The Eye of the Needle

The recent participation of 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) and 王皓 (Wáng Hào) in a “Chinese” online blitz tournament served, if nothing else, to reassure the public about their health and safety with respect to the novel coronavirus outbreak. They both will be allowed to take part in next month’s Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Ural Federal District, Russia only thanks to “humanitarian” visas and not without undergoing a two-week quarantine period in the Moscow countryside. 王皓 (Wáng Hào) has castled in Japan, and will travel from there to Russia, at least avoiding the Chinese protocols. Quite different is the situation of 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), who since a month dared not put his foot out of his condo in 温州 (Wēnzhōu), 浙江省 (Zhèjiāng province), China. He has been studying alone in his home, patriotically serving his birth city with Internet appeals and a substantial donation of ¥50,000 元 (yuán) to the 温州 (Wēnzhōu) Charity Federation — ”Oh, it’s the least I could do”, he humbly said. Now, finally, he is about to leave his house confinement. Two weeks in Moscow, and then, maybe, “free at last” in the Ural Highlands. Another extraordinary rule severely limits the number of people who can accompany him, just to make his candidacy even more epic. No doubt he will choose for the best.