4. Executive / Officer Reports

[Lyle Craver]

Note to Executive and Officers: please label your reports according to the lettering given in the agenda

[Vladimir Drkulec]

Its hard to believe that it has been more than six years since I was first elected CFC president. It always feels like there is so much to do and so little time to do it. Much remains to be done and we have our issues though one can't help but think how far we have come. In March Hal Bond and I attended the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance conference in Ottawa. The previous year, Fred McKim and I attended the same conference in Halifax. Those two conferences which at least in part arose out of our recognition by the Canadian Olympic Committee as the national sports federation for chess after their reorganization under the Canadian NFP act have certainly made the job of the executive much easier. Instead of begging organizers to take on our flagship events we now have communities coming to us with sponsorship opportunities. At one time we had to consider paying organizers to organize tournaments like the Canadian Closed and Women's Closed and now we have stable four year sponsorships in the case of Kingston and other communities looking for ongoing relationships with the CFC. We could probably mine the contacts from those two CSTA conferences for the next decade and we probably will. The CMA's bid for the 2019 NAYCC even benefited from our contacts and received some sponsorship though we were a bit late to that party because of delays at FIDE America in awarding the tournament. Every bit helps and Larry Bevand reports that the CMA did not lose money hosting the tournament.

Three communities have expressed strong interest in hosting the Canadian Open and Canadian Youth Chess Championship in 2021. They are Victoriaville, Quebec, Hamilton, Ontario and Durham Region (Whitby, Ontario and surrounding region). Next year's CYCC/CO will be in Mississauga. The FQE has indicated that Montreal is interested in bidding on the 2024 CYCC/CO.

Halifax, Nova Scotia has bid on the 2020 Canadian Seniors. The executive has accepted their bid for next summer as part of a festival which could become a recurring event.

Memberships and rated games have gone up year over year and once again we have a healthy surplus. I won't steal Fred McKim's thunder but the financial results are good for this fiscal year and will hopefully be even better next year.

We have new management at FIDE and things seem to be gaining momentum there as well.

[Pierre Dénommée]

As you may recall, some Zonal had only 8 participants, thus negating title by registration to everybody. Organiser in Quebec are convinced that any attempt to hold a non-zonal Canadian Women Championship is doom to failure.

The most important change in Woman's chess came from FIDE. Our current Canadian Women Champion, Maili jade-Ouelet, did get the opportunity to represent us at the World Championship https://ratings.fide.com/tournament_report.phtml?event16=201643&t=0 and at the Olympiad https://ratings.fide.com/individual_calculations.phtml?idnumber=2620472&rating_period=2018-11-01&t=0 . So we can have the next Zonal in Kingston during the next Easter break. We have a precedent of not holding a Women Zonal until the incumbent had a chance to represent Canada internationally. I am glad to report that we will not be facing this problem.

FIDE has completely changed the way that the Women World Championship will be held. What used to be the knockout WCC has been renamed the Women's knockout World Cup. All persons qualified for the knocout WCC are automatically qualified for the Women's World Cup but loose may loose their qualification for the Women's World Championship. The prize fund of the World Cup cannot be less then the current prize fund of the knockout WCC. There will be a Women's Candidate tournament and a Women Grand Prix to qualify for it. Zonals no longer means anything for the Women's Candidate Tournament https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=213&view=article . It is too late to do anything about this cycle, but if the CFC wants our Women's Zonal to qualify someone for the Candidate Tournament, it will have to complain to FIDE.

For our current players, it is important to understand to the next Zonal will likely qualify one Women for the World Cup and for the Olympiad. The Qualification for the Women's Candidates Tournament or the Women's Chess Championship can no longer be obtained in this manner.

Thanks to Aris Marghettis, the future of the Zonal is safe for many years.

I am willing to strand for reelection.

Respectfully Submitted
Pierre Dénommée

[Hal Bond]

FIDE Report to the 2019 AGM

Once again it has been an honour and a privilege to serve as Canada’s FIDE Representative this past year. I will be standing for re-election and I hope the incoming VMs can support me.

The first year of FIDE leadership under President Arkady Dvorkovich is drawing to a close. A number of new initiatives have been introduced and the overall tone is quite positive. All Federations are awaiting the announcement for an Extraordinary General Assembly this year in order to review and vote on the new Charter, which is proposed to replace the existing statutes. A draft of the Charter has been distributed to all Federations and we are in the early stages of discussing it.
One of their priorities has been to introduce more sustainable sponsorship into the FIDE business model instead of user fees. This is a noble goal if it can be achieved. I have been serving on the Planning and Development Commission, where a substantial budget of €3 million has been allocated. To date the work has involved the review of funding applications from less affluent Federations, and this work continues.

Player Titles:

We have had a number of title norms earned this year. No new title applications have been submitted since my report in December 2018.

Arbiter Titles:

Aris Marghetis is now a B classification IA and a licenced FIDE lecturer. Congratulations Aris for your diligence and your patience in serving the required 5 year period to achieve this upgrade. Congratulations to Diana Tsypina for completing the requirements for her IA title. Vadim Tyspin has completed the norms necessary for the title of FIDE Lecturer, and a classification upgrade to level B as an International Arbiter. Both of these applications has also been submitted and are subject to time served. Congratulations Vadim!

Transfers:

To date I have submitted a total of 7 player transfers to FIDE this year. Each transfer generally involves a number of emails with the applicants prior to the actual application. A substantial fee of €250 is charged by FIDE for all transfers. The Qualification Commission deals with these transfers and is proposing to reduce this fee to €50 within the year.
One recurring complication with these transfers is that players may not realize that they have registered with FIDE under a foreign flag when they attend an international event on foreign soil. This has created some frustration, particularly with youth players who want to play in our national championship. I am working with our Youth Co-ordinator Christina Tao on this issue.

