Asian Chess Federation
Continental Assembly
22 December 2017
Al Ain, UAE
Present:
Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan President
Bharat Singh (IND) Deputy President
Hisham Al Taher (UAE) Secretary General
Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh (IRI) Treasurer
Federation Delegates and Official Representatives:
Mohammed Naeem Ghafori AFG
Sami Khader (proxy) BRN
Syed Shahab Uddin Shamim BAN
Pg Abd Rahman Yusof BRU
Hisham Al Taher (proxy) CHN
Nisban Jasmin (proxy) HKG
Bharat Singh IND
Dwi Hatmisari Ambarukmi INA
Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh IRI
Dhafer Al Madhloum IRQ
Sami Khader JOR
Berik Balgabaev KAZ
Dhafer Al Madhloum (proxy) KUW
Milan Turpanov KGZ
Mottaz Abdulrahman Al Sulaiman KSA
Ali Abbas (proxy) LIB
Jamie Kenmure (proxy) MAC
Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin MAS
Maung Maung Lwin MYA
Sainbayar Tserendorj MGL
Observers:
Nooh Ali MDV
Jamie Kenmure NAU
Shrestha Eka Lal NEP
Laila Al Najar OMA
Abdus Salim PAK
Murad M. Aburajabal Tamimi PLE
Casto Abundo (proxy) PHI
Bharat Singh (proxy) QAT
Nisban Jasmin SGP
Abdus Salim (proxy) SOL
Luxman Wijesuriya SRI
Abbas Ali SYR
Vatanov Khurshed TJK
Nakvanich Sahapol THA
Luxman Wijesuriya (proxy) TPE
Serdar Veliyev TKM
Casto Abundo TLE
Hisham Al Taher UAE
Khuran Turdialiev UZB
Dang Tat Thang VIE
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov RUS
Georgios Makropoulos GRE
Willy Iclicki BEL
Bolat Asanov KAZ
Dzumazhov Makhmud KGZ
Ernist Dozumbetov KGZ
Dr. Rashid Alanezi KUW
Yaser Al Otaibi KSA
Ahmad Belali KSA
Peter Long MAS
Ramiz Abdul Muhsin MDV
Lama Dharam Bahadur NEP
Lama Al Salah OMA
Muhammad Wasif PAK
Murad Abu PLE
Thomas Hoe SGP
Ubaidulloev Zubaidullo TJK
Minutes
0.1 Obituaries
We mourn the passing in the preceding year of:
Ali Al Dabni (UAE) Former president of UAE and Arab Chess Federation.
Jayaram Jayalalithaa (IND) – FIDE Honorary Member
Ardiyansah (INA) – Grandmaster
0.2 Roll Call
Executive Director made the roll call and the quorum was established.
Section A: Administrative Matters
- Report of the President
The Asian Chess Federation successfully organized all Asian championships in the 2016-17 calendar. Since the last Continental Assembly, member federations on behalf of the Asian Chess Federation, organized the various Asian Championships. ACF financially supported the Asian championships organized by the federations of Uzbekistan, Iran, China, Philippines, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, India, New Zealand and Thailand.
Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan personally presented the Asian Chess Excellence Award for Man of the Year to H.E. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, President of Turkmennistan, at lavish ceremonies in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan at the Sport and Health presentation in April before the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.
The Uzbekistan Chess Federation hosted the Asian Youth Championship in Tashkent. ACF Executive Director Casto Abundo attended the awards ceremony.
The Chess Federation of the I.R. of Iran organized the Asian Juniors and Girls Championships in Shiraz. ACF Treasurer Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh awarded trophies.
The Chinese Chess Association hosted the Asian Continental Championship in Chengdu attended by ACF Executive Director Casto Abundo.
The National Chess Federation of the Philippines hosted the first Eastern Asia Juniors and Girls Championships in Tagaytay attended by ACF Executive Director Casto Abundo.
The Mongolian Chess Federation hosted the Eastern Asia Youth Chess Championship in Ulaanbaatar.
The Chinese Chess Association hosted the Asian Youth Chess Championships in Pianjin, Lianoing.
The Sri Lanka Chess Federation hosted the Western Asia Youth Chess Championship in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. ACF Secretary General Hisham Al Taher attended the closing ceremony.
