82nd FIDE Congress

The 82nd FIDE Congress, which I mentioned in No Nose for FIDE News, is over and while it might be a few months before we see an official report from FIDE, there are unofficial reports available from several sources. A glance at the agenda -- Executive Board 2011 Agenda and Annexes (7 September 2011) -- reveals dozens of topics ranging from the Commission on Modernisation to bids for future FIDE events like the annual World Youth Championship.

The Congress had its own website, 82nd Fide Congress, 15-22 Oct 2011, Krakow (fidecongress2011.pl). There I was particularly pleased to find a page on the History of FIDE Congresses, including a list of FIDE Congresses 1924-2011 (PDF), which I once constructed myself as support for my zonal project (see Posts with label Zonals on my World Chess Championship blog.

The U.S. sent a large contingent, all of whom reported on the USCF's own site. In chronological order:-

• Bill Hall on the FIDE Congress in Poland • Hall is the USCF's Executive Director.
• Francisco Guadalupe on the FIDE Congress • Guadalupe is the U.S. Zonal President.
• Tony Rich on the 82nd FIDE Congress
• Walter Brown on the 82nd FIDE Congress
• Sophia Rohde on the 82nd FIDE Congress
• According to Kirsan: A Billion Clever People • By Michael Khodarkovsky, FIDE Delegate for the USCF.
• USCF President Ruth Haring Wraps Up 82nd Fide Congress

Hall's report starts with a photo of six of the seven delegates and lists their names and functions. Sevan Muradian was another attendee from the U.S. For various reasons, he is not a typical USCF representative and I mentioned him in a report on the most recent USCF election, Odd Man Out, where he eventually failed in his bid. Muradian also issued a series of reports on the Congress, but posted them on the 'USCF Issues' section of the 'USCF Forums', which is open to USCF members only. I list them here because they are generally more informative than the reports from the USCF delegates and provoked more online discussion.

• Off to Krakow for the FIDE Congress
• FIDE Congress: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 - Meeting Overflows
• FIDE EB Meeting: Day 1 Part 1, Day 1 Part 2, Day 2

The 'FIDE EB' is the Executive Board. Muradian mentions that he filmed the EB meeting and promised to upload it to Youtube. One of FIDE's current initiatives is the imposition of new fees for various services. As far as I can tell, little progress was made during the latest Congress.

• 82nd FIDE Congress: Dutch fears allayed • Chessvibes.com

It's an issue which is sure to return for the 83rd Congress, which will be held at the same time as the next Olympiad, scheduled for Istanbul, Turkey, starting August 2012.

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Later: I overlooked at least one new fee. From the chessexpress blog, FIDE Arbiter Fees:

One thing that was passed at the recent FIDE Congress was fees for Arbiters. Not fees that Arbiters receive, but the fees arbiters have to pay to receive their accreditation.

The post later notes that the 'fees don't come into effect until the 1st January 2013'.