Cyprus Chess Federation President, Criton Tornaritis, reacted to Indian chess Grandmaster Koneru Humpy withdrawing from the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 in Cyprus due to the Middle East war, calling it a "bad move". "I am sincerely disappointed," he said. Tornaritis added, "Spreading unfounded concerns harms the sport and shows a lack of respect for the organisers and [participants]."