India, March 23 -- With FIDE refusing to change their venue for the upcoming Women's Candidates 2026, Koneru Humpy had a simple question for the international chess federation. The Indian GM, who withdrew from the event on Sunday due to safety concerns, asked FIDE whether it would conduct tournaments in Jammu and Kashmir, which is in the same category as Cyprus under the Level 3 Travel Advisory issued by the US and UK Department of State to travellers.

The tournament is set to be held in Cyprus, along with the men's competition. Cyprus is in proximity to the ongoing Gulf conflict, and on March 1, a British airbase was hit in the island country.

Questioning whether FIDE really cared about players' views on the venue, she bluntly stated t...