The Candidates Chess Tournament, initially planned for Toronto from April 3-22, might be relocated to Spain due to visa processing delays by Canadian authorities.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has noted that chess players from different nations are currently awaiting approval for their Canadian visas, VisaGuide.World reports.
Regrettably, players from various countries worldwide who submitted their visa applications a few months ago have not yet received any updates on their status. With only a month remaining till the FIDE Candidates Tournament, there are grave concerns about the timely arrival of the players to Toronto.
Regarding this issue, the CEO of FIDE, Emil Sutovksy, said that their primary focus is on addressing visa concerns and proceeding with the event as planned in Canada. However, he noted that FIDE will not replace players or postpone the event due to visa-related issues.
According to his statement on X (former Twitter), if Canadian authorities don’t issue visas on time, FIDE will relocate the event to another location and still keep the original dates.
Candidates is Candidates. It’s a culmination of the two-year cycle. It’s an event followed by millions. Only eight men and eight women – and we won’t replace even one due to visa problems. It will be misfortunate if FIDE has to relocate it. And the main loser will be Canada.
He further unveiled that participants from four countries are waiting for visas, including chess players from India and Russia.
Federation President Optimist the Situation Will Be Resolved
Meanwhile, the president of the Chess Federation of Canada, Vladimir Drkulec, told the Hindustan Times that this event could be moved to Spain.
If we cannot resolve these issues by Friday, the tournament will be moved to Spain.
He further expressed optimism that the matter would be resolved within the deadline. In addition, Drkulec said he will dedicate his efforts to draw attention to this matter in the remaining days.
In the meantime, FIDE has appealed to Canadian authorities for urgent support in addressing this matter promptly.
Recognizing the popularity of the game in the country and its growing role in the chess world, we kindly ask the Canadian Government for support in urgently addressing this matter.
If everything goes as scheduled, this nearly 70-year-old tournament will take place for the first time in North America. According to Hindustan Times, 16 of the world’s best players will participate in this event.