76th FIDE Congress: 2005 Executive Board Minutes and Annexes
FIDE publishes the Minutes and Annexes of the Executive Board meeting that was held from 17-24 August 2005 in Dresden, Germany. Please download Minutes of the Executive Board 2005 in MS Word format Please download Minutes of the Executive Board 2005 in pdf format List of Annexes: 1. Report of the External Auditors, Messrs. Ernst and Young2. Treasurer`s report, supplementary notes and explanations3. Proposed amended Financial Regulations3a Proposed Amendments of FIDE Auditor4. Report of the FIDE Permanent Fund5. Verification Commission Report6. Minutes of Verification Commission meeting7. Proposed Budget 20068. Application of the Chess Federation of Palau9. Application of the Chess Federation of Sierra Leone10. Technical Commission Report (with an Appendix)10a List of testers of electronic clocks to be endorsed11. Rules and Tournament Regulations Committee Report12. Swiss Pairings Committee Report13. Qualification Commission Report14. Titles and Ratings Committee Report (with an Appendix)15. Arbiters` Council Report16. Ethics Commission Report17. Organisers` Committee Report18. Youth and Junior Committee Report19. Development Commission Report20. CACDEC Report21. Proposal of CACDEC Co-Chairmen regarding the CACDEC list22. Chess in Schools Committee Report23. IOC Regulations for participation in the Olympic Games24. Trainers` Committee Report (with an Appendix)25. CHIPS Committee Report26. Chess Art, Exhibition and Philately Committee Report (with an Appendix)27. Computer and Internet Chess Committee Report28. Medical Commission Report29. Bid for FIDE Congress 2009 from ASEAN Chess Academy30. Regulations for the World Championship Tournament 200531. Bidding procedure for the World Cup 2005 and the Olympiad 201032. Draft Regulations for the World Chess Cycle 2005-200733. Invitation for the World Junior Chess Championship 200534. Austrian Federation bid for World Senior Championship 200735. Italian Chess Federation bid for the World Senior Chess Championship 200736. Report of the Chief Arbiter of the 2005 World School Championship37. ECU Continental Report38. Report of the American Continental President39. Report of the Asian Continental President40. Decision of PB in Doha in respect of All India Chess Federation41. Report of the African Continental President42. Commonwealth Chess Association Report43. Decision of the Sports Arbitrage regarding FIDE vs. Milov case44. Proposed Statutes of the International Mind Sports Association45. Press release of 21 June 200546. Letter from Mr. S. Gromovs on the stateless persons for FRL47. Recommendation regarding the membership in the Presidential Board48. Proposal regarding submission of the documents for the Congresses49. Proposed Amendments to the Electoral Regulations50. Regulations for the Chess Olympiad50a Procedure for Selection of Organiser for the Chess Olympiad and FIDE Congress50b Proposal to create Central Administration Panel for the organisation of Chess Olympiads and requirements for data processing in Turin Olympiad 200651. Information from MonRoi
2005 2nd quarter FIDE Presidential Board Meeting Communique
FIDE publishes the communique of the 2nd quarter of FIDE Presidential Board meeting that was held on 14-15 May 2005 in Doha, Qatar. Read below or download Communique of the 2nd quarter 2005 FIDE Presidential Board Meeting. Communique of the 2nd quarter 2005 FIDE Presidential Board Meeting The FIDE Presidential Board rose from its meeting 14-15 May 2005 in Doha, Qatar and took a number of far reaching decisions with respect to important current matters of chess worldwide. The Board meeting, which was chaired by FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, approved the final list of participants who have all confirmed their participation in the World Chess Championship Tournament, 27 September – 16 October 2005 in San Luis, Argentina: 1. GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB, World Champion) 2. GM Viswanathan Anand (IND, World Champion 2000-2002) 3. GM Veselin Topalov (BUL) 4. GM Peter Leko (HUN) 5. GM Michael Adams (ENG) 6. GM Alexander Morozevich (RUS) 7. GM Peter Svidler (RUS) 8. GM Judith Polgar (HUN) The Province of San Luis, as the appointed organizer of the World Chess Championship Tournament 2005, gave a complete and professional presentation of the event preparations, a presentation which left the FIDE Board members with the certainty that this World Championship would be