FIDE urges the Canadian gov to speed up

[Erik Malmsten]

This was not a task for amateurs. Movie productions and the film festival gets people in every year on short notice. The CFC should have used their relationship with Sports Canada to hire a professional company with experience in international competitions, the fees of $100,000 to be paid by the poker sponsor. There are also Liberal party lobbyists in the chess world. Is it too late to have an email to the minister and MPs campaign? Or are the countries the players are from too much of a hot spot politically?

[Hugh Brodie]

From what I understand - the CFC has nothing to do with this event. It's organized and run by FIDE, and it should be up to them to organize visas etc.

[Peter McKillop]

Sounds like the Canadian Federation may have dropped the ball on this error and they can blame no one but themselves if the Candidates does not happen.

Hi John (and Neil). It's not clear at this point (to me at least) who is responsible for what. The CFC is the host federation (or whatever terminology they're using) but that doesn't mean necessarily that the CFC has been directly involved in the myriad of details involved in setting up an event like this. There are also organizers &/or sponsors involved, FIDE reps like arbiters, and of course FIDE itself, etc. Don't be too quick to point a finger at the CFC. AND - just my personal viewpoint - based on Vlad's track record, if he had been directly involved in the decision making for this event then everything would be running smoothly.

[John Brown]

Sounds like the Canadian Federation may have dropped the ball on this error and they can blame no one but themselves if the Candidates does not happen.

[Neil Frarey]

CFC is working with Immigration Canada to solve the issue.

Hi Steff, why didn't you folks know about this complication from the get go???

Did not the Chess Federation of Canada make this visa complication clear to you from the start of your efforts???

[Vlad Drkulec]

I learned that the candidates tournament is not registered with Immigration Canada. Usually an organizational body can (and would) apply for a special treatment of their applicants. They can then jump the queue. The FIDE candidates tournament is not on the list for April. That might have avoided those type of problems.

Yes, the local committee was only engaged five months before the tournament was to start. In order to register your event you have to register your event six months in advance. Apparently no exceptions are allowed to this rule as the local committee was declined when they tried to register the event five months in advance.

[Steffen Roller]

I learned that the candidates tournament is not registered with Immigration Canada. Usually an organizational body can (and would) apply for a special treatment of their applicants. They can then jump the queue. The FIDE candidates tournament is not on the list for April. That might have avoided those type of problems.

[Vlad Drkulec]

FIDE has informed the CFC and members of the local organizing committee that they will need to pull the Candidates tournament from Toronto if we are not able to make substantial progress on providing the players and some key FIDE organizers visas by Friday, March 8, 2024 or some assurance that the visas are pending. Pulling the tournament will present a logistical nightmare for FIDE and the preference is that the event take place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You can't have a Candidates tournament without the Candidates (players). So far of the officials only Vishy Anand the former world champion has been approved for a visa. On the players side only Humpy Koneru of India has been approved.

It should be noted that none of the players or officials have been refused entry to date.

Patricia Gamliel CFC director has been doing heroic work on this file.

[Salim Belcadi]

The Toronto Star published a story with more details:

Visa snafu risks scuttling top chess tournament in Toronto (thestar.com)

[Steffen Roller]

CFC is working with Immigration Canada to solve the issue.

[Steffen Roller]

Urgent visa appeal to the Canadian Government regarding the FIDE Candidates Tournament

The most prestigious tournament in the chess world, the FIDE Candidates, which will determine the challengers for the World Champion title in both the Open and Women’s Categories, is set to take place from April 3 – 22 in Toronto, Canada. This is the first time in the history of chess that the most prestigious tournament is due to be hosted in Canada, recognizing the country’s growing role in the chess world. Regrettably, players from various countries worldwide, who submitted their visa applications few months ago, have not yet received any updates on their status. With only a month remaining till the FIDE Candidates Tournament, there are grave concerns about the timely arrival of the players to Toronto. Recognizing the popularity of the game in the country, and its growing role in the chess world, we kindly ask the Canadian Government for support in urgently addressing this matter. Ensuring the safe and timely arrival of players is crucial for the success and integrity of the FIDE Candidates Tournament and for promoting Canada as a host of the most important chess tournament of the year, which will be followed by millions of spectators worldwide.
@CitImmCanada

@MarcMillerVM

"My contacts" in the government think this is a complete lie. Every world event has a special code which can by used for visas by the organizers. Time will tell.