Whilst at the WYCC 2013 held in Al Ain, UAE I'd attended an IO Seminar conducted by IO Theodorus Tsorbatzpglou ( Theo for short) who is the Secretary for FIDE's Events Commission.
It was an eye-opener for me in the sense that what is laid down by FIDE might not be the reality on the grounds in the local environment and/or FIDE-rated events which either the kids or I had been exposed to in Malaysia(KL, Penang, Kedah & Johor), Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates. The opportunity to network was an added bonus. (Read
HERE &
HERE2 )
Having passed the examinations ( FIDE Official
RESULTS ), a natural progression is to put what have been learned at the IO Seminar into practice and secure IO norms in order to qualify as an IO. Theo highlighted the fact that in future (IF its not already happening now) countries or federations wanting to bid for certain events must have an IO to co-sign the bid document.
Based on xxxx, a person aspiring to be an IO must have organised at least 3 International competitions involving players from 3 different federations.
In January, I'd approached FM Peter Long ( also an IA and FT ) who's organising the KL Interntional Open of my intention to secure an IO norm. He agreed to allow me to come on board the organising Committee (Read
HERE). For the opportunity given by Peter, I must put on record my appreciation for the opportunity given. The way I see it, it's better to learn (and along the way secure a 2nd IO norm) from an event of international standing rather than to just simply pick a convenient event for norm purposes but having learned nothing. Amir Faiz was "sent to war" at the tender age of 4years 11 months so to speak at the 2012 NAG despite people saying he's not ready and I don't see why i should hold myself to a lower standard.
This blog serves a a few purposes, namely:-
(1) For me TO NOTE what needs to be done when organising a FIDE-rated International chess competition;
(2) Just as important is to ENSURE what have been done is in accordance to the Guidelines laid down by FIDE as per Seminar attended in WYCC 2013;
(3) COMPARE NOTES & NETWORK with other aspiring IOs in pursuit of IO Norms; and,
(4) ENCOURAGE comments/suggestions from IOs and/or aspiring IOs specifically and the chess fraternity generally on how things can be done better for future events.