one of the best organized ever. The Argentinian delegation in Doha, Qatar was led by the Governor of San Luis Province, H.E. Alberto Rodriguez Saa, a man with a clear and proven vision for the development of San Luis. The Board also unanimously recognized the new administration of the All India Chess Federation (AICF), following the recent legal developments. Mr. N. Srinivasan remains President of the AICF while new Honorary Secretary is Mr. D. V. Sundar of Chennai. The Board took note of the fact that Mr. P.T. Ummer Koya is under a court restraining order and is therefore unable to execute his office in FIDE. Mr. Sundar confirmed that the AICF shall honor their commitments to host the Asian Continental Championship and the Asian Youth Championships. The Board decided that all tournament rating reports and title applications should be endorsed by the new AICF administration. Asian Continental President Khalifa Al Hitmi appointed Mr. Sundar as the new Secretary General of the Asian Chess Federation. Another important issue which was discussed during the board meeting was the need to protect the credibility and integrity of the FIDE rating and title system. The Board unanimously issued the following announcement: “In recent times, the attention of FIDE has been drawn to several cases where there were strong suspicions regarding the credibility of the results of games and tournaments. FIDE is aware that instances of misconduct are far from easy to prove. However, in order to preserve decency within our noble game and to protect the integrity of our rating and title system, FIDE wishes to make it very clear to everyone that it intends to deal severely with any confirmed case. FIDE emphasizes that a Federation is primarily responsible for all chess matters within its territory. Consequently, it is the obligation of every Federation to investigate and report to FIDE any suspicions regarding results of games. However, FIDE retains the right to carry out an independent enquiry if it feels that this is necessary. There will be severe punishments for players, arbiters, officials, organisers and Federations in proven cases of malpractice, up to a ban for life. The Code of Ethics will be reviewed to see if any changes are required. Also, any new regulations required will be drafted for approval at Congress. If necessary, Senior Arbiters will be appointed by FIDE to monitor results and practices.” Finally, the Board unanimously approved the renewal of the commercial agreement between FIDE and DGT Projects for another 5-year period, up to 2010. 15-05-2005, released by the FIDE Secretariat
2005 1st quarter FIDE Presidential Board Press release
FIDE publishes the press release in respect of the decision of the 1st quarter of FIDE Presidential Board that was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, 26-27 February 2005. The Press Release in respect of PB decision regarding the Organization of the Olympiad 2004 in Spain, Calvia. Please read the Press Release in pdf format.
75th FIDE Congress: 2004 FIDE General Assembly Minutes and Annexes
FIDE publishes the Minutes and Annexes of the General Assembly that was held from 21 to 31 October 2004 in Calvia, Spain. Please download Minutes of the General Assembly 2004 in word format Please download Minutes of the General Assembly 2004 in pdf format List of Annexes: 0. President`s report.01. Deputy President`s report.1. Report of the External Auditors, Messrs Ernst & Young.2. Treasurer`s report and Supplementary Notes to the Accounts 2003.2A. Treasurer`s report Addendum.2B. Actual Budget.2C Accounts for 2001.3. Report of the Mr. L. Brunner, Administrator of the Permanent Fund.4. Report of the Verification Commission.4A. Addendum to the Verification Commission report.5. Report of the Verification Commission to the PB in Tripoli.5A. Report of the Internal Auditor for the financial year 2003.6. Application of the Chess Federation of the Chinese Taipei.7. Application of the Chess Federation of Laos.8. Exchange of correspondence from the Chinese Chess Association.9. Information from the Afghanistan Olympic Committee on the new leadership of the Afghanistan Chess Federation.10. Information from the Paraguay Olympic Committee of the new leadership of the Paraguay Chess Federation.11. Information from Korea regarding the change of officials in the Federation.12. Extract of the Minutes of the Kotor FIDE Presidential Board meeting.13. Proposal of General Secretary N. Tabbane to return to one-year