I was going to blog about this at some point, but today I received an email from the presenter of the FIDE Arbiters Seminar run by the Asian Chess Federation in August this year, confirming that I had passed the exam and would be awarded one norm towards the FIDE Arbiter (FA) title at the next FIDE Council.
In order to be awarded the FA title you must (there are some small variations here, so what follows is generally the case):
Be a National Arbiter (nominated by your national chess governing body)
Be the chief or deputy arbiter in 3 FIDE sanctioned events, one of which must be a round robin (3 norms)
Attend a FIDE Arbiters Seminar and pass the related exam (1 norm)
So the first and last of those requirements is out the way - I became a National Arbiter in February this year and have now attended the (18 hours over 3 days) course and passed the relevant exam.
I will be the deputy arbiter at the New Zealand Chess Congress in January 2022 (in Christchurch) and should earn 2 norms from that as there is a rapid play champ event as well as the main championships.
That will leave me needing to be an arbiter at a round robin event in order to get the FA title, hopefully an opportunity will present itself next year.
Once the FA title is secure then the International Arbiter (IA) title will be next on my list!
FIDE Arbiters Manual 2021 - some reading for those players wanting to know the ins and outs of the rules of chess and arbiting!
