Day three of the Candidates Tournament again sees competitors and officials take coronavirus precautions.
With sanitizing gel at hand, major chess tournament continues
SHOWS: YEKATERINBURG, RUSSIA (MARCH 19, 2020) (FIDE - ACCESS ALL) 1.
WELCOME ZONE AREA WITH SANITIZING GEL ON THE TWO COUNTERS 2.
VARIOUS OF OFFICIALS WEARING MASKS 3.
CHESS BOARD WITH TWO BOTTLES OF HAND SANITIZING GEL NEXT TO IT 4.
MAXIME VACHIER-LAGRAVE ARRIVING AND WALKING PAST HIS OPPONENT ANISH GIRI WITHOUT SHAKING HANDS 5.
ALEXANDER GRISCHUK AND WANG HAO APPLYING SANITIZING GEL TO THEIR HANDS BEFORE THEIR GAME BEGINS 6.
FABIANO CARUANA ARRIVING FOR HIS GAME AGAINST DING LIREN AND TAKING HIS SEAT WITHOUT SHAKING HANDS 7.
CARUANA DURING HIS TURN 8.
CHESS PIECES WITH BOTTLES OF SANITIZING GEL 9.
VACHIER-LAGRAVE PONDERING HIS NEXT MOVE 10.
GAMES IN PROGRESS STORY: The best chess players in the world continued competing as day three of the Candidates Tournament - an international meeting in Russia - again saw competitors and officials taking coronavirus precautions on Thursday (March 19).
FIDE (International Chess Federation), the organizers of the prestigious event, in which matches will run until April 3 in Yekaterinburg, a city 1,400 kilometres (885 miles) east of Moscow, are taking special measures to ensure players remain healthy.
In addition to barring spectators from the playing area, traditional handshakes before and after matches are optional.
Small bottles of hand sanitizer have also been placed next to the chess boards while some officials choose to wear protective masks.
Russia has recorded more than one hundred cases of coronavirus and the authorities have barred foreign nationals from entering the country until May in a bid to stop it spreading further.
They are also screening Russians who have returned home from many foreign destinations and ordered them to remain in self-isolation for two weeks, even if they are not experiencing any symptoms. Russia has also banned sporting events, but FIDE has said its president Arkady Dvorkovich, a former Russian government official, had received assurances the tournament could go ahead.
(Production: Stefan Haskins)