USCF FIDE TEAM

Advisory Report

February 7, 2002

Don Schultz - Chair

GM Larry Evans

Carol Jarecki

Eric Johnson

 Larry Parr

Tim Redman

Robert Tanner

            1.0 General

1.1 USCF FIDE Team

1.2 Nominations

                        1.3 Notification

1.4 Expenses

     2.0 Commissions and Positions

2.1 Key FIDE Commissions

2.2 Key FIDE Position

2.3 Other Commissions and Positions

                2.31 Chess Collectors International

                        2.32 Chess Journalists of America

                        2.33 Other

            3.0  Policies

3.1   Rules Commission

3.2   Swiss Pairing Commission

3.3   Rating System

3.4   Qualification Commission

3.5   Ethics Commission

3.6   USCF Zonal Status

3.7   The Americas

3.8   Chess Journalists International

3.9   General Guidelines

3.10 World Championship Format

    4.0 Job Descriptions

                                    4.1 USCF FIDE Delegate

                                    4.2 USCF Zonal President

                                    4.3 USCF FIDE Vice President

1.0 General

 

1.1 USCF FIDE Team: The USCF FIDE Team is composed of those USCF members nominated or endorsed by the USCF to represent USCF and credentialed by FIDE to participate in the annual FIDE Congress.

 

1.2 Nominations: Well in advance of the FIDE meeting and generally at the May or August USCF EB meeting, the EB names USCF candidates for FIDE Commissions and positions. In accordance with FIDE procedures these nominations are subsequently sent to FIDE.

 

1.3 Notification: Unfortunately, none of the following policies, all of which seem obvious, have ever been fully followed in the past. We recommend that the EB and the FIDE Delegate be charged to make sure all members of the USCF FIDE Team:

a)   Indicate a willingness to serve before being nominated.

b)   Be promptly notified if he/she is elected or appointed to a post.

c)   Agree to support the wishes of both the USCF EB and USCF Delegate

d)   Write a report on any FIDE meeting he/she attends.

1.            1.4 Expenses: Expenses of members of the USCF FIDE Team, except for the USCF FIDE Delegate and  Zonal President, are not covered by the USCF.

2.0 Commissions and Positions

          2.1 Key Commissions: Over the year, the USCF has played a leadership role on FIDE’s technical commissions: Qualifications, Title and Ratings and Rules. This leadership has proven to be of value to USCF interests. We recommend the Executive Board continue to seek out technical experts to represent the USCF on these commissions.

          2.2 Key FIDE Position: Having a USCF official serve as FIDE Vice President offers opportunities to influence FIDE decision making but also to keep abreast of the latest developments in FIDE. The USCF EB should support continuance of having one of its own in this position.

          2.3 Other Commissions and Positions:

 2.31 General: Representation on FIDE Commissions and offices is helpful to USCF interests. Therefore in addition to the key commissions named above, at the October FIDE elections in Slovenia, the USCF should nominate candidates for the following FIDE Commissions and offices: Organizers, Ethics, Chess-in-Schools, CACDEC, Verification, World Championship and Continental Board-Americas.

             2.32 The advice regarding representation on other FIDE Commissions of interest to friendly USCF chess organizations should be sought from those organizations. We therefore recommend that the USCF Advisory Committee be asked to prepare letters from the USCF President to the following organizations requesting such advice: 

a)   To CHESS Collectors International (CCI), asking them if CCI would like to have one of their members represent the USCF interests on FIDE’s Chess Art and Exhibition Commission. 

b)   The Chess Journalist Association (CJA) asking them if CJA would like to have one of their members represent the USCF interests on FIDE’s Chess Journalists Commission (CHIPS). 

c)   The Scholastic Council, College Chess Committee and USCF’s Chess-in-Education Committee asking them if they are interested in having one of their members represent the USCF interests on FIDE’s Youth and Junior Events Committee and/or FIDE’s Chess-in-Schools Commission. 

3.0 Policies:

             3.1 Rules Commission: The USCF commission member should: (a) bring to the FIDE table USCF rules which can be advantageous at the world level and (b) bring to the USCF table FIDE rules that we ought to consider adopting. 

              3.2 Swiss Pairing Commission: The USCF member should: (a) bring to the FIDE table those USCF pairing methods which can be advantageous at the world level and (b) bring to the USCF table those FIDE pairing methods that we ought to consider adopting.

              3.3 Rating System: The USCF Rating System is vital to USCF interests and the USCF FIDE Team should make certain through their work with all FIDE Commissions and affiliates such as the Organizers Commission and FIDE Commerce that there is no competition between FIDE ratings and USCF ratings.

             3.4 Qualification Commission: The role of the USCF representative(s) on the Qualification Commission is to make this body unnecessary by producing clear criteria for titles so that political intervention becomes far more difficult.

            3.5  Ethics Commission: The FIDE Team and especially the American representatives on the Ethics Committee should address the outrageous political interference that has become the norm in FIDE governance. A shining example of this is the reinstatement of the GM title for Romanian Alexandru Crisan.

          3.6 USCF Zone Status: USCF’s one country zone status has proven invaluable in preserving the US Championship as world championship qualifying event and in such matters as giving USCF automatic status on the important qualification commission. Therefore, the USCF FIDE team should do whatever it takes to preserve USCF’s one country zone status.