FIDE Tournaments:

Our Zonal Championship was successfully organized by Aris Marghetis this year in Kingston. Congratulations to our new champion, GM Evgeny Bareev and best of luck to him at the upcoming World Cup. Next year our Women’s Zonal Championship is also scheduled for Kingston during the Easter weekend. These events figure prominently in the selection of our Olympic team which will compete in Khanty Mansiysk next year.

Thank you to CMA for successfully organizing the NAYCC in Kingston this year. Our next turn will be in 2022. Organizers take note!

This concludes my report. You are welcome to contact me at halbond@sympatico.ca anytime. Some periods are busier than others, so will reply as quickly as I can.
Respectfully Submitted
Hal Bond
FIDE Zone 2.2 President and Delegate, Canada

[Michael Barron]

Thank you, Hal, for your work as FIDE Representative!
Could you please clarify:
What are requirements for a TD to have his tournament FIDE rated?
How to achieve the necessary certification?

[Vladimir Drkulec]

Thank you, Hal, for your work as FIDE Representative!
Could you please clarify:
What are requirements for a TD to have his tournament FIDE rated?
How to achieve the necessary certification?

For simple FIDE rating of a non-norm tournament, all that is required is a National Arbiter title. You have to talk to Hal as there is paperwork at FIDE and the CFC. Normally this title would go to someone who has directed multiple tournaments over a number of years.

[Michael Barron]

For simple FIDE rating of a non-norm tournament, all that is required is a National Arbiter title. You have to talk to Hal as there is paperwork at FIDE and the CFC. Normally this title would go to someone who has directed multiple tournaments over a number of years.

Thank you, Vlad!
GTCL would like to organize more FIDE rated tournaments, and we need more Arbiters able to do that.
We will contact Hal for details.

[Vladimir Drkulec]

Thank you, Vlad!
GTCL would like to organize more FIDE rated tournaments, and we need more Arbiters able to do that.
We will contact Hal for details.

I am sure that there are many TDs that would qualify. I believe you need a nine round tournament before norms are possible so the bulk of the tournaments would not require anything more than a National Arbiter.

[Pierre Dénommée]

Thank you, Vlad!
GTCL would like to organize more FIDE rated tournaments, and we need more Arbiters able to do that.
We will contact Hal for details.

Your question emphasised the fact that the CFC has neither lectures nor examinations for any of the traditional levels of LTD and RTD.

Only the FQE has a 4 levels system of arbiters' certifications with lecture and examinations available only in French. I have recently improved the system by adding the possibility to take examinations remotely by Internet.

[Paul Leblanc]

The annual report for the fiscal year ending on 30 April 2019 was submitted to the CFC last month. Highlights:
total equity $347,442. Previous year $330,181
income paid to the CFC $12,418.42. Previous year $11,183.89
life memberships sold $8,730. Previous year $7,020
The income paid to the CFC includes $923.00 allocated to the Pugi Fund. Previous year $923.00
Don't forget to include the Chess Foundation in your estate planning. Contact me for details.
Paul Leblanc
Treasurer, Chess Foundation of Canada
CFC Rating Auditor
CFC Governor

[Paul Leblanc]

Average rating of all players rated over 1200 is 1700. 10 year high is 1750 (in June 2013). 10 year low is 1690 (in June 2018)
Average rating of all players is 1240. 10 year high is 1440 (in March 2013). 10 year low is 1140 (in June 2009)
Median rating of top 100 players is 2370. 10 year high is 2370 (in June 2019). 10 year low is 2330 (in June 2009)

The system is fairly stable. The median rating of the top 100 is at the uppermost level of the 10 year average and bears watching.
Similarly, the average rating of all players rated over 1200 is near the lowermost level of the 10 year average and bears watching.

Reminders to TDs:
For new CFC members or CFC members with more accurate FIDE, FQE or USCF ratings please ensure that the more accurate ratings are used in the submission to the CFC.
Forfeited games that are submitted for rating are scored as a win. Forfeited games that are not to be rated are scored as a forfeit.
Follow the handbook guidance when determining if an event is to be rated Regular or Active.
CFC members who are active in another Federation where they have significantly higher ratings may apply to have their CFC rating adjusted accordingly. I will consider each application on its merit.

[Pierre Dénommée]

FIDE Report to the 2019 AGM

All Federations are awaiting the announcement for an Extraordinary General Assembly this year in order to review and vote on the new Charter, which is proposed to replace the existing statutes. A draft of the Charter has been distributed to all Federations and we are in the early stages of discussing it.


When will this draft be made public ? The more we see it, the more comments FIDE will get.

[Vladimir Drkulec]

When will this draft be made public ? The more we see it, the more comments FIDE will get.

We also got a Microsoft Word file of the charter but it is the same as the pdf and I can't post Word files on our forum.

[Pierre Dénommée]

Thank you!

[Pierre Dénommée]

This new Constitution is very professional.

For now, I have only one question, do the Commissions loose their independence ? Under the actual Constitution, FIDE cannot change the Laws of Chess without a proposal from the Rules' Commission. The new wording define the Commission as having only delegated powers and a consultative role. From whom do they receive a delegation, the GA, the Council or both ? If the Commissions are supervised by the Council and coordinated by the Management Board, how much freedom do they have to reach their own decisions ?

29.2 Non-Elected Commissions are supervised by the Council and coordinated by the Management Board and can only have delegated or advisory competences.
29.3 Non-Elected Commissions shall address to the Council regular periodical reports and proposals.