The 1st Asian Chess Championship for Disabled was hosted by the Kyrgyzstan Chess Federation in Bishkek. ACF Deputy President Bharat Singh attended the Awards ceremonies.
The New Zealand Chess Federation organized the Asian Seniors Chess Championship in Auckland.
The Thailand Chess Association organized the Asian Amateur Chess Championship in Chiang Mai.
Asian Chess Federation financially supported prize funds for Zonal tournaments in multi-federation zones of 3.1 (Iran) 3.2 (Nepal), 3.3 (Philippines), 3.4 (Uzbekistan), 3.6 (New Zealand). ACF Secretary General Hisham Al Taher awarded trophies in New Zealand.
Asian Chess Federation assisted in the organization of seminars in Oman, Malaysia, Nauru, Palau, Guam, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Korea, Bahrain and Pakistan.
Our biggest event of the year was the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, an event of the Olympic Council of Asia in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. We lobbied successfully to increase the number of gold medals from the previous four to ten.
Among other elements of the Asian Development Program, ACF supported official championships, travel subsidies and purchased 5,000 chess sets and 1,000 chess clocks to be donated to federations.
We are succeeding in our aim to spread chess development around Asia by encouraging different federations in all Zones to host Asian championships.
- Financial Report
Treasurer Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh presented the financial report in Annex 1. The Assembly approved the report and discharged the Treasurer from the responsibilities for the financial year 2017.
- Election of Asian Representative to FIDE Electoral Commission
The Continental Assembly unanimously elected Deputy President Bharat Singh of India as Asian representative to the FIDE Electoral Commission for 2018.
- Establishment of Asian Chess Foundation
Sheikh Sultan informed the Assembly that he shall establish the Asian Chess Foundation as a private vehicle to raise funds to support chess development.
Section B: Asian Calendar
We thank National Federations who organized Asian championships and thank participating federations as well. We request all organizers to submit their report in compliance with the Tournament Hosting Application Form.
- Asian Continental (and Women’s) Individual Championshp 2018
We invite bids for this event.
- Asian Youth U8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 Championships 2018
The Thailand Chess Association will organize this event.1-10 April 2018 in Chiangmai. Continental Assembly approved unlimited number of players per federation in the Asian Youth.
- Asian Juniors and Girls Championships 2018
The Mongolian Chess Federation will organize this event 17-26 August 2018 in Ulaanbaatar.
- Asian Schools Chess Championship 2018
The Sri Lanka Chess Federation will organize this event 1-10 July 2018.
- Asian Schools Chess Championship 2019
The Uzbekistan Chess Federation shall organize this event 19-29 June 2019 in Tashkent.
- Eastern Asia Youth U8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 Chess Championship 2018
The Chinese Chess Association shall organize this event July 2018 in Shanghai.
- Eastern Asia Juniors and Girls U20 Chess Championships 2018
The Korean Chess Federation will organize this event 1-9 August 2018 in Jeongson.
- Western Asia Youth U8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 Chess Championship 2018
The Uzbekistan Chess Federation shall organize this event 24 November to 4 December 2018 in Tashkent.
- Western Asia Juniors and Girls U20 Chess Championships 2018
The Royal Jordanian Chess Federation shall organize this event in November 2018 in Amman.
- Oceania Youth Chess Championship 2018
Zone President Paul Spiller advised that they are trying for Canberra to host this event. The Oceania Chess Confederation proposes to allow neighboring country of French Caledonia to participate in the Oceania Youth Chess Championship.
FIDE CEO Geoffrey Borg proposed that the Oceania Chess Confederation amend their statutes to include French Caledonia and let their players join the Oceania Youth Championship but not the Zonals. Continental Assembly approved.
- Oceania Juniors and Girls U20 Chess Championships 2018
We invite bids for the event for Zone 3.6.
- Oceania Youth Chess Championships 2019
The New Zealand Chess Federation shall organize the event 4-13 Jan 2019 in Auckland.
- Asian Amateur Chess Championship 2018
The Chinese Chess Association will organize this event November 2018 in Zhengzhou.
