FIDE Considering Raising Rating Fees
Monday, September 26, 2011 at 12:29AM Considerably, too - this isn't a penny-ante increase to keep up with inflation. (More about it here and especially here.) In brief, to be eligible for a FIDE rating a player would first have to shell out 10 euros as a "license", then pay 30 euros for a yearly license or 500 euros to keep them in good standing the rest of his life. (Note: it's ambiguous, the way it's written in the material I've seen online, as to whether the 30 euros/year or 500 euros/lifetime fees would apply to everyone or only those who don't yet have a FIDE rating.)
FIDE also intends to considerably jack up the title fees - from 70 euros to 200 for the FM title, from 165 to 300 for the IM title and from 330 to 500 for the GM title. There are still other fees, too - but how many will pay them? Should this crazy measure pass, FIDE will discover that raising fees and rates doesn't automatically mean raising income.
It's a pity chess isn't run by professional management.
Reader Comments (10)
I cant believe there arent more movements like Kasparovs PCA.
How hard would it be to setup a governing body for chess?
1 day, a server with a database and some top players joining...
The consequences of this aren't hard to foresee... lots of players with the requisite qualifications for titles, but without official title because of refusal/inability to pay up.
Will there be some form of legal sanction FIDE can invoke if you describe yourself as, say, an 'IM' if you don't officially possess that title simply because of non-payment?
It seems to me more and more that FIDE really want someone to finally start a rival federation. Kasparov and Short tried and failed, but maybe the second try will do the trick. Well, we'll see.
(FIDE obviously aren't getting any money from me, but then again, it's easy for me to say -- I make about $0 a year in prize money, so chess isn't quite what I do for a living. The above wish-prognosis is just what I think will happen when you tell professionals to pay such money. Yeah, coughing up 500 Euros is probably no problem for Anand, but for an average (aspiring-)GM/IM, especially from Eastern Europe, it may be quite a chunk.)
Wow. 30 Euros per year is as much as USCF charges ($40)! Of course, FIDE still needs plenty of price raising to bring the lifetime 500 Euros up to match USCF's $1500.
Dennis
What kind of people tend to end up in positions of power at FIDE? Does it tend to be blazers rather than former players?
[DM: "Blazers"? Anyway, FIDE power is and has been largely vested in just one man, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, for the last 16 years, and he's probably not leaving any time soon either - at least not unless there's some sort of political pressure within Russia.]
Karpov campaigned against Kirsan Ilyumzhinov on this very issue. Karpov said FIDE should be interested in generating money for the member federations not taking money from them . With these fees the idea of a rival federation has been made more viable now than it was in the early 90s. Kasparov's PCA probably could have worked if he had been able to keep his sponsors. But he lost Intel when he decided to work with its rival IBM.
Karpov's platform http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6424:
.3) FIDE can no longer be run for the benefit of FIDE. Taking money from the Federations and distributing a fraction back to Federations is not a business model. As discussed below in more detail, that model must change. We will reduce dues and fees paid to FIDE and develop programs to waive fees for certain Federations suffering financial hardship until they can stand on their own. No one should be deprived of the ability to promote or to play chess due to a Federation's sincere inability to sustain itself financially. At-risk Federations must be helped by FIDE, not punished. Also, we will not rely exclusively on Federations to support FIDE. Past policies ignored broad outreach for sponsorship thereby dramatically reducing FIDE's potential revenue. Reliance on income from Federations while failing to cultivate sponsorship has driven many Federations to the brink of bankruptcy. 1.4) How FIDE can help
1.4.1) Facilitate regional cooperation. Strength through unity and Gens Una Sumus are more than slogans; they have the practical advantages of combined resources, shared knowledge, and healthy competition. Neighboring Federations will receive support to host events and to develop training programs and sponsorship packages across borders.
1.4.2) Direct logistical support. Some Federations have little experience in organizing events, establishing clubs and scholastic programs, and coordinating team activities. Many more require assistance in advocating these activities in a way that can generate state and municipal support as well as commercial sponsorship. FIDE must provide such expertise. We will establish a directorate for logistical services staffed by professionals who are available to go on-site to provide assistance.
1.4.3) FIDE must provide material support and FIDE-directed development funds. As described below, a commercial and market-oriented global FIDE will develop several new sources of revenue. A substantial part of that revenue will be dedicated to assisting Federations with financial difficulties. FIDE currently takes more from many developing Federations than it gives in assistance funds, a counter-productive situation that must be reversed if chess is to thrive globally.
