FIDE Arbiter Regulations - Proposed Changes

[Michael Flatt]

Apparently, FIDE are proposing to tighten up on the award of Arbiter titles.

The only notification I have seen is on the Chess Arbiters' Association Website: http://www.chessarbitersassociation.co. ... /news.html

I don't know when it appeared or why the ECF haven't given it any publicity or initiated any discussion. I only came across it by accident today.

[Michael Flatt]

I've managed to locate the Minutes of the Arbiters' Meeting at Baku[1] where these proposals were presented. The CAA news item fails to mention that these proposals are for discussion only and a new sub-committee has been created to develop them. No timetable has been published for their introduction.

12a) Chairman Takis Nikolopoulos presented extensive proposal from Sevan Muradian (USA, deceased) regarding IA-FA-NA qualification training and continuing education. A new sub-committee was formed within the FIDE Arbiters' Commission, to develop this proposal into a comprehensive program. Secretary Aris Marghetis has collected input from India and France, and is looking forward to more participation from other countries with highly established Arbiter development models.

[1] 87th FIDE Congress Baku, Azerbaijan, 5-13 September 2016, Arbiters' Commission Meeting, Annex 76: http://arbiters.fide.com/minutes/fide-c ... ex-76.html
[2] Proposal for Training of Arbiters by S. Muradian: http://arbiters.fide.com/images/stories ... adian.docx

[Roger de Coverly]

I've managed to locate the Minutes of the Arbiters' Meeting at Baku[1] where these proposals were presented.

I'm not sure whether the ECF still regards it as an objective to encourage more FIDE rated tournaments or more existing tournaments or leagues to become FIDE rated. If so, FIDE are sending the opposite signals by making it more difficult for tournaments to be rated.

[Alex Holowczak]

There is misunderstanding in these posts, which hopefully I can correct.

While the paper presented in Baku by Sevan Muradian was a proposal, it was never actually put. There were various points raised in the build up to that item that, if enacted, would have intertwined with Sevan's proposal. As a result, Takis made the pragmatic suggestion of forming a working group (rather than a sub-committee, which implies it is a subset of the Commission) to discuss the various ideas that were raised, and any fresh ones that we might come up with.

Alex McFarlane and I are both on this group, along with about 6-8 others from around the world. I haven't received any correspondence yet, which is hopefully because it hasn't begun to work yet, rather than because I've been dumped from it.

[Roger de Coverly]

There is misunderstanding in these posts, which hopefully I can correct.

Whilst it makes a certain sense to align the FIDE's National Arbiter classification with the national titles awarded by Federations, it's exploiting a monopoly to demand that anyone named as an arbiter for a FIDE rated event be licensed by FIDE. It seems to have been clarified that you can run a FIDE rated event without a FIDE arbiter present. If the rules are strictly followed, you cannot though run one with a non-FIDE arbiter present and expect it to be rated. National Stage Open county matches being the example.

[Michael Farthing]

It seems to me that if you are a body awarding ratings it is not unreasonable that you take reasonable measures to ensure that your awarding is done properly and therefore you might want to ensure the standard of the arbiting by approving your client organisers' arbiters. If I knew that an event being rated by FIDE was arbited from Harry from t'pub I would have less confidence that my own rating carried any credibility.

[Alex Holowczak]

At present, you can run National Stage Open county matches as a rated game without an arbiter being present. Nick Faulks would be against a move to change it to the contrary, and I agree with him. (Nick's view carries weight on this, in his QC hat.)

Personally, I have absolutely no problem with FIDE insisting that a FIDE-rated event needs a NA listed on the registration form (present or otherwise) in order for the event to be rated, depending on what you have to do to get the NA title. At the moment, in some countries, anyone can be a NA. Sevan's proposal arguably went too far the other way. But I'm sure the working group will consider these things.

If I knew that an event being rated by FIDE was arbited from Harry from t'pub I would have less confidence that my own rating carried any credibility.

If I knew any tournament I entered was being arbited by "Harry from t'pub", I wouldn't enter the tournament - FIDE-rated or otherwise. Not that I have time to enter any tournaments these days...

But I'm happy to play in the Birmingham League knowing that the Rules Committee, a de facto Appeals Committee although no one makes a decision on the dispute before it gets that far - has a qualified arbiter on it.