Arbiter levels

Debate directly related to English Chess Federation matters.
Paul Buswell
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Re: Arbiter levels

Post by Paul Buswell » Sat Mar 15, 2014 5:04 pm

Alex McFarlane wrote:What appears on the ECF is broadly what the CAA have campaigned for. As David says there were concerns expressed at the AGM about non-qualified English people being put forward by the ECF for FIDE NA status without a requirement to at least attempt to qualify as an arbiter.

This is now being done and brings England into line with Scotland and Wales.

I am not 100% per cent certain on the following statements but I (a) believe that Adam actually failed the ECF (or more likely BCF) Arbiter exam (as you can see it was some time ago) and (b) he is not the only IA registered to England who does not have an ECF (or BCF) qualification though he is the only person licensed by FIDE.

If I am right that he failed the exam then that makes it extremely difficult to award him the title. He was also a FIDE arbiter before it became necessary to sit an exam for that. This would therefore prevent that from counting instead.
I am surprised that Alex McFarlane makes his statement (a) above if, by his own admission, he is not sure of its accuracy. If he is wrong it seems damaging to Adam Raoof's professional reputation.

PB

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John Upham
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Re: Arbiter levels

Post by John Upham » Sat Mar 15, 2014 5:44 pm

Paul Buswell wrote: If he is wrong it seems damaging to Adam Raoof's professional reputation.
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Michael Flatt
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Re: Arbiter levels

Post by Michael Flatt » Sat Mar 15, 2014 6:48 pm

Comment deleted.
Last edited by Michael Flatt on Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:40 am, edited 2 times in total.

Ian Thompson
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Re: Arbiter levels

Post by Ian Thompson » Sat Mar 15, 2014 7:00 pm

These regulations look generally good to me. One thing missing from them that I think should be there is a requirement for all arbiters to periodically demonstrate their continued competence. Giving anyone an arbiter title for life is wrong, and "reviewing" lower levels of arbiter doesn't sound very thorough either.

It would be much better if the regulations said that all arbiters had to pass a test on changes to the laws of chess each time they are updated and had to periodically provide evidence to show that they are still performing their arbiting duties to a high standard.

Alex Holowczak
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Re: Arbiter levels

Post by Alex Holowczak » Sat Mar 15, 2014 9:21 pm

Ian Thompson wrote:These regulations look generally good to me. One thing missing from them that I think should be there is a requirement for all arbiters to periodically demonstrate their continued competence. Giving anyone an arbiter title for life is wrong, and "reviewing" lower levels of arbiter doesn't sound very thorough either.

It would be much better if the regulations said that all arbiters had to pass a test on changes to the laws of chess each time they are updated and had to periodically provide evidence to show that they are still performing their arbiting duties to a high standard.
I wanted to do that originally, but I was told by the men on the ground that that would be an administrative challenge. As a parallel, in cricket, the Laws update fairly regularly, every 2-3 years or so. There's no re-testing, you're expected to keep up with Law changes, and if the captains report you don't know the Laws, I imagine there are negative consequences! In other words, there's a review of your abilities. It doesn't seem to hinder cricket.

The ECF have never collected information about who arbits what in the same way as FIDE do, but I'm in the process of doing something about that.

Ian Thompson
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Re: Arbiter levels

Post by Ian Thompson » Sat Mar 15, 2014 9:56 pm

Alex Holowczak wrote:As a parallel, in cricket, the Laws update fairly regularly, every 2-3 years or so. There's no re-testing, you're expected to keep up with Law changes, and if the captains report you don't know the Laws, I imagine there are negative consequences! In other words, there's a review of your abilities. It doesn't seem to hinder cricket.
This may well work well for cricket where an umpire will have to make many decisions in a match and there are two team captains who can comment on his performance. I don't see a parallel in chess. Most games of chess don't require the active intervention of an arbiter. It's pretty unusual for disputes to arise, there are rarely team captains to observe what the arbiter does, and the players are likely to be more interested in their games than watching whether the arbiter is performing his general arbiting duties well.

Alex Holowczak
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Re: Arbiter levels

Post by Alex Holowczak » Sat Mar 15, 2014 10:28 pm

Ian Thompson wrote:
Alex Holowczak wrote:As a parallel, in cricket, the Laws update fairly regularly, every 2-3 years or so. There's no re-testing, you're expected to keep up with Law changes, and if the captains report you don't know the Laws, I imagine there are negative consequences! In other words, there's a review of your abilities. It doesn't seem to hinder cricket.
This may well work well for cricket where an umpire will have to make many decisions in a match and there are two team captains who can comment on his performance. I don't see a parallel in chess. Most games of chess don't require the active intervention of an arbiter. It's pretty unusual for disputes to arise, there are rarely team captains to observe what the arbiter does, and the players are likely to be more interested in their games than watching whether the arbiter is performing his general arbiting duties well.
I've received complaints from time-to-time about decisions made by arbiters in congresses. There was one congress recently where no fewer than three decisions made by various arbiters were reported to me in a "I don't want to do anything about this, but" basis. If names keep re-appearing on these unofficial reports, we can handle that situation.

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Alan Ruffle
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Re: Arbiter levels

Post by Alan Ruffle » Wed Apr 16, 2014 12:03 pm

Dear All

I hope these players can be identified and have evidenced their complaint, and that the arbiters in question have had an opportunity to reply.

The Chess Arbiters Association vie the President can show these hic cups in Arbiting Matters, so we can all learn.

Alan Ruffle

Roger de Coverly
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Re: Arbiter levels

Post by Roger de Coverly » Wed Apr 16, 2014 12:56 pm

Alan Ruffle wrote: I hope these players can be identified and have evidenced their complaint, and that the arbiters in question have had an opportunity to reply.
If you had an objection to the conduct of an arbiter, you might want your name kept out of it, for fear that you might later encounter the arbiter or one of his friends at the wrong side of a dispute. Even a 10.2 claim.

The context of Alex's remarks suggests the arbiter decisions were plain wrong, not just contentious.

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Alan Ruffle
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Re: Arbiter levels

Post by Alan Ruffle » Tue Apr 22, 2014 12:22 pm

I have no idea what decisions were taken by the arbiter in this case or how serious it was so I have no opinion about whether it was correct or not, its irrelevant anyway. in any event it is worth researching to avoid future errors.

I'm sorry you doubt the ability of arbiters to remain impartial.

Alan Ruffle