cycle meetings for the FIDE General Assembly.14. Proposal of Vice President I. Leong for the Chess Olympiad tournament regulations.15. Proposal of Vice President I. Leong for the Chess Olympiad regulations.16. Proposal of Mr. W. Stubenvoll in respect of the changes for the chess equipment specifications in the FIDE Regulations.17. Final proposal for the Laws of Chess 2004.18. Proposed Changes for the Rating Regulations B.02.19. Proposal of Mr. I. Gelfer regarding time control.20. Extract from the Minutes of the Kotor FIDE Presidential Board meeting in respect of the proposals of General Secretary.21. Proposal of General Secretary N. Tabbane to create Constitutional Council.22. Proposal of General Secretary N. Tabbane in respect of the Verification Commission.23. Proposal of General Secretary N. Tabbane to change the FIDE electoral regulations.24. Proposal of General Secretary N. Tabbane in respect of the World Chess Championship Committee.25. Decision of the Ethics Commission.26. Agenda for the Technical Commission meeting.27. Agenda for the Swiss Pairings Committee meeting.28. Proposal of Continental President for the Americas J. Vega in respect of the titles in Pan American events.29. Agenda of the Titles and Ratings Committee meeting.30. Proposed Changes for the Title Regulations.31. Proposed list of the over-the-board play.32. Proposed list of the Arbiters` title applications.33. Proposal of the American Continent regarding World Championship Regulations.34. Report of the Chief Arbiter for the World Chess Championship 2004 IA P. Nikolopoulos.35. Proposal of Vice President I. Leong in respect of the knockout format of the World Chess Championships.36. Proposal of Mr. A. Burstein for the World Chess Championship regulations.37. Agenda for the Organisers` Committee meeting.38. Agenda for the CACDEC meeting.39. Report of the International School Chess Union.40. Application from the Kasparov Chess Academy.41. Report of the Trainers` Committee Chairman Y. Razuvaev.42. Draft budget for the FIDE Trainers Chess Academy, Berlin, 2004-2006.43. Correspondence in respect of the financial guarantees in respect of the Turin Chess Olympiad 2006.44. Proposal of Mr. I. Gelfer in respect of the Affiliated Organisations` participation in the Chess Olympiads.45. Bid for the Chess Olympiad 2008 from the German Chess Federation.46. Bid for the Chess Olympiad 2008 from the Estonian Chess Federation.47. Report of Mr. I. Gelfer on the Dresden inspection.48. Report of Mr. M. Sand on the Tallinn inspection.49. Regulations for the 2005 World Chess Championship match R. Kasimdzhanov – G. Kasparov.50. Agenda for the meeting of the European Chess Union.51. Proposal of Mr. J. Vega in respect of the ORTECA Games.52. Correspondence in respect of the situation with the Togolaise Chess Federation.53. Information on the Mobile Chess Project and draft Regulations.54. Report of Chess in Schools Committee.55. FIDE Handbook.56. Mobile Chess regulations.57. Additional Title Applications.58. Bonus Incentives for the Trainers.59. Titles and Ratings Committee Report.60. Trainers` Committee Report.61. Chess for the Disabled Committee Report.62. Youth and Junior Events Committee Report.63. Committee on Women`s Chess Report.64. Organizers` Committee.65. Rules and Tournament Regulations Committee Report.66. CACDEC Report., Appendix 1., Appendix 2., Appendix 3.67. Committee on Chess Art, Exhibition and Philately Report., Summary of Chess Cultural Activities during 2003-2004.68. Arbiters` Council Report.69. Chess in Schools Committee Report.70. Qualification Commission Report.71. Technical Commission Report.71A.Protest of DGT Projects BV.72. Medical Commission Report.72A.Anti-Doping Regulations.73. Verification Commission Report.74. Development Commission Report.75. Ethics Commission Report.76. World Championship Committee Report.77. Swiss Pairings Committee.78. Continental Europe meeting Report.79. CHIPS Report.80. Continental Americas meeting Report.81. Continental Asian meeting Report.82. Report of the Continental President for Africa.83. Commonwealth Chess Association Report.84. Mediterranean Chess Association Report.85. Report of Mr. Gelfer on the Elista FIDE Office.85A.Elista FIDE office report.86. Bid from the Italian Chess Federation for the World Senior Championship 2006.87. Report of the Permanent Commission for Chess Composition.88. List of the ICCF Titles.89. Report of the Computer and Internet Chess Committee.90. Small Nations Chess Association Report.
