PREAMBLE
This document outlines the revised selection process for the selection of a National team to represent
the country at the Chess Olympiad. This revised process utilizes some of the key
elements of the previous selection system as well as preserves the qualification for the National
Absolute Chess Championship and keeps the current format of the Women’s Chess Championship which
has no pre-qualification tournaments. The main change is the removal of the Performance rating
criteria which is replaced by a points system.
In effect, there are four main points articulated below i.e.
- expanding and projecting a minimum number of games in which players must be involved;
- treatment of default games;
- profiling a pathway for foreign-based players who are entitled to and would want to be involved in
the process and - determining the selection committee and process in choosing any national team.
GUIDELINES
The following are the general guidelines which aim to provide the best team possible.
- Players must play at least thirty (30) FIDE-rated games (Open) or 24 FIDE-rated games (Female)
during the period 1 April 2023 – 29 February 2024, and in the 18 months prior to the Olympiad for
future Olympiads. * (a) Additional details below - Players will be ranked according to the qualification points they have accrued from events.
- Default games are now re-constituted for all tournaments * (b) Details below:
- Open regional or international tournaments will be eligible as per conditions identified below and
based on their average rating and FIDE stipulations. - The selection process would consist of two main criteria. Tournament performance (90%) and Team
commitment (10%). - For 2023 there will be twelve (12) places available towards the national Absolute Final tournament
2023 via the four Qualifiers with each qualifier, including Tobago, providing three finalists. At this time, one of these events will also be hybrid if the need arises to facilitate participation of non-resident players. This will revert to 11 places for future National Championships unless there are extenuating circumstances, similar to what prevailed under Covid. - Foreign-based players will be considered, once the minimum number of games are played in
tournaments which meet the same criteria (at a minimum) as those for locally based players. - A national coach can be asked for a report on any player/s under his purview re attendance,
commitment, and ability as to his/her retention on a national team. - It is suggested the team with two reserves and the national coach should be selected in time to
allow their entry in a ‘strong’ tournament prior to representing T&T at the Olympiad - The 30 games can be obtained from local Open events, which have been publicised and the TTCA
has been engaged for rating and eligible foreign events which meet the same criteria as local eligible
events. - Games against defaulted players will be counted as if they had been played by the defaulted
players. Additionally, additional action may be taken for unjustifiable defaults and may result in a
player be suspended for the next rostered tournament. - The 30 games can be obtained from local Open events, which have been publicised and the TTCA has been engaged for rating and eligible foreign events which meet the same criteria as local eligible events.
- Games against defaulted players will be counted as if they had been played by the defaulted
players. Additionally, additional action may be taken for unjustifiable defaults and may result in a
player be suspended for the next rostered tournament.
1 ELIGIBLE TOURNAMENTS
1.1 Eligible over‐the‐board tournaments are FIDE‐rated individual standard play tournaments, which
meet the following criteria:
- At least 8 players. Exception for any of the four national preliminary tournaments.
- At least 6 rounds. Exception for any of the four national preliminary tournaments.
- Local FIDE-rated (TTCA) Open tournaments with time control 90 mins +30 sec minimum, which may
be hybrid, and the average rating of the top 8 players falls within the tournament ratings eligibility
levels identified below. The average rating requirement will be reviewed each year and changed
according to the progress of the ratings of the TTO players. - The 8 highest‐rated players have an average standard rating of 1750 at the start of the tournament
(TAR) for Open events. For female-only Open events, the minimum rating of the top 4 players is
1250. - FIDE events: e.g. World Cup, other world events
- Regional CCA events: e.g. CAC Championships, Panamerican/Continental Championships, Sub zonal,
zonal - Other Open events which are on par/equivalent, or higher-rated than our official tournaments with
similar time control as stated above. This will be determined by comparing the average of the top 8
players in the event with the local event. These should be conditionally pre-approved by the
members of the Selection Oversight Committee. - The Chief Arbiter is a National Arbiter
- Recommended FPL Fair Play procedures are applied
1.2 All rules governing FIDE-rated events and hybrid events apply.
2 QUALIFICATION POINT SYSTEM CALCULATION
This system was adopted from the current FIDE Circuit system for each eligible tournament which is as
follows:
2.1 Basic Points are awarded to players in one of the first 8 places in a tournament, provided that the
player is in the top half of the final tournament ranking.