             3.7 The Americas: Currently, the FIDE world is divided into four continental areas: Africa, Asia, Europe and The Americas. The trend in FIDE is to provide financial feedback to these continents under the governance of a FIDE Deputy President elected by the member nations of that continent. Because of distances, conditions and language differences, many continental championships, particularly youth events, are not attended by USCF players. In order to have better control over the allocation of the financial feedback from FIDE and to increase USCF participation in continental events, we recommend that our FIDE team seek the breakout of the FIDE Americas Continent into North and South Continents dividing as much as possible island nations between the two along language lines.

             3.8 Chess Journalists International: The USCF FIDE team should work with  national chess federations towards replacing FIDE’s CHIPS Commission with a Chess Journalists International organization similar in nature to the Chess Journalists of America (having its own officers, bylaws etc.).

             3.9 General Guidelines: The role of USCF representative(s) on the FIDE commissions should be: 1) To produce clearly written rules that cut politicization to the minimum;  2) To demand and work toward professionalization of minute taking so that political intervention is eliminated entirely and 3) To publicly and privately work to undo drug-testing of chess players.

             3.10 World Championship Format: We recommend that the FIDE team actively lobby to change the world championship format back to the traditional system of match play and time controls.

 4.0 Job Descriptions

             4.1 USCF Delegate to FIDE:

         Unless the USCF President is present, the USCF FIDE Delegate is the leader of USCF FIDE Team at the annual FIDE Delegate Meetings. He is responsible to carry out the wishes of the USCF Delegates as expressed at the annual delegates meeting, and to carry out the wishes of the EB as expressed to him by the EB. If matters arise in which there has been no advance guidance he seeks the advice of other members of the USCF FIDE Team and then decides on how to proceed.

Prior to the FIDE Meetings, he highlights FIDE issues to the EB and relevant USCF Committees requesting their advice and in the case of the EB request any special direction.

At FIDE meetings, he makes and speaks to motions of importance to the USCF, chairs a caucus with USCF FIDE team members to assure (a) all appropriate USCF matters are addressed, (b) that the USCF has broad representation at the committee meetings, (c) that all USCF FIDE Team members understand the USCF position on all matters that will be brought before the FIDE Congress and (d) meets with like-minded FIDE delegates to advance USCF interests.

Well in advance of the FIDE meeting and generally at the May or August USCF EB meeting, he recommends USCF candidates for FIDE Commissions and positions, obtains Board approval for the nominees and submits the USCF nominations to FIDE.

Within one month after attending a FIDE meeting, he sends the EB a meeting report highlighting significant decisions and actions taken at the meeting.

He prepares an annual FIDE report on FIDE matters for the USCF Delegates Call and presents it at the annual USCF delegates meeting.

He chairs the FIDE workshop at the USCF annual delegates meeting.

Between FIDE meetings, on matters of international significance, he advises the USCF EB and appropriate USCF officers and committees.

He prepares an annual report on the state of international chess for Chess Life.

 4.2 USCF Zonal President

         The US Zonal President is the number two person on the USCF team at the annual FIDE meeting. If matters arise in which there has been no advance guidance he advises the USCF delegate on what course of action is required. As a permanent member of the Qualifications Commission he has the lead USCF responsibility in matters pertaining to qualification matters and the world championship. It is expected that he will make himself available to serve on the Continental Board of the Americas.

At FIDE meetings, he makes and speaks to motions of importance to the USCF, attends a caucus with USCF FIDE team members to assure (a) all appropriate USCF matters are addressed, (b) that the USCF has broad representation at the committee meetings, (c) that all USCF FIDE Team members understand the USCF position on all matters that will be brought before the FIDE Congress and (d) meets with like-minded FIDE delegates to advance USCF interests.

Within one month after attending a FIDE meeting, he sends the EB a meeting report highlighting significant decisions and actions taken at the meeting.

He prepares an annual FIDE report on FIDE matters for the USCF Delegates Call and presents it at the annual USCF delegates meeting.

He participates the FIDE workshop at the USCF annual delegates meeting and in the absence of the USCF FIDE Delegate chairs the meeting

Between FIDE meetings, on matters of international significance, he advises the USCF EB and appropriate USCF officers and committees. 

     4.3 USCF FIDE Vice President

     The FIDE Vice President position differs from the USCF Delegate and USCF Zonal President positions in that it is not guaranteed that the holder of this position will be from the USCF, the FIDE Vice President is a member of the FIDE Presidential Board (PB) and all travel and other job expenses are paid by FIDE. 

In general, the responsibilities are similar to that of an USCF Executive Board member- finances, personnel, confidential issues re personnel etc, staffing, policy, chess policy, etc.

However, as a nominee of the USCF, the USCF FIDE Vice President also represents the interests of the USCF at all FIDE meetings, attends a caucus with USCF FIDE team members to assure (a) all appropriate USCF matters are addressed, (b) that the USCF has broad representation at the committee meetings, (c) that all USCF FIDE team members understand the USCF position on all matters that will be brought before the FIDE Congress and (d) meets with like-minded FIDE delegates to advance USCF interests.

Within one month after attending a FIDE meeting, he sends the EB a meeting report highlighting significant decisions and actions taken at the meeting.

            As needed and on a timely basis, he alerts the EB to significant and major items that require their action.

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