The fact that Teymur did not take part in the Candidates Tournament is abnormal because Teymur had to play. And like every high-end grandmaster who thinks not for two or three but five or ten moves ahead, he correctly assessed the situation with pandemic: the world is getting more and more infected. And in such a situation, it is wrong to take part in a tournament. He expressed his opinion not as a chess player, but as a serious man who monitors both the press and the situation in the world. He gave the right recommendation and he was right: there was no need to start the tournament.

But there are, as they say, "fathers-leaders "in FIDE and they thought the situation over on their part. It's a stalemate now. On the one hand, Rajabov was right and he had to play. On the other hand, FIDE is the highest authority, and its Presidential Council decided to start the tournament and then stop. I do not want to condemn anyone or comment on anyone’s decisions. It's just a pity the tournament stopped, ”Ilyumzhinov said.