See Chessdom for a more full report.
FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos:
"What happened is known to everybody. The volcano in Iceland erupted, a lot of airports are having problems, a lot of flights are cancelled. Sofia is also one of those airports that partly has problem. We have late arrivals not only with Anand, but also of officials of FIDE for the Presidential board and for the match – the second arbiter is not here, the members of the appeals committee are not here as well, we do not know yet exactly when they are going to arrive. We are giving instructions and helping everyone with how to move and what transportation to take if airports are closed. For example, to fly to either Thessaloniki or Istanbul and drive from there. We are not sure if the FIDE President himself will arrive.
Two days ago we received a letter from Viswanathan Anand, asking a postponement of three days because he cannot arrive on time. Now, it is clear that here we’re facing a force majeure situation. Of course, based on the agreement we have signed, all sides should do their best here to solve this problem, FIDE, the organizers, Anand should also try to come up with other transportation. He is actually on his way by car, as far as I know. From what I know they have already left to Sofia, so we are expecting them probably Tuesday early in the morning or in the afternoon." (Emphasis added.)
All need to be respectful of the operative contracts and of the prospect that delay will cost the organizers' substantial money. Nevertheless, the organizers' initial written response was inartfully crafted and seemed to fly (when nothing else would) in the face of some rather harsh reality. A little up front grace would have gone a long way.
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