2004 1st quarter FIDE Presidential Board Meeting Communique
FIDE publishes the communique of the 1st Presidential Board meeting that was held on 28-29 February 2004 in Kotor, Montenegro. The FIDE Presidential Board rose from its meeting 28-29 February 2004 in Kotor, Montenegro, and took a number of far reaching decisions with respect to the implementation of the Prague Agreement and the World Chess Championships. Click here to see the list of Titles Approved The meeting, which was chaired by FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, mandated the President and the World Chess Championship Committee as well as the Continental President for Africa to finalise the dates and arrangements in respect of the World Chess Championship and Women`s World Chess Championship 2004. The Board noted with satisfaction the information of the FIDE President that the World Chess Championship shall be staged in Tripoli, Libya, in the second part of June 2004 under the patronage of the Leader of the Libyan Jamahirya, H.E. Moammar Al Gathafi, who also provides the prize fund for the Championship, while the Women`s event shall be hosted by one of the great chess countries, Georgia, in May 2004, either in Tbilisi or Batumi, on the invitation of H.E. Aslan Abashidze, Head of the Republic of Adjara, the dates of which shall be announced after 20 March 2004. The Board noted the information of the FIDE President and Continental President for Asia Khalifa Al Hitmi regarding the successful staging of the SEA Games by Vietnam in December 2003. The FIDE President informed the Board of the interest shown by the Government of Vietnam to host one of the stages of the World Championship cycles in their country. With regards to the hosting of the Chess Olympiad 2004, the Board noted the information that the preparation was in progress. Continental President for Europe B. Kutin also informed the Board of the preparations of the city of Turin for the Olympiad 2006. The meeting was attended by the delegation of the German Chess Federation who presented their bid for the Chess Olympiad 2008 on behalf of the city of Dresden. The deadline for the bids is 15 April 2004. The Board approved for the players from Kosovo to play in the international tournaments under FIDE flag while their ratings have to be calculated under SCG Federation. Within the framework of the Halkidiki Congress 2003 decisions regarding various Chess in Schools programmes, the Board approved the affiliation of the Kasparov Chess Academy to FIDE, and recommended it for the final ratification by the General Assembly in Spain. The Board applauded the efforts of the Continental President for Asia for the inclusion of chess into the program of the Asian Games 2006, scheduled to be held in Doha, Qatar and approved the format for the Chess Events during these Games. It also approved the year 2004 as the Lyudmila Rudenko year in honour of the late Russian Women`s World Champion. Finally, the Board resolved to thank the Government and people of Montenegro for the hospitality extended to members of the Presidential Board.
2004 1st quarter FIDE Presidential Board Meeting: Confirmed Titles
FIDE publishes the list of titles confirmed by the 1st quarter Presidential Board meeting that was held on 28-29 February 2004 in Kotor, Montenegro. Attached is the list of Grandmaster, International Master, Woman International Master, International Arbiter and FIDE Arbiter titles confirmed by FIDE Presidential Board, 28-29 February 2004 in Kotor, Serbia and Montenegro. Titles awarded at the Presidential Board Meeting in Kotor, Serbia and Montenegro GM Country Name CHI Vasquez, Rodrigo MKD Stanojoski, Zvonko RUS Kim, Alexey RUS Potapov, Alexander RUS Shaposhnikov, Evgeny SCG Markus, Robert IM Country Name BEL Michels, Bart BLR Maiorov, Nikita BOL Zambrana, Oswaldo BUL Dragiev, Veselin ESP Alcazar, Jimenez ESP Ibarra Jerez, Jose Carlos FRA Le Roux, Jean-Pierre FRA Mensch, Etienne FRA Rainfray, Arnaud GRE Kapnisis, Spyridon HUN Papp, Gabor POL Slaby, Jerzy RUS Melkozerov, Dmitry RUS Novikov, Maxim SCG Miljkovic, Miroslav WIM Country Name CZE Cedikova, Katerina FRA Schweizer, Viktoria RUS Ubiennykh, Ekatrina RUS Vasilievich, Irina IA Country Name BUL Atanasov, Radislav ESP Tallarico Tallarico, Ovidio M. ESP Rodriguez del Pino, Daniel ESP Arranz Martin, Pablo A. ESP Monne Aules, Enric GRE Papadopolou, Triantafyllia TUR Aktar, Tahsin FA Country Name POL Zega, Leszek ESP Alcalde Guijosa, Lorenzo R.
