Opportunities for Arbiters in 2020

[David Sedgwick]

Alan Atkinson, the new ECF Manager of Arbiters (see https://www.englishchess.org.uk/new-ecf ... -arbiters/) has published the following announcement at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/opportu ... s-in-2020/:

Opportunities for Arbiters in 2020

To: English FIDE Licensed International Arbiters and FIDE Arbiters:

44th Olympiad and European Chess Union Events

FIDE have recently announced a call of interest for arbiters to officiate at the 44th Olympiad in Moscow from 5th August 2020 to 18th August 2020. Please see https://www.fide.com/news/278 and https://arbiters.fide.com/.

The main roles available will be Match Arbiter and Anti-Cheating Arbiter. A small number of highly experienced arbiters may wish to consider applying for appointment as a Sector Arbiter.

Separately, the European Chess Union have announced a call of interest for arbiters for all ECU events in 2020, This involves the completion of an online form. Please see https://arbiters.europechess.org/call-of-interest/.

Your attention is drawn to the tight deadline of Friday 10th January which applies in both cases.

Alan Atkinson, ECF Manager of Arbiters

[David Sedgwick]

I should like to comment briefly.

Opportunities for arbiters from outside the host country to officiate at official World and Continental events have hitherto been rare and the selection processes have not always been entirely objective.

This came to a head in 2018 when the initial list of African arbiters chosen for the Batumi Olympiad gave rise to official protests. Please see https://africachessmedia.com/2018/08/22 ... -olympiad/. To be fair, the complaints were subsequently addressed.

While we still cannot expect a large number of English arbiters to be appointed for these events, I welcome the fact that we now have clearer and more formal procedures.

[Roger de Coverly]

Opportunities for arbiters from outside the host country to officiate at official World and Continental events have hitherto been rare and the selection processes have not always been entirely objective.

The newsletter of the Arbiters' Association gives some background.

http://aekphotography.co.uk/CAA/AMToo33.pdf

Tales of arbiter howlers are legion and this year’s event added to the list. In one match an arbiter with the FA title stepped into a game after move 75 by stopping the clock and declaring the game drawn under the 75 move rule –or at least their personal strange variation of it. The arbiter had completely misunderstood the rule regarding a position which had occurred for that number of moves without a piece being take nor a pawn moved.