Getting a tournament FIDE-rated: what it takes

Before working through the procedure, answer this honestly. Rating gives three things: results enter the players' world ratings, the event gains status, and stronger players are more willing to travel to it. In exchange come obligations: a long time control, a qualified arbiter, advance registration, reporting and normally a fee.

A company, school or bar tournament does not need any of it: the value there is the atmosphere, not rating points. Rating makes sense when the event is open, the field is competitive and you intend to make it regular. The intermediate option is national rating only, which is simpler and cheaper - check what your federation offers.

The one rule that matters: the tournament is registered before round one. An event cannot be rated retroactively - and this is the commonest mistake new organizers make.

Deadlines: no later than 30 days ahead for high-level events, and at least 3 days ahead for everything else. Registration goes through the national federation, which passes the data to FIDE. The application states the name, place, dates, system, number of rounds, time control and chief arbiter.

Fees are settled at the same point: FIDE charges for rating, and the amount and payment route are confirmed by the federation - they depend on the type of event and the number of players.

The control decides which of the three lists the event enters - classical, rapid or blitz. For classical the minimums are: 120 minutes per player where 2400+ players take part, 90 minutes for ratings from 1800 to 2399, and 60 minutes when both players are below 1800. The first control must cover at least 30 moves, and no more than 12 hours of play may take place in one day.

The practical consequence: if you are planning an evening event, only rapid or blitz is on the table. Classical needs a full day, and more often two - about time controls.

The event is run by an arbiter of the appropriate grade - from a national category up to FIDE Arbiter, depending on the status of the competition. The same person is responsible for the report and signs the final documents - what an arbiter does.

Swiss pairings are made under the FIDE rules by software agreed with the federation. State that pairings are computer-generated in the regulations- it removes players' questions and simplifies acceptance of the report.

Only players with a FIDE ID appear in the report. If somebody has none, the ID is arranged through the national federation in advance - it cannot be sorted out on the day.

For each player the report carries:

• surname and first name in Latin script;
• sex;
• title, where held;
• rating and federation;
• FIDE ID;
• date of birth;
• points scored, final placing and every round's result with opponent and colour.

Collect this at entry rather than later - see taking registrations.

The report is prepared in TRF, the FIDE tournament data exchange standard. It is a text file with a strictly positional layout: the header holds the tournament parameters and the body has one line per player with the full history of their games.

Assembling such a file by hand is close to impossible - tournament software generates it. In the Vibe Chess app the report is assembled automatically: the parameters from the event, the player data from their profiles, the results from the rounds played. A finished tournament exports in one press.

The format is covered in detail in the TRF format. An important caveat about our service: pairings follow the Dutch rules, but it has no endorsement from the FIDE pairing-programs commission, so for a rated event the choice of software must be agreed with the federation in advance.

FIDE rating lists are published monthly, on the first. The rating period closes a few days before publication, so the report has to be submitted early - otherwise the results go into the next list and the players start asking why their rating has not moved.

The file is submitted alongside the arbiter's report: the details of the event, the arbiting team, the final table and an account of any disputes - the playing conditions.

• The event was not registered in advance. The commonest reason. The only cure is planning.
• The control was below the minimum. A classical rating at 15+10 is impossible however serious the event.
• Players without IDs. A player with no FIDE ID drops out of the report, and their games drop out of their opponents' calculations.
• Errors in the report file. A mismatched round count, dangling opponents, wrong result codes.
• Late submission. Not a rejection, but the results land in the next list.
• Unagreed pairing software. Settled before the event, not after.