Yes, it is just an attempt to catch duplicates. Leong's plan was, as you might expect, far more intrusive, requiring a copy of a passport page before anyone was allowed to play in a rated tournament. He even managed to slip this into the regulations before it was caught, but like most of his schemes it has for now been kicked into touch.PeterFarr wrote:Having D.O.B. is a reasonable request from a FIDE rating point of view isn't it? It provides a simple guard against mistaken identity, and may also help (a little) in anti-cheating measures.Phil Neatherway wrote:Do you know of any such cases? Personally, I don't but perhaps I don't know enough players to for my experience to be a meaningful sample.
One might also ask if it's really worth a team taking on a player who is so precious as to refuse to reveal their date of birth?
There isn't even anything very new here. For years, it has been impossible for a rating officer to complete a rating report without providing a date of birth for new players. It doesn't have to be right, and in many cases is not. All that seems to have happened is that the point at which this is done has been moved forward to the date of registration.