 |
 |
Editor: Dr Tim Harding |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Editor: Dr Tim Harding |
|
|
|
|
|
|
© Dr Tim Harding
Last modified:
8 November 2022
We have now a separate information page for Irish officials and arbiters. Good news is that an Irish FIDE Arbiter officiated at the Chennai olympiad this year. The ICU will also be running their second FIDE Arbiters training course, at Colaiste Eanna, Rathfarnham, on the weekend 9-11 December. This will be conducted by International Arbiter Alex McFarlane (Scotland) who ran our first one in 2020. There are still places available.
The FIDE Arbiters Commission have released the 2022 edition of its Arbiter Manual which you can download from this website or from FIDE.
There are only small changes since the 2021 edition but compared with the 2020 edition (prepared by a previous editor), there are two new chapters. One deals with online regulations including a section by Ken Regan about his anti-cheating tool.
We recommend all arbiters and tournament organisers to read that chapter immediately and refresh their memory by working through the rest of the manual carefully before officiating in any tournaments this year.
Tim Harding will be chief arbiter at the 2022 Irish Women's Championship in late June. Tim became a FIDE Arbiter following the ratification of title applications at June 2020's quarterly FIDE Council (held online).
Tim received his certificate from FIDE on 10 August 2020 but, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, had to await until October 2021 for his firstopportunity to act in this capacity.
Tim's FA title is shown on his FIDE Profile and on the list of arbiters by country posted by the Arbiters Commission.
Previously, in September 2018 Tim became a FIDE-licensed National Arbiter, having completed his qualification in August 2018. He immediately began the process of earning norms for the much more important FIDE Arbiter title.
As a FIDE Arbiter Tim is qualified to act as a chief arbiter or deputy arbiter in most classes of tournament in which international titles may be earned. National Arbiters are qualified to run FIDE-rated non-title tournaments and officiate as an assistant at more important events.
Tim's final qualification was earned when the Irish Chess Union organised a FIDE Arbiter Seminar, early in 2020, which was conducted by International Arbiter and FIDE lecturer Alex McFarlane from Scotland. Attending one of these and passing the exam with a score of at least 80 per cent is an essential requirement, and Tim passed top of the class with a score in the 90s.
Nine of the 16 the candidates attending the seminar passed the exam; one was an Italian IA doing the course as a referesher and one was a Norwegian arbiter. Two of the non-Irish arbiters who passed the exam are actually resident here.
Tim intends to resume arbiting in the second half of 2021 or at latest 2022 in order to work towards the highest title of International Arbiter. This can only happen when over-the-board chess is able to return to something like normal.