74th FIDE Congress: 2003 FIDE Executive Board Minutes and Annexes
FIDE publishes the Minutes and Annexes of the Executive Board meeting that was held from 27 October to 2 November 2003 in Halkidiki, Greece. Download Executive Board Minutes List of Annexes: 1.Application for affiliation from the Chess Federation of Kosovo.2.Participation in FIDE Competitions.3.Report of the FIDE External Auditors, Messrs. Ernst & Young.4.Supplementary notes to the accounts.5.Treasurer’s Report to the Executive Board, Halkidiki, Greece.6.Presidential Board Communique.7.Verification Commission Report.8.Report of the Permanent Fund.9.Preliminary Report of the Verification Commission.10.Addendum to the Verification Commission.11.Technical Commission Report.12.Rules and Tournament Regulations Committee Report.13.Swiss Pairings Committee Report.14.Qualification Commission Report.15.List of over-the-board titles awarded.16.Titles and Ratings Committee Report.17.Arbiter’s Council Committee Report.18.World Chess Championship Cycle Committee Report.19.Proposal on the future cycles of the World Championships.20.Organisers’ Committee Report.21.Youth and Junior Events Committee Report.22.Development Commission Report.23.CACDEC Report.24.Chess in Schools Committee Report.25.Committee on Women’s Chess Report.26.Trainers’ Committee Report.27.Chess for the Disabled Committee Report.28.CHIPS Committee Report.29.Chess Art, Exhibition and Philately Committee Report.30.Computer and Internet Chess Committee Report.31.List of new ICCF titles.32.Report of the Permanent Commission for Chess Compositions.33.Medical Commission Report.34.FIDE Anti-Doping Regulations.35.Proposal of the Turkish Chess Federation.36.Bid of Armenian Chess Federation for the World Juniors and Girls Championships for 2006 and 2007.37.Bid from the Turkish Chess Federation for World Youth Championship 2007.38.ASEAN bid for World Youth 2008 U-16, U-18.39.Proposal of the British Chess Federation.40.Bid from South Africa for World Amateur 2004.41.Proposal of the Slovak Chess Federation.42.Information regarding World Championship 2003 for Rapid Chess.43.Proposal of Messrs. G. Makropoulos and I. Gelfer.44.Proposal of the British Chess Federation.45.European Chess Union General Assembly Minutes.46.Report of the Continental President for Americas.47.Report for Asia.48.Report of the Continental President for Africa.49.Proposal of International School Chess Union.50.Commonwealth Chess Association Report.
74th FIDE Congress: 2003 FIDE Executive Board Communique and Approved Titles
FIDE publishes the communique of the Executive Board meeting held on the 2nd November 2003 at the Pallini Beach Hotel, Kallithea, Halkidiki, Greece The 74th FIDE Congress concluded its sessions on 2nd November 2003 at the Pallini Beach Hotel, Kallithea, Halkidiki, Greece, and took a number of decisions which addressed the immediate problems facing the organization especially in the light of the decision of the Presidential Board to cancel the Ponomariov-Kasparov World Chess Championship Match. Download lists of titles approved in Congress by Titles and Ratings Committee and Arbiters Council. The Executive Board endorsed the decision of the President to cancel the Ponomariov-Kasparov 2003 World Chess Championship Match and to organize in its place the World Championship (Knock Out) tournament. The Board noted the many efforts and concessions made by FIDE to meet the various demands of World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov and concluded that FIDE could not accept the situation where the World Champion was dictating unacceptable terms to FIDE in order to defend his title under the terms of the Prague Agreement. The Board noted with satisfaction the cooperative attitude of Grandmaster Garry Kasparov throughout the various negotiations for the Match. The Board therefore granted anticipatory powers to the FIDE President to decide on the details of the format, which will be submitted by the World Chess Championship Committee to enable the event to be split on the basis of two, three or four groups of 64 or 32 players each. The idea behind this proposal is to enable two, three or four possible bids for the entire knock out championship thereby spreading the costs of hosting the entire event. The Board noted with satisfaction the proposal of the Georgian Chess Federation to organize the Women’s World Chess Championship in Tbilisi, Georgia, in the period May-June 2004 with the prize fund of USD450,000. As part of its measures to address its financial problems, the Board approved the recommendation of the Presidential Board to move the FIDE Secretariat from Lausanne to Athens in order to reduce the costs of running the Secretariat. The Board was briefed by both the Spanish Chess Federation President Mr. Javier Ochoa and the representative of the city of Calvia, Mr. Antonio Rami on the preparations by the Organizing Committee to hold the 36th Chess Olympiad and the 75th FIDE Congress in the Spanish Island of Majorca from 21 to 31 October 2004. At the same time, the Executive Board confirmed the dates for the 37th Chess Olympiad and the 77th FIDE Congress to be held in the Italian city of Turin from 20 May to 4 June 2006. In view of the growing number of countries interested in hosting the Chess Olympiads and Congresses the Board established a deadline for the submission of bids to host the 2008 Chess Olympiad. The Board noted that Armenia, Germany, Sweden and Argentina had expressed interest to host the 2008 Olympiad and set a deadline of 15 April 