28.07.2017

Ilyumzhinov: "Great Britain, Azerbaijan and Germany are interested in holding the Candidates Tournament"

The capitals of Great Britain and Azerbaijan as well as a certain German city are interested in holding the 2018 Candidates Tournament, President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov told R-Sport.

Competition with the participation of eight Grandmasters will be held in the first half of 2018. The current World Champion is Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, who defeated Russian Sergey Karyakin in rapid match that ended in a tiebreaker with a score of 3:1 in New York in November 2016. The classical chess match ended in a draw.

"There is certain clarity about the venue of the Candidates Tournament," Ilyumzhinov said in a telephone conversation. "Currently, London as well as in the Chess Federation of Azerbaijan have shown interest in holding the competition. After all, one of the best in the history of the FIDE World Olympiad was held in Baku in 2016. I also had negotiations with sponsors who would like to hold a competition in Germany. "
Recall that the previous Candidates Tournament was held in Moscow in March 2016 and the winner was Karyakin.