In Part 1 and Part 2 we discussed how to prepare a FIDE event, and how to run it.
Let’s wrap up our series on reporting requirements for FIDE-rated events. Now we discuss what to do after your event has ended.
TLDR: all “paperwork” goes through US Chess!
Norm check
In a round robin norm event, you’ll immediately know if any players have secured a title norm, since they either reached the required score (based on their opponent’s ratings) or did not.
In a Swiss tournament, calculate player performance ratings to check if they earned a norm or not. GM: 2600; IM: 2450; WGM: 2400; WIM: 2250.
[Think “5-4-3” for a 9 round tournament; the norm-seeker faced at least: 5 titled players (GM/WGM, IM/WIM, FM/WFM); 4 non-USA players if from USA (otherwise 3 non-USA players); and 3 opponents with the title they are seeking, or a higher one — GM > IM > WGM > WIM.]
Once you know if any players earned a title norm, print out IT1 forms. The same form is used for all player norm types, whether GM, IM, WGM, or WIM. Remember: the FM/WFM and CM/WCM titles don’t require norms.
Swiss-Manager creates a perfect IT1 form in Excel that you can just print without filling anything out. As far as I know, SwissSys does not do this, which means you need to enter all information manually — the event info, player’s info, and the names, federations, FIDE IDs, and ratings of all opponents.
Sign and date the completed certificates and scan them into your computer as PDFs. We’ll need them soon.
It’s also nice to take pictures with the Organizer and norm earners holding their certificates. Believe it or not, when I first became a FIDE Arbiter, I looked forward to this more than anything else!
Don’t forget about Arbiter norms (FA or IA) for any assistants you may have, and an International Organizer (IO) norm for the Chief Organizer if everything went well. FIDE Arbiter norms require an FA1 form, International Arbiter norms an IA1 form, and International Organizer norms the IO1 form.
Arbiters: If you’re interested in serving as a Deputy Arbiter to earn FA or IA norms at our events in New York, contact me or send an email to nycchessnorms@gmail.com. Note: NAs are unpaid, FAs may potentially be paid.
Rating the Tournament
For US Chess
If you entered all USCF and FIDE IDs into SwissSys before the event, you’re ready to rate the event for USCF.
There’s nothing different about this process than any other USCF event, except for telling SwissSys which sections are FIDE-rated.
Oh yeah…and listing the TDs appropriately.
First, only active IAs, FAs, and NAs are allowed to be listed as TDs for FIDE-rated events.
For FIDE events, you need one Chief Arbiter, can have up to two Deputy Chiefs, and can have other Sector Arbiters and Arbiters below them. You can also name pairing and anti-cheating arbiters, but this is normally only done for really big or prestigious tournaments.
The Chief Arbiter needs to be the same as the Chief TD in the USCF report.
The Deputy Chiefs correspond to the Chief Assistant and Section Chief in the USCF report.
Other Arbiters you can list as section assistants, etc. in the USCF report.
For FIDE
This part is easy. Just send the final SwissSys file to the US Chess FIDE Events Manager (see below). For a round robin this would be the .SRR file; for a Swiss it would be the .S9C file (for a nine-round tournament). He will create the FIDE rating report from that.
PGN files
Enter all the games you need to send (Round robin: all games; Swiss: games from any norm earners). We’ll need it soon.
Emails
I send one email per FIDE-rated section to the FIDE Events Manager (Brian Yang). For example:
Subject: ACME Invitational – GM A (Event Code: 987654)
In it, I include:
-
- The final SwissSys file (.SRR or .S9C)
- The PGN file with all games from that section
- Whether any norms were earned — player, arbiter, organizer
- A promise to send any norm certificates earned in separate emails
Then I send one email for each norm earned (if any), for example:
Subject: Jane Doe IT1: ACME Invitational – GM A
“Dear Brian,
What happens next?
First, you’ll see that your tournament has been rated by USCF.
Later, you’ll get confirmation that the FIDE Events Manager has received your SwissSys files and all is well with those. He’ll notify you when your event has been posted to FIDE for rating, and also confirm receipt of any norm certificates you sent.
When he signs the norms and affixes the USCF seal, he’ll send them to Baira Marilova at the FIDE Elista Office, who will later confirm when she has posted the norms online.
And that’s it! You made it through your first FIDE-rated event as Chief Arbiter. It’s a lot of work, so price your services accordingly…
Thanks for staying with me through this series! Was there anything I missed? Let me know!