ and officials’ safe and timely return home. In this situation and on the basis of clause 1.5. Rules of Candidates Tournament, the FIDE President decided to stop the tournament. It will be continued later, with the exact dates to be announced as soon, as the global situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic will allow. As it was stipulated by the special rules agreed with the players before the start of the event, the results of the 7 rounds played remain valid, and the tournament will be resumed in the same composition starting with the games of the 8th round. FIDE is grateful to the players, officials, volunteers and the entire team of organizers, including the Chess Federation of Russia and the main partner of the tournament – SIMA-Land. Sincerely,Arkady Dvorkovich,FIDE President