July 3, 2022, became a historic day for the FIDE Arbiters' Commission.

The vision of the Commission has become a reality: the FIDE ARB is seeking opportunities to leverage the quality of Arbiters and support their growth worldwide, using FIDE Events as a development tool for a better player experience.

With this in mind, a special preparation programme was set up for the Arbiters' Team of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai. The first session took place on July 3, bringing together almost 200 arbiters from nearly 100 federations. The team was welcomed by the Chief Arbiter and Chairman of the ARB, Laurent Freyd, before the ARB Councilor in charge of World Events Preparation, Omar Salama, introduced the team structure, arbiters' roles and teamwork expected at the 44th Chess Olympiad.

There was a good interaction during the session, and each of the 12 sectors will now form teams to prepare for the year's main event together.

A second online session is planned for July 17, before a final preparation day on July 28, at the Olympiad venue, to practice in real conditions.