1st place 10 points
2nd place 8 points
3rd place 7 points
4th place 6 points
5th place 5 points
6th place 4 points
7th place 3 points
8th place 2 points
2.2 A player will only count for any calculation in Articles 1 and 2 of these rules if they played, or won by
forfeit, in at least 50% of the total number of games in the tournament.
2.3 The number of basic points that tied players score shall be calculated as 50% of basic points for their
final ranking determined by the tournament’s tie-break rules, plus 50% of the sum of basic points assigned
for the tied places divided by the number of tied players. This also applies to players who tied for one of
the first 8 places but appear below 8th place in the final ranking according to the tournament’s rules.
2.4 Qualification Points are then calculated based on a factor determined by the average top 8 players.
The Qualification Points (QPs) for each player is determined by the number of basic points as defined
above in 2.1, multiplied by a tournament strength factor calculated as follows: k=(TAR‐1700)/100,
where TAR is the tournament average rating for the top 8 players.
Minimum Average for Open events is 1750 which was determined based on averages from previous
tournaments prior to Covid and factoring in player attrition.
In the case of the Open women events, the tournament strength factor k=(TAR-1250)/100 where TAR is
the baseline tournament average rating for the top 4 players. Minimum tournament average is 1300.
3 RANKING LIST
3.1 Each player has to play in a minimum of five eligible tournaments (Open) and 4 eligible tournaments
( Female) with a standard time control.
3.2 The final score of a player for the purposes of determining final qualification points is calculated as
the sum of the player’s five highest qualification points from eligible tournaments. In the case of the
females these point can come from both Open and Female eligible events.
4 TEAM SELECTION
4.1 Team Selection Olympiad
In the case of the Olympiad, the 7 shortlisted players will be selected as follows:
- Top 3 from National Chess Championships (Open and Female) of the previous year
- Top 4 players based on points from top 5 tournaments-Open; top 4 tournaments-Female (The point
system will be patterned after the calculation of the Tournament score system used in the current
FIDE Circuit). https://handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/Regulations_for_FIDE_Circuit_2023.pdf
4.2 All players MUST meet activity requirements as stated above to be shortlisted.
4.3 The TTCA reserves the right for consideration of any national player playing outside of Trinidad and
Tobago who is rated 200 points or more than the best of the local pool of players playing solely or
mainly in Trinidad and Tobago. This is as the points structure (top 8 placing) may not be fair to such a
player who may not consistently place in the top 3 placings due to the higher level of the tournaments
they are competing in, however, given their positive results in these tournaments against high-rated
international opponents, they obtain and maintain a 200 points or more higher rating. Such a player or
players may replace players from the Top 4 players pool based on points.
4.4 Team Selection Criteria
The team selection criteria is as follows:
- 90 % will be attributed to performance and as per the conditions stated above.
- 10% will be attributed to Training/Team Commitment (participation in team activities, preparations,
conduct, etc…)
All the above seeks to address the overall objective to select the BEST TEAM to represent Trinidad and
Tobago so there are other factors to be considered that impact a team environment.
5 TEAM SELECTION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
5.1 The main role of this committee is to ensure that all calculations for team selection are validated and
to provide feedback in those instances where there may be a change to the natural order based solely
on points or tournament performance.
5.2 The Team Selection Oversight Committee will consist of persons who have extensive experience
within the chess community (may also be foreign) who have demonstrated professionalism and
objectivity in their conduct over the years as well as the national trainer selected for the team for the
relevant Olympiad. The committee will comprise 5 persons: 3 core (Including trainer) and 2 reserves.
The reserves will be used in the event there is a direct conflict of interest with any of the core persons
(apart from the trainer) or if one of the core members is unavailable.
5.3 The national team should be selected 6 months prior but no later than 4 months prior to the
Olympiad or other team event. Any delays must be approved by the TTCA Executive.
FairPlay Procedures:
FIDE Anti‐Cheating Regulations: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/AntiCheatingRegulations
