1.       General

These regulations comprise all the aspects concerning the classification of Chess Arbiters of international level (International Arbiter (IA) and FIDE Arbiter (FA)).

1.1     Status of Arbiters

Chess Arbiters (IAs and FAs) can have two (2) distinct status:

Active (a)

Inactive (i).

The status is used to determine whether an arbiter is allowed to officiate or not in a FIDE rated event.

1.2     Categories of Arbiters

Categories of arbiters are used to classify arbiters (IAs and FAs), based on their past experience and determine whether an arbiter is allowed to be appointed in World and Continental events.

1.2.1         IAs are classified into the following categories:

- Category A

- Category B

- Category C

- Category D

1.2.2         FAs are classified as Category D

1.3     Categories of Tournaments

In these regulations, chess events are split into different categories indicating the requirements for arbiters’ appointments.

1.3.1         Category A tournaments

Category A tournaments contain only major world events as listed below.

1.3.1.1             Major World Events

The following events from the FIDE official calendar are considered “major world events” for the classification of arbiters:

a)         World Chess Olympiad Open and Women

b)         World Individual Chess Championship Cycle Open and Women:

FIDE World Championship Match

FIDE Candidates

FIDE World Cup

FIDE Grand Prix

FIDE Grand Swiss

c)         World Rapid and Blitz Championship Open and Women

d)         World Team Championship Open and Women

e)         World Junior Championship Open and Girls

1.3.2         Category B tournaments

Category B tournaments contain other world events, major continental events and specific top-level tournaments as listed below.

1.3.2.1             Other World Events

The following events from the FIDE official calendar are considered “other world events” for the classification of arbiters:

a)         World Senior Championship Open and Women

b)         World Senior Team Championship Open and Women

c)         World Youth U16 Olympiad

d)         World Youth and Cadet Championship Open and Girls

e)         World School and University Championship Open and Girls

f)         World Amateur Championship

g)         World Junior, Youth and Cadet Rapid and Blitz Championship Open and Girls

h)         World Championship for Players with Disabilities

i)          World Junior Championship for Players with Disabilities

j)          Other new competitions created by FIDE

1.3.2.2             Major Continental Events

The following events from the FIDE official calendar are considered “major continental events” for the classification of arbiters:

a)         Continental Individual Championship Open and Women

b)         Continental Team Championship Open and Women

c)         Continental Junior Championship Open and Girls

d)         Continental Club Cup Open and Women

e)         Continental Rapid and Blitz Championship Open and Women

1.3.2.3             Top-level Events

The following types of events are considered “top-level events” for the classification of arbiters:

a)         Open Round Robin Tournaments with at least ten (10) participants (6 in a Double Round Robin), with an average rating above 2600

b)         Women Round Robin Tournaments with at least ten (10) participants (6 in a Double Round Robin), with an average rating above 2400

Those events may be rated for standard, rapid or blitz FIDE ratings.

1.3.3         Category C tournaments

Category C tournaments contain other continental events and strong international tournaments as listed below.

1.3.3.1             Other Continental Events

The following events from the FIDE official calendar are considered “other continental events” for the classification of arbiters:

a)         Continental Senior Championship Open and Women

b)         Continental Senior Team Championship Open and Women

c)         Continental Youth and Cadet Championship Open and Girls

d)         Continental School and University Championship Open and Girls

e)         Continental Amateur Championship

f)         Continental Junior, Youth and Cadet Rapid and Blitz Championship Open and Girls

g)         Other new competitions created by Continental Chess Organisations

1.3.3.2             Strong international Events

The following types of events are considered “strong international events” for the classification of arbiters:

a)         Open Round Robin Tournaments with at least ten (10) participants (6 in a Double Round Robin), with an average rating above 2500

b)         Women Round Robin Tournaments with at least ten (10) participants (6 in a Double Round Robin), with an average rating above 2300

c)         Chess events of at least 9 rounds with more than 150 participants, team or individual, including a minimum of 75% rated players and 20 titled players (GM, WGM, IM, WIM, FM, WFM) from at least three (3) federations

As a single tournament, or

As a chess festival (a chess event that includes multiple concurrent tournaments)

Those events shall be rated for standard FIDE rating.

1.3.4         Category D tournaments

Category D tournaments shall have the same minimum requirements as a norm for the IA Title.

2.       Active and Inactive IAs and FAs

2.1     An IA or FA is considered to be “Inactive” if in a period of four (4) years they have not successfully attended a Refresher Course organized by the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission. When an arbiter reaches his “end of activity” date, his status is changed to “Inactive”.

2.1.1         An inactive arbiter may not officiate as the Chief Arbiter in any FIDE rated tournaments, except in those where no possibilities of norms for players exist.

2.1.2         An inactive arbiter may not be selected to officiate in any official FIDE or Continental events.

2.2     The “end of activity” date is calculated and updated by adding four (4) years to:

2.2.1         The FA Title award date, in the case of a newly titled FA.

2.2.2         The last day of the last Refresher Course or IA Certification Seminar, successfully attended by the arbiter.

