3 min readMar 23, 2026 11:11 AM IST
The global governing body of chess in India, FIDE, has announced that Ukrainian grandmaster Anna Muzychuk will be replacing Koneru Humpy in the FIDE Women’s Candidates tournament which starts later this week in Cyprus. The Indian grandmaster confirmed that she was pulling out of the event due to fears for her personal safety.
In a tweet, FIDE confirmed that Humpy would be replaced by Muzychuk.
FIDE wrote on X: “In accordance with the tournament regulations, her place was offered to the next highest finisher in the Women’s Events Series 2024–25 who has not yet secured qualification. As a result, Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) will join the tournament as her replacement.”
While announcing her withdrawal from the tournament, Humpy wrote on X: “After deep reflection, I have taken the difficult decision to withdraw from the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. 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. This is a painful but necessary decision, and I stand by it.”
Humpy’s problem with playing in Cyprus was that the island in the Mediterranean was not too far away from nations like Lebanon and Israel who are active participants in the West Asia War.
The war between Iran on one side and Israel and the USA on the other side has seen Iran attacking its neighbours in the Gulf like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Oman in the past month. Lebanon also hit a British airforce base in Cyprus at the start of the month.
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On their website, the body mentioned that after Humpy’s withdrawal, Muzychuk was extended an invite “in accordance with Article 2.2. of the Tournament Regulations”.
FIDE added: “According to Article 4.5.3. of Tournament Regulations, ‘the pairings shall remain the same except that the replacement player shall take the place of the withdrawn player.’ The Chief Arbiter will shortly adjust the pairings accordingly.”
With Humpy pulling out, there will be three Indians in the twin Candidates tournaments now. While Praggnanandhaa will be India’s lone challenger in the open Candidates section, Divya Deshmukh and Vaishali Rameshbabu will be contending in the Women’s Candidates tournament to earn a shot at challenging Ju Wenjun for the women’s world championship.
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