1.4.4) Commercial partnerships. FIDE must forge partnerships with vendors and service providers to leverage economies of scale and the FIDE brand to the advantage of member Federations. The global industry of manufacturers and vendors of chess supplies, books, software and online services are eager to reach every player in the world. At the same time, many financially at-risk Federations cannot afford to pay market rates for these products. In discussions with our campaign administration, several of the world's largest chess vendors and service providers have already expressed a willingness to partner with a new FIDE to offer discounts. Not out of charitable sentiment, but because it will be good business and enable them to reach broad groups of new customers and expand the popularity of chess.
2) The Development of a New Financial Foundation
2.1) A solid financial base. Much more money is needed in chess both to promote it at the national level and to create opportunities for professionals and amateurs to support themselves. We need to broaden dramatically the revenue base of support for chess by attracting sponsorship of several types. This will happen only after FIDE management is changed. Sponsors want to deal with people of proven integrity and reliability who have the experience and business acumen to deliver.
2.2) Image matters. Corporations become sponsors because they wish to be associated with chess. For years FIDE has been led by a person about whom much has been written and broadcast, almost all of which has damaged the image of the game. It is not surprising that sponsors have stayed away. We must improve the image of chess (our "Brand") to make chess more attractive to sponsors. Here is what we propose to do to achieve this goal.
2.2.1) Win-win for chess and for sponsors. Lead FIDE with integrity and through a team of skilled professionals located in major business centers throughout the world. Our team has the relationships to contact sponsors and the credibility to deliver. They also have the geographical proximity to deal directly and easily with major sponsors. Please note that we have already attracted significant sponsorship during our campaign stage. (These include a major computer software company and a leading broadcast network reaching thirty million people daily.) Once we control FIDE, we can enter into contracts on behalf of FIDE for additional sponsorship.
2.2.2) Revive the chess brand. Chess must become more visible to attract sponsors. In turn, sponsorship drives more people to chess, creating a positive cycle. First, we must reach out to our stars to help attract sponsors. We are already doing so with great success. Numerous meetings have occurred worldwide with potential sponsors as well as with other cultural and entertainment celebrities to enlist their support. Many have committed by joining our campaign or providing support to it. Second, we must organize events to link stars and the business community. Again, we have already begun doing this successfully, as with our kickoff party in NYC. Third, we must run FIDE professionally and with promotional skill to transform it (as has been done in other sports, from tennis in the 1970s to poker today) to appeal to a broader audience. We have already demonstrated in this superbly run international campaign our team's ability to function professionally at a very high level and to promote the game at the same time. Watch us continue to do this in the coming months as we promote chess worldwide using the campaign as a springboard.
2.2.3) Create programs worthy of support. Corporate, Individual and Government sponsors are more likely to support chess if we in the chess world create programs that attract them. Linking chess with education is one example. It is a natural fit for corporations, individuals and governments. We will propose to Federations specific chess programs for schools that our team has found successful already in several countries. If a given Federation wishes to implement it, we will work with that Federation to attract both international and national support. Similarly, we will propose training programs (discussed below) and will assist in attracting local sponsorship for the benefit of Federations.
2.2.4) Market chess, and chessplayers, as a desirable segment. Taken from a professional marketing perspective, the chess community is irresistible. We are global in reach, constantly online, affluent and educated. We are frequent travelers, early technology adapters, and avid consumers of every sort of media from video games to novels to internet news. But because of a lack of interest and ability, FIDE has never leveraged its unique position to market the sport and our greatest human resources: the players and fans. FIDE, through the regional and local knowledge of the Federations, must reach out and become the bridge that allows sponsors to reach the chess community in exchange for realizing the huge financial potential they offer.
2.2.5) Develop joint ventures. We must extend the FIDE brand offline and online into partnerships with successful and entrepreneurial companies. While FIDE has stood still and missed the vast opportunities of the internet age, many private companies have become profitable in the chess sector. Instead of seeking to tax them, compete with them, or seek rents from these companies, FIDE must learn from them and find out what we can offer each other in commercial partnerships. The entrepreneurs of the chess world are a tremendous asset. FIDE's global reach and, with a professional team in place, the ability to leverage the chess brand will make for many lucrative opportunities. Members of our team have already opened fruitful dialogues with several such companies and we look forward to sharing the benefits with the Federations and the entire chess community.
This will not stand
FIDE really should do this - it will provide us with some very nice entertainment. I bet that within a day someone somewhere on internet will set up an alternative rating system. After all the maths is for free. Subsequently the big tournaments will not give a [rip], after which the rest of the world will follow.
Btw, when more than twenty years ago Jan Timman and Bessel Kok planned to create an alternative governing body it was Kaspy who blew it. I would not count on him.
By blazers he means "suits"... business men, ... "middle men" ...
Men that make money by doing nothing but sitting on the shoulders of the educated hard worker.
The men that have no expertise in anything, except saying phrases like "value add"
If people point that USCF charges more than that, I don't think FIDE is intending to mail their members a magazine.