- Asian Seniors Chess Championship 2018
The City of Tagaytay will organize this event on behalf of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines 2-12 November 2018 in Tagaytay City.
- Asian Nations Cup
The Bangladesh Chess Federation shall organize this event from 15-27 July 2018 in Dhaka.
- Asian Nations Cup Under-14 Team Championship 2018
The Chinese Chess Association shall organize this event May 2018 in Shandong Binzhou.
- Asian Universities Team Championship
The City of Tagaytay shall organize this event on behalf of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, 26 May to 2 June 2018 in Tagaytay City. On query of Mr. Thomas Hoe, it was agreed that the players in a team should belong to one federation.
- Asian Corporate Cup Chess Team Championship
The All India Chess Federation shall organize this inaugural event. Deputy President Bharat Singh said that the format will be a combined individual and team event with Rapid Chess played over a 2-day weekend.
- Asian Chess Circuit
Continental Assembly approved establishment of an Asian Chess Circuit. Asian Open tournaments shall be combined into a Circuit with Awards given at the Asian Chess Excellence Awards.
Section C: Other Matters
- 4th Annual Asian Chess Excellence Awards
Annex 2 is the list of Awardees for the 4th Annual Asian Chess Excellence Awards. Singapore Chess Federation proposed that nominees should have the approval of their national federation. Sheikh Sultan said that these awards recognize the contribution to chess of individuals and organizations regardless of political motivations. Sheikh Sultan proposed to keep the awards purely about chess. Continental Assembly approved.
- Asian Chess Federation Statutes
To raise operations of ACF to international federation standards, Continental Assembly approved a general review of ACF Statutes.
The Continental Assembly appointed a committee chaired by Secretary General Hisham Al-Taher with Jamie Kenmure of Nauru and Luxman Wijesuriya of Sri Lanka to review the Statutes of the Asian Chess Federation and to propose amendments of the Statutes to be in line with sports governance best practice. As approved by Continental Assembly, the Committee commissioned a specialized law firm headed by Dr. Rashid Alanezi, an experienced lawyer for sports organization and member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, to assist in the review and amendments. The Commission met in Ashgabat during the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and again in Al Ain during the Asian Chess Summit.
Continental Assembly added the Deputy President to the list of 7.5 for the President to delegate his duties.
Continental Assembly authorized the Executive Board to create an ad-hoc Disciplinary Committee and Ethics Committee to deal with urgent matters if such matters arise before the appointment of the two committees in the next Continental Assembly.
Continental Assembly approved the amended Statutes in Annex 3.
- Draft Mission Statement
Continental Assembly noted the proposed Mission Statement in Annex 4 for further consideration.
- Appointment of Press Officer
Continental Assembly noted the appointment by Secretary General Hisham Al Taher of Mr. Peter Long of Malaysia as Press Officer.
Annexes:
- Financial Report
- Asian Chess Excellence Awardees
- Asian Chess Federation Statutes
- Draft Mission Statement
- – ACF’s institutions and officials are:
- – The Continental Assembly
- – The ACF Executive Board
- – The ACF Presidential Board
- – The President
- – The Deputy President
- – The General Secretary
- – The Treasurer
- – The Vice President
- – The Zone Presidents
Not more than two members per federation shall hold individual positions in B to I above. The ACF President may call a referendum for interim elections in case of incapacity of an elected official.
The Asian Chess Federation (ACF) is an independent association which intends to safeguard the interests of chess in Asia. The ACF is established under FIDE for chess development in the Asian Continent. It will establish and coordinate the activity of its members and organize continental championships under the auspices of FIDE. The ACF will represent the interests of the members of ACF at FIDE and other international organizations.
- Any National Chess Federation on the Asian continent as defined in FIDE Statute Art 2.1 or any other National Chess Federation belonging to an Asian FIDE Zone, are considered to be members of ACF.
- Any Asian association related to chess can be accepted as an associate ACF member without the right to vote.
- 1. The financial year shall coincide with the calendar year. (1st January to 31st December)
- 2. The ACF budget and accounting will be based on the US Dollar
- 3. All ACF bank accounts shall be in the name of the Asian Chess Federation.
