New Delhi, Mar 25 (IANS): The 2020 edition of the chess Olympiad, scheduled to be held in Moscow, has been postponed due to the ongoig coronavirus pandemic, International Chess Federation (FIDE) has announced.

The FIDE, in a statement, said that the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was a factor apart from the spread of coronavirus that prompted it to take the decision.

"Taking into account the reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicating the constant increase in the number of cases worldwide, and given today's IOC statement regarding the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, FIDE has decided to postpone the 44th Chess Olympiad (including the competition for players with disabilities) and the FIDE Congress," said FIDE.

"These events, to be held in Moscow and Khanty-Mansiysk during the summer of 2020, are rescheduled to the summer of 2021 at the same locations. FIDE will continue to work hard in order to support various chess activities, at the same time caring first and foremost about the health and well-being of the entire chess community."

More than 4 lakh cases and nearly 19,000 deaths have been reported thus far due to the coronavirus pandemic that has led to restrictions being placed on people's movements around the world.