With the whole chess world currently in wait-and-watch mode for the Candidates tournament with a war playing out not too far away from the host country of Cyprus, a German billionaire has offered FIDE, the global governing body of chess, the option of moving the prestigious tournament to Germany.
The Candidates tournament, which is held to handpick a challenger to the world champion, is to be played in a luxury Cyprus resort in just over a week’s time. But with USA and Israel’s war against Iran showing no signs of abating, and the so-called “theatre of war” expanding with Iran’s attacks on its Gulf neighbours’ energy sites, there is some doubt over the risk of hosting the tournament in the island on the Mediterranean Sea.
“FIDE has already been informed of our readiness to support and provide an immediate solution if required,” Rosenstein wrote on X on Thursday evening. “Should it be necessary, we stand ready to act immediately. We can organize the Candidates Tournament in Germany, ensuring maximum safety and reliability for all participants and officials.”
Rosenstein is the Chairman of Germany-based WR Group Holding and through the company WR Chess, Rosenstein supports multiple chess events around the world besides also supporting players. WR Chess also has a pre-existing relationship with FIDE, having partnered the global governing body of chess to host the FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Championship.
In his tweet, Rosenstein said that all “organizational and logistical expenses” of hosting the twin Candidates tournaments would be “fully covered by WR Chess”, should FIDE decide to move the venue of the event.
“Our priority is clear: to protect the players, preserve the integrity of the competition, and ensure that the tournament can take place under the best possible conditions,” Rosenstein added.
A day before Rosenstein made the offer to FIDE via X, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister was telling journalists that other Gulf states—angered by attacks on their infrastructure by Iran—could enter the war as well, thus highlighting the increasingly unstable radius of the war.
The risk of playing the Candidates at Cyprus was made apparent at the start of the month when a drone launched from Lebanon struck a British airforce base on the island. The RAF Akrotiri base, which the drone damaged on March 1, is about 85 kilometres to the east of Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort, which will host the Candidates tournament. Cyprus is a missile’s length away from Lebanon, which through proxies of Iran, has been attacking Israel.
The attack at the British airforce base led one of the top contenders in the women’s section, Koneru Humpy, to speak out against playing in the island usually known to be an idyllic vacation spot for Europeans.
So far Humpy has been the only player from the 16 headed to Cyprus who has spoken about pulling out of the tournament should the event go ahead in the original venue.
FIDE, on its part, had said earlier that the tournament will go ahead as scheduled and that it was “monitoring the situation” on a daily basis.
According to FIDE rules, should Humpy pull out of the tournament “without providing a satisfactory reason”, India’s top female player could be fined up to 10,000 euros (approximately Rs 10 lakh). FIDE will also have to extend a last-minute invite to Ukrainian grandmaster Anna Muzychuk.
Despite the spectre of a heavy fine, Humpy had made her stance clear.
“At the end of the day, you should be in a position to play the game in a peaceful and good atmosphere. Not surrounded by bomb or missile sirens,” Humpy had told The Indian Express.
“I am not sure (if I will play at the Candidates). It depends upon the situation. Right now, I am a bit concerned about safety with the drone attacks and warships deployed (in the Mediterranean Sea) coming into the picture. And very recently, there has been bombing happening between Israel and Lebanon because of Hezbollah. So I am a bit hesitant to travel because of this. If the situation continues like this, I am really doubtful of my participation,” Humpy had added.
“Definitely, there is tension on the island. Of course, the whole event might go on without any further escalation. Nobody knows what will happen, right? But we do know that there is a risk. My point was that when there is a 10 or 20 per cent risk in playing in Cyprus, what was the necessity to hold the event in that place? When the war started, they already got a sign about what was going on. Intentionally, you should not walk into (a dangerous situation). If you know there might be some chances, you will just try to avoid it.”
Candidates 2026 draw ceremony at Cyprus: Four Indians will be in action at the tournament starting at the end of this month. (Photo: FIDE) 
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