Sunday 12 October 2014

2014 ICCF Congress

The 2014 ICCF Congress started today, at the Parramatta Park Royal in Sydney. The congress started with a meeting f the ICCF Executive Board today, while the actual Congress starts tomorrow. The delegates, who had traveled from Europe, North America, Africa and India, were welcomed with a small function at the tournament venue. The formal welcome will be at the opening dinner tomorrow.
In terms of the business of the congress, it is mainly to do with what can be described as 'technical issues'. Unlike a FIDE Congress, the deliberative body is both small enough, and more engaged, so as to allow discussion of changes to things like Laws, Title Regulations, and Tournament rules on the floor of the congress. Probably the big issue, at least in terms of the ICCF Laws of Chess, is how closely they need to match the FIDE Laws of Chess. Clearly there are some differences (eg touch move!) but there is a recognition that the second C in CC does stand for Chess, as defined by FIDE.
I will be present at the congress tomorrow,  although I have to miss the following days.But unlike the FIDE congress I am pretty confident that the important work will be done pretty quickly and most of the contentious issues will be out of the way early.

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