KUALA LUMPUR ─ Not willing to fall victim to the current pandemic, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) has approved all Hybrid online events to be eligible for FIDE ratings in place of the traditional Over-The-Board (OTB) events.
This would mean that players are still able to accumulate ratings throughout these turbulent times.
While the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) has successfully executed two Hybrid events, they were unfortunately not rated as they took place before FIDE’s approval.
Yet, the MCF looks forward to proceeding with their third Hybrid event sometime in February.
At the moment, MCF has approved and accepted 21 Hybrid centres across the nation and is anticipating more centres to be part of this effort.
Of course, with these Hybrid events now eligible for FIDE ratings, stricter rules and regulations will be set in place.
With more room for players to cheat during an online tournament, the MCF has implemented stricter requirements for Hybrid competitions to be endorsed and recognised as a national-level event.
Among the extra requirements added is the use of a webcam on all participants and increased number of arbiters to oversee the event.
Stricter rules are also enforced on Hybrid centres to ensure that players are competing under fair playing conditions. ─ Malaysian Chess Federation, 4 February, 2021
