Why did Humpy Koneru withdraw?

@tpr said ^

"There is a major LPG, CNG and petroleum crisis going on here. "

• That is not the issue.
  'No event, no matter how important, can come before personal safety and well-being.
  Despite the assurances provided, I do not feel fully secure under the current circumstances.' - Humpy Koneru

Doesn’t a fuel crisis, that directly affects household chores of a person fall into the category of ‘Personal’?

@tpr said ^

"FIDE is lying" * Not necessarily. the risk may be low, but it is not zero.
15 of the 16 candidates perceive the risk as low enough to play, one perceives the risk as too high for her.
It is the same with the 2020 Candidates where Radjabov withdrew as he perceived the risk of COVID too high.

That is something that I agree with.

"Doesn’t a fuel crisis, that directly affects household chores of a person fall into the category of ‘Personal’?"

• It does not fall into the category of personal safety.
  On the contrary, the candidates can surely get hot meals in Cyprus.

@mkubecek, you actually don’t have any proof that FIDE is lying.

That's not the point. The point is that unlike some others, I cannot automatically accept everything FIDE says as undisputed truth. FIDE is in blatant conflict of interest here, relocating or rescheduling the event would cost them a lot so that they can hardly be seen as an impartial authority. (Same goes for the Cyprus government, of course.)

@tpr said ^

"Cyprus government are aware of what's going on and have given the green light."

• Of course they do, they do not want to scrap their own project and cause panic to their own population.

That assumes that there is a genuine threat.

"The UK base at Cyprus is not being used to attack Iran"

• We do not know. Maybe not directly, but indirectly like for tanker airplanes. Maybe not today, but tomorrow.

We do know. The base is not being used to attack Iran. The Cyprus government were not happy with the drone attack and criticized the bases as causing danger. The UK has agreed to not use the base in its 'defensive' agreement with the US after a call between UK Prime Minister Starmer and Christodoulides (Cyprus President).

"there is a clear option to fly to European countries (London, Frankfurt and Vienna) and then to Cyprus."

• But those planes would have to fly over war zones. Remember Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.
  An eastward route from India to Australia, to the United States, to London, to Cyprus looks impractical.

Actually flights from India to London are avoiding those warzones by flight under the Gulf area. This article describes it:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/war-stretches-flights-crews-and-wallets/articleshow/129727370.cms

"The war-zone air traffic corridor covering the spaces of Afghanistan (Starting with Pakistan for Indian carriers), Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan Israel, bears a deserted look with almost all planes flying below this passage."

So that sorts that out.

What do you think, @tpr?

"That assumes that there is a genuine threat."

• It assumes a nonzero risk.

"The UK has agreed to not use the base in its 'defensive' agreement with the US after a call between UK Prime Minister Starmer and Christodoulides (Cyprus President)."

• But can the United States now use the base or not? If yes, then it is a legitimate target for retaliation.

"The war-zone air traffic corridor covering the spaces of Afghanistan (Starting with Pakistan for Indian carriers), Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan Israel, bears a deserted look with almost all planes flying below this passage."

• Yes, that should sort the airplane question out.

@mkubecek said ^

@mkubecek, you actually don’t have any proof that FIDE is lying.

That's not the point. The point is that unlike some others, I cannot automatically accept everything FIDE says as undisputed truth. FIDE is in blatant conflict of interest here, relocating or rescheduling the event would cost them a lot so that they can hardly be seen as an impartial authority. (Same goes for the Cyprus government, of course.)

Actually you didn't just say that you cannot automatically accept everything FIDE says as undisputed truth.

You also went further and said there is a 'serious problem'.

What is the serious problem?

Is it safe to go to Cyprus at moment?

However, it has updated its Cyprus advice to note that there is a heightened risk of regional tension and that escalation could lead to travel being affected. It says British nationals should take precautions, should read its advice on “how to prepare for a crisis” and sign up to Travel Advice email alerts.

@tpr

I agree the risk is non-zero. I also think that the risk is not high enough to warrant cancellation of the Candidates at Cyprus.

But can the United States now use the base or not? If yes, then it is a legitimate target for retaliation.

"RAF Akrotiri would not be involved in the UK's continuation of its agreement with the U.S. to use UK bases in collective self defence of the region," a spokesperson for Starmer's office said in a British readout of the call with Christodoulides."

"Finally, the Prime Minister reiterated that the British Bases in Cyprus will not be used for any offensive military operations," the Cypriot government spokesperson added."

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-says-its-bases-cyprus-will-not-be-used-offensive-operations-cypriot-2026-03-21/

So U.S. involvement against Iran is ruled out and so is any 'offensive military operations' or 'self-defence' as they put it.

So I don't see why the base should be attacked again. Especially since the previous drone attack has now led to the base being ruled out - which is what Hezbollah wants.

@mkubecek said ^

@mkubecek, you actually don’t have any proof that FIDE is lying.

That's not the point. The point is that unlike some others, I cannot automatically accept everything FIDE says as undisputed truth. FIDE is in blatant conflict of interest here, relocating or rescheduling the event would cost them a lot so that they can hardly be seen as an impartial authority. (Same goes for the Cyprus government, of course.)

smh, a conflict of interest does not necessarily mean they are incorrect. Ofc you should use other sources, like both @tpr and @RuyLopez1000 have done.