2.3     Gaining a new title or category does not impact the end of activity date.

2.4     Inactive IAs and FAs are flagged as such on their Profile on the FIDE Rating Server.

2.5     An Inactive IA or FA can be considered active again, only after successfully attending a Refresher Seminar and after validation by the Arbiters’ Commission.

2.6     Transition 2021 – for a smooth implementation of the new regulations. The initial end of activity date will be calculated as follow, as the new regulations come into force:

2.6.1         Active arbiters with a last tournament in 2016 or before: 31/12/2020, status set to inactive.

2.6.2         Active arbiters with a last tournament in 2017: IA 31/12/2021 – FA 31/12/2022

2.6.3         Active arbiters with a last tournament in 2018: 31/12/2022

2.6.4         Active arbiters with a last tournament in 2019: 31/12/2023

2.6.5         Active arbiters with a last tournament in 2020: 31/12/2024

3.       Category A

Category A is the highest level of International Arbiters’ classification.

To be classified in Category A, Arbiters shall fulfil all of the following criteria:

3.1     They hold the International Arbiter title for at least five (5) years

3.2     Their arbiter status is “active”

3.3     They have shown excellent knowledge of the Laws of Chess and the Tournament Regulations and no punishments have been imposed to them during their activities as Arbiters.

3.4     They have been classified in Category B for at least two (2) years

3.5     They have acted as a Category B Chief Arbiter or Deputy Chief Arbiter in the last five (5) years with a positive evaluation:

a) in at least two (2) Category A Tournaments as listed in 1.3.1, or

b) in at least one (1) Category A Tournament as listed in 1.3.1 and three (3) Category B Tournaments as listed in 1.3.2.

4.       Category B

Category B is the second highest level of International Arbiters’ classification.

To be classified in Category B, Arbiters shall fulfil all of the following criteria:

4.1     They hold the International Arbiter title for at least three (3) years

4.2     Their arbiter status is “active”

4.3     They have shown excellent knowledge of the Laws of Chess and the Tournament Regulations and no punishments have been imposed to them during their activities as Arbiters.

4.4     They have been classified in the Category C for at least two (2) years

4.5     They have acted as a Category C Chief Arbiter or Deputy Chief Arbiter in the last five (5) years with a positive evaluation:

a) in at least two (2) Category B Tournaments as listed in 1.3.2, or

b) in at least one (1) Category B Tournament as listed in 1.3.2 and three (3) Category C Tournaments as listed in 1.3.3.

5.       Category C

Category C is the third highest level of International Arbiters’ classification.

To be classified in Category C, Arbiters shall fulfil all of the following criteria:

5.1     They hold the International Arbiter title for at least one (1) year

5.2     Their arbiter status is “active”

5.3     They have shown excellent knowledge of the Laws of Chess and the Tournament Regulations and no punishments have been imposed to them during their activities as Arbiters.

5.4     They have acted as an IA Category D Chief Arbiter or Deputy Chief Arbiter in the last five (5) years with a positive evaluation:

a) in at least two (2) Category C Tournaments as listed in 1.3.3, or

b) in at least one (1) Category C Tournament as listed in 1.3.3 and three (3) Category D Tournaments as listed in 1.3.4.

6.       Category D

Category D is assigned by default to any FA or IA.

7.       Application Procedure for the classification of IA and FA

7.1     The Arbiters’ Commission shall have the responsibility for the classification of IAs and FAs in the above-mentioned Categories.

7.2     Applications shall be submitted to the Arbiters’ Commission by the federation of the applicant as soon as possible after the latest event considered, using the Arbiter Classification Upgrade Form (IA3).

7.2.1         The application shall be submitted with the exact minimum number of required tournaments as described in Articles 3.5, 4.5 and 5.4.

7.3     All tournaments listed for the Category upgrade shall be different from tournaments already used for a previous category upgrade or title application and shall start after the last category upgrade or title award.

7.4     The National Federation is responsible for the registration fee.

7.4.1         If the applicant’s federation refuses to apply, the applicant can bring his case to the Arbiters’ Commission, who will investigate it.

7.4.2         If it is found that there is no sufficient reason for the refusal, the applicant can appeal to FIDE and apply (and pay) for the category himself.

8.       Appointment of IAs and FAs according to their Categories

The appointment of arbiters in World and Continental events shall respect consistency between the categories of arbiters and the high level of these tournaments.

8.1     Only IAs belonging to Category A or B shall be appointed as Chief Arbiters in World events.

8.2     Arbiters of National level shall not be appointed in World events without prior approval of the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission. The official appointment of National Arbiters may only happen in exceptional circumstances, however the Chief Arbiter may accept some of them in the playing hall as observers for educational purposes.

8.3     The following table indicates the appointment rules for IAs and FAs, depending on their Categories and the event.

* in the case of team events, arbiters in charge of the supervision of a single match

Legend:

A, B, C, D:        Minimum required categories of IAs and FAs in the tournament

Cat. A Trn:      Tournaments defined in Art. 1.3.1

Cat. B Trn:      Tournaments defined in Art. 1.3.2

Cat. C Trn:      Tournaments defined in Art. 1.3.3

Cat. D Trn:      Tournaments defined in Art. 1.3.4