An important step in preparation for King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships was made in Moscow yesterday. А Workshop for International Arbiters took place in the Central Chess Club on December 24. This event targeted arbiters selected to serve in the upcoming King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships (WRBC). The IA Workshop was held in Russian and English; it was based on the curriculum successfully used in the previous four events in the FIDE & CFR Pilot Project for Training and Certification of the International Arbiters for the 2020 World Chess Olympiad. 

The Principal Lecturer, IA/IO/FL Alexander Tkachev (Russia), the CFR Technical Director, opened the Workshop by summarizing lessons learned from previous Pilot Project events in Moscow, Tashkent, Baku, and Sochi. Mr. Tkachev proceeded to describe the criteria that arbiters shall meet in order to be nominated for the 2020 Olympiad and explained the process that the CFR will put in place for the arbiters from Russia.   

The Guest Lecturer, IA/IO Vadim Tsypin (Canada) worked with the participants on using English in typical tournament situations, then proceeded with a detailed refresher on Anti-Cheating Guidelines and specific measures to be taken at the World Rapid and Blitz.

During a group discussion, the Lecturers helped the workshop attendees to develop a common interpretation of complex items in the FIDE Laws of Chess and the FIDE Competition (Tournament) Rules. Together, the arbiters chose the best processes and practices that they will be following in the upcoming competition. 

The second half of the IA Workshop featured two invited guests. IA Laurent Freyd (France), Chairman of the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission, warmly welcomed the attendees, stressed the importance of teamwork and answered a wide range of questions. IA Takis Nikolopoulos (Greece), Chief Arbiter of the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships, shared his experience from the 2017 event in Riyadh and emphasized that the best practices agreed upon in advance are the key to success of the arbiter team at the WRBC. 

Round 1 of the WRBC starts in the VIP zone of the Grand Sports Arena at the Luzhniki Olympic Complex on December 26. The next IA Workshop in the Russian Federation will take place in Moscow in January of 2020.

Photo: Vladimir Barsky