2004 for the submission of bids by these countries as well as any other country that might be interested in hosting the event. The following events were approved by the Executive Board : -World Youth Championship 2004 to be organized in early November by O.A.A. Heraklion Chess Club, Crete, Greece, while the same event for the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 have been awarded to Belfort, France; India, Antalya-Izmir, Turkey and Vietnam respectively. -World Juniors and Girls 2004 in early September in Calcutta, India. -World Juniors and Girls 2005 and 2007 events were awarded to the Turkish and Armenian Chess Federations. -World Rapid Chess Championship 2005 to be held in Cap d’Agde, France. -World Youth Team Championship 2005 was awarded to the United States Chess Federation. – The Inaugural World Major Open Championship to be held in Scarborough in August 2004 as part of celebrations marking the centenial anniversary of the British Chess Federation. The Executive Board also approved a new event to be known as the World Youth Intercontinental Championship for the winners of each category in continental championships. It approved the new pairing system to come into force from the next Olympiad, which will use normal Bucholtz scores. As part of efforts to give greater impetus to activities in the Chess in Schools Committee, the Executive Board approved the proposal that affiliated organizations may be allowed to send entries into the World Youth Championships and other junior or youth events upon approval by the Presidential Board. Finally, the Executive Board resolved to declare the years 2004 and 2005 as the year of Tigran Petrossian and the year of Chess in Schools respectively. It resolved to extend its gratitude to the Greek Chess Federation, FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos and Mr. Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou for the successful organization of the 74th FIDE Congress and the 2003 World Youth Chess Championship. Halkidiki 3rd November 2003. Download the Executive Board Agenda in pdf format. Click here for Title Applications . Get free Acrobat Reader. Download Annexes.
2004 1st quarter FIDE Presidential Board Agenda
FIDE publishes the Agenda of the 1st quarter 2004 FIDE Presidential Board meeting scheduled to be held 28-29 February in Kotor, Montenegro. FIDE General Secretary Noureddine Tabbane has prepared the Agenda for the first quarter 2004 FIDE Presidential Board meeting scheduled 28-29 February in Kotor, Montenegro. Among the items on the Agenda are the World Championship and list of qualifiers. The Nauru Chess Federation has applied for FIDE membership while the Kasparov Chess Foundation has applied for affiliation as associate member. Download the AGENDA
2003 FIDE Presidential Board Communique
FIDE publishes the communique of the Presidential Board meeting that was held on 17 August 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria. The FIDE Presidential Board rose from its meeting 17 August 2003 at the NICON Hilton Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria, and took a number of far reaching decisions with respect to the implementation of the Prague Agreement and the World Chess Championships. Click here to see the list of titles approved Titles Approved. The meeting which was chaired by FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, mandated the President to take all necessary measures to ensure that the Ponomariov-Kasparov World Chess Championship match scheduled 18 September 2003 in Yalta, Ukraine shall be held in accordance with FIDE Regulations and the terms of the Prague Agreement for the said match. World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov was requested to sign his Player’s Agreement without any conditions. The Board noted the ongoing discussions between FIDE and the Einstein Group with respect to the Kramnik-Leko match and resolved that the FIDE President should continue the dialogue to determine possible areas of cooperation in Einstein’s effort to complete the match and the unification process under the aegis of FIDE. The Board further resolved that while discussions were ongoing with sponsors for the hosting of this year’s World Championship (knockout) tournament, now renamed the FIDE World Cup, and the Women’s World Championship, the dates for the events should still be in the period of the last week of November and first three weeks of December with allowance for a few days’ possible adjustment at the beginning or at the end to include the Christmas holidays. With regards to the hosting of the Chess Olympiad 2004, the Board directed the Executive Director to ensure that the financial guarantees for the event scheduled for Menorca, Spain, were in place. The Board applauded the proposed hosting of the Chess Grand Prix in February 2003 by the Icelandic Chess Federation and congratulated the Turkish Chess Federation for the excellent organization of the European Individual Championship. The Board approved the year 2004 as the Tigran Petrosian year in honor of the late Armenian World Champion. Finally, the Board resolved to thank the Government and people of Nigeria for the hospitality extended to members of the Presidential Board and the participants in the Test Run for the Chess event at the All African Games. The Board thanked in particular, the Executive Director of the Organizing Committee of the All Africa Games, Dr. Amos Adamu, who was nominated for the Knight of FIDE award at this year’s FIDE Congress in Greece.