Ding Liren and Wang Hao to arrive early and prepare in isolated country house after
Moscow grants them “humanitarian visas” ahead of the event in Ekaterinburg
The world title candidates starting in Ekaterinburg on 15 March has survived a scare after Russia’s “temporary suspension” of entry to Chinese citizens, announced on Monday as part of anti-coronavirus measures, raised serious doubts on whether Ding Liren and Wang Hao would be allowed to compete.
Ding, 27, and Wang, 30, qualified for the eight-player, €500,000 competition where they are scheduled to meet three opponents from
Russia and one each from the US, the Netherlands and Azerbaijan. The winner will take on Magnus Carlsen for the Norwegian’s world title in a €2m, 14-game series in November, probably as part of Expo 2020 Dubai. Ding, the world No 3, is second favourite behind Fabiano Caruana of the US.