218th Internet Based FIDE Arbiters’ Seminar (RSA)
The 218th Internet-based FIDE Arbiters’ Seminar is going to be organized from 19/03/2026 to 28/03/2026 by the Chess South Africa, under the auspices of FIDE.
The Lecturer will be IA Gunther, van den Bergh (RSA), FIDE Lecturer.
The language of the Seminar will be English.
The Seminar will give norms and titles of FIDE Arbiter, according to the Regulations for the titles of Arbiters.
Schedule:
All times given are SAST (South Africa Standard Time) (CET+1 or UTC+2)
Friday 19 March 2026 (Session 1): 19:00-21:00 (2 hrs)
Saturday 20 March 2026 (Session 2): 10:00-14:00 (4 hrs)
Saturday 20 March 2026 (Session 3): 19:00-21:00 (2 hrs)
Sunday 21 March 2026 (Session 4): 10:00-14:00 (4 hrs)
Friday 26 March 2026 (Session 5): 19:00-21:00 (2 hrs)
Saturday 27 March 2026 (Session 6): 10:00-14:00 (4 hrs)
Sunday 28 March 2026 (Session 7): 10:00-14:00 (4 hrs)
(a break of 10-15 minutes every 2 hours)
Saturday 04 April 2026 (Exam): 10:00-14:00 (4 hrs)
(Exam will be written online and on-camera)
Daily Schedule:
Friday 19 March
1. 19:00: Introduction
2. 19:10: Tiebreak systems
3. 19:40: Round-Robin pairings
4. 20:00: Swiss pairings + software
5. 20:55: Short recap of the session
Saturday 20 March
6. 10:00: Swiss pairings + software
7. 10:20: Player title and norm regulations
8. 11:30: Rating regulations
9. 12:00: Break
10. 12:10: Rating regulations
11. 12:45: Arbiter title/norm regulations
12. 13:30: Role of the arbiter
13. 19:00: Anti-cheating (fairplay) regulations
14. 19:30: Hybrid chess
15. 20:00: Online chess, fairplay regulations, etc.
Sunday 21 March
16. 10:00: Competition regulations, equipment, etc.
17. 11:00: Laws of Chess
18. 12:00: Break
19. 12:10: Laws of Chess
Friday 26 March
20. 19:00: Laws of Chess
Saturday 27 March
21. 10:00: Laws of Chess
22. 12:00: Break
23. 12:10: Laws of Chess
Sunday 28 March
24. 10:00: Laws of Chess
25. 12:00: Break
26. 12:10: Laws of Chess
27. 13:30: Awarding of prizes (Hort system)
28. 13:50: Recap of everything, what to expect from exam, etc.
Extra Q&A: These sessions are not compulsory to attend and is there for candidates to ask anything that was discussed during the seminar.
Tuesday 31 March: 19:00-21:00– it is highly advised that candidates attend this Q&A session.
