So You Want to Organize a FIDE Event?

In this article we’ll switch hats from player to organizer and look at what needs to be done in order to organize a FIDE rated event (no title norms available). We’ll discuss first regular Swiss tournaments and then invitation based Round Robin tournaments.

One of the first requirements for having a FIDE rated event is to ensure you have enough FIDE rated players in your area because without a large prize fund it’s going to be hard to pull people in from out of town. In general I would say look for a ratio of 1 FIDE rated player per 2 non-FIDE rated players, and try to have at least 7-10 FIDE rated players. The reason for this is simple – the majority of players will not have scored their initial performance norm (see the first article in this series for information on this) thus these players will need to meet at least 3 FIDE rated players in a single event.

Next we have to look at the number of rounds and the time controls. I recommend no less than 4 rounds and no more than 6 rounds. In a weekend you can’t do more than 6 rounds really and anything less than 4 you may not give ample opportunity for non-FIDE rated players to meet FIDE rated players. Now FIDE has some rules regarding the maximum number of rounds per day – no more than 3 rounds in a single day. So you can do 4 leisurely rounds over 2 days, a Saturday with 3 rounds and Sunday with 2 rounds, or 3 rounds each day on Saturday and Sunday. You can even toss in a Friday night game if you wanted to. So, you get the picture.

Now we have to determine what time control to use. I’m a fan of increment and not delay. Some organizers don’t like increment because of round time predictability issues. I prefer it because delay doesn’t get rid of the ‘clock punching monkey’ approach to time trouble games. I like the 30-second increments and it’s what I advocate because then players have to continue taking notation even after they drop below 5 minutes.

But what about the base time? How much to start with? Well there are rules that must be followed. If there is a single person in the tournament with a rating of FIDE 2200 or higher, then the think time must be a minimum of 120 minutes. The 120 minutes minimum can be accomplished using a time control of Game-90 + 30/sec increment (FIDE calculates the base time using increment based on 60 moves so 60 moves * 30 seconds = 30 minutes, thus the 120 minute minimum think time is accomplished). If there is no one playing rated 2200+ FIDE but all are 1600+ FIDE then you can use a minimum think time of 90 minutes total. So for example Game-60 + 30/sec increment. For your reference see this link about the FIDE rating regulations - http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=11&view=category

What about a round robin (RR)? Well these are more time consuming to organize and it’s best to always organize a 9 round RR. For a RR event, you need 4 FIDE rated players and 6 non-FIDE rated players. This mix is the most ideal for the organizer wanting to expand the pool of FIDE rated players, because assuming that all non-FIDE rated players score 1 point or more (1 win or 2 draws) against ANYONE in the field (FIDE rated or not), then at the end of the event all non-FIDE rated players will have achieved a FIDE rating. I recommend that everyone you invite has approximately the same USCF rating, as this way you have a relatively solid idea that the 1 point minimum will be achieved. Now understand the dangers that lie within: if someone flakes out on your and disappears, the event gets rated under Swiss rules, or if one of the non-FIDE rated players does not score the requisite 1 point, then the event gets rated under Swiss rules. Know who you are inviting (trust me on this one!)!

For the past 2 years I’ve run an invitational tournament over Thanksgiving weekend with 2 sections using this formula. It’s helped us produce 22 new players (the reason it’s not 24 is because each year the second section had 5 unrated players each). I’m hoping myself to get this up to 4 sections this year because then we’re talking about exploding the number of FIDE rated players and it will help out organizers doing Swiss events (bigger player pool).

Well we’re not done yet. You also have to register the event a minimum of 30 days prior to its start. To do this you contact the USCF (Walter Brown – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) with the event name, time control, start date, end date, number of rounds, format (swiss, round robin, team). The USCF office will register the event with FIDE. If you don’t register in advance there are financial penalties.

Keep in mind also that on top of USCF rating fees there are also FIDE rating fees so you’ll have to budget for the additional fees. And if you run multiple sections that are FIDE rated, then each section will have its own FIDE rating fee and each section will have to be separately registered.

But wait – there’s more! You have to decide which pairing program to use – WinTD or SwissSys. Personally I recommend using Swiss Sys, because after you submit the tournament for USCF rating, you have to provide information to the USCF for submitting the event to FIDE, which is what color players played with. The best way of doing this is sending the Swiss Sys files to the USCF (through email of course) because Swiss Sys will allow the creation of the proper file format for uploading to the FIDE rating system (known as the Krause format). WinTD doesn’t do this and requires the USCF to do everything by hand.

Keep in mind that you’ll need a tournament director (arbiter in FIDE terms) to know the FIDE rules because that’s what you have to use. Run a FIDE rated tournament, live and die by FIDE rules, not USCF rules. The FIDE rules are all online so you can print them out. Additionally make sure that the tournament director has the proper USCF level of certification which is Senior TD or higher because a FIDE rated tournament is a Category I (International) tournament.

I like to add a personalized touch to tournaments where I provide the boards, sets, and clocks. Yes I know this is an added expense but it adds to the ambiance of the event. I believe that as an organizer, equipment should be provided. It simplifies the life for player and director/arbiter (only having to know how to deal with a single type of clock). People talk about it positively. Trust me on that one.

I highly recommend that if you’re interested in organizing these kinds of events, get with people that have done them before. There are always little gotchas that can’t be accounted for in an article such as this one.

Sevan A. Muradian is the owner of the North Shore Chess Center where he runs FIDE rated tournaments and FIDE title norm tournaments along with regular USCF rated events and where the Chicago Blaze US Chess League team plays out of. For more information visit the chess center website athttp://www.nachess.org/nscc