- 4. The President, the Secretary General and the Treasurer shall have the signature rights. The signature of the President is compulsory for any transaction
- 5. Each year at the annual CA meeting the Treasurer shall present the final balanced account duly audited for approval by the CA.
- 6. The ACF’s revenues are generated through membership fees, entry fees from Continental Tournaments organized by member federations, allocations from FIDE and other sources.
- The annual membership fee from each member federation will be US $ 100.
- Annually in January the Secretariat shall bill all the affiliated federations for the services of the previous twelve months and shall include the annual membership fees. Any Federation failing to settle all outstanding amounts by the following 15 March shall be charged a ten percent (10%) per annum interest fee on the total outstanding. If any member is two years in arrears, their membership will be temporarily suspended.
- All affiliated countries taking part in FIDE events held under the purview of ACF shall pay the entry fees of their players prior to the start of the tournament directly to the organizers. Failure will result in a penalty of 10% charged on the entry fees.
- Organizing country of FIDE events will be exempted from entry fees for their own players.
- For all the continental events the organizing federation will pay 50% of the entry fees to ACU and the balance 50% will be retained by the organizing federation.
- 7. The annual budget of (ACF) shall be done by the treasurer before the annual CA and is subject to acceptance by the CA.
- 8. For extraordinary expenses, not contained in the budget, a request can be submitted to the Board. The Board may grant such expenses if they are in the interest of the ACF.
- 9. Members of the ACF who are excluded by FIDE due to non-payment of membership fees are also excluded from ACF meetings.
- 10. The officials working for the ACF have the right to have reasonable expenses reimbursed. The Board shall formulate guidelines. Reimbursement of expenses going beyond these guidelines have to be contained in a CA approved budget.
Not more than two members per federation shall hold individual positions in B to I above. The ACF President may call a referendum for interim elections in case of incapacity of an elected official.
- 1. Continent Nomination Form for Elections – ticket.
- 2. Continent Acceptance Form of the Nomination for Elections.
- 3. Nomination Form for FIDE Executive Board Representative from Asia.
- 4. Acceptance of the Nomination for FIDE Executive Board.
- The CA decides on the locations of a permanent office (ACF Secretariat) at the motion of the Board. Normally this is the seat of the ACF President.
- The official language of the CA is English. In documents containing versions in more than one language, the English version is the official one.
- Communications within the ACF shall be by letter, fax or email.
- The CA may change the ACF statutes. For changing the statutes a two-thirds majority of the votes cast is necessary.
Six Advisory Board members shall be appointed as Vice Presidents by the ACF President in consultation with member federations in different Asian zones for the same period as the Executive Board.
The Vice President will carry out the duties and responsibilities as assigned by the President.
- The Secretary General shall be responsible for the administrative affairs of the continent in coordination with FIDE regulations. He shall also be responsible for preparing an annual calendar and advising Federations on FIDE regulations to the Continent.
- He shall be responsible for the preparations of minutes and the agenda for Board and Continental Meeting.
- The Treasurer shall be responsible for the finances of the continent in coordination with FIDE regulations and allocations.
- The Treasurer shall be responsible for invoicing and collection of moneys from member federations for the services of the previous twelve months that shall include the annual membership fees.
- The Treasurer shall also be responsible for preparing an annual budget based on FIDE allocations to the Continent and all revenues.
- Entry fees and other allocations from FIDE must be deposited in the ACF Accounts and maintained by the Treasurer. Further, he shall report to the President quarterly on the financial activity of ACF.
- Annual reports of the Treasurer shall be audited by an accredited accounting firm.
The Continental Assembly shall elect four (4) FIDE Executive Board representatives every four years. Where possible the Executive Board Representatives should represent the cultural and economic diversity of the entire continent. Nominations by the federation of the candidate should reach the Asian Chess Federation secretariat Assembly at least three months before the Continental Assembly.
- When electing a Zonal President, the CA – apart from exceptional cases – shall agree in principle with the opinion expressed in the CA by the majority of the representatives of the members belonging to the zone, or, if the zone consists of one member only, take into consideration the opinion expressed by the representative of this member. He shall be responsible for the Zonal Championships and coordination of chess activities in his Zone.
- The Asian Continent shall be divided as the following zones for the purposes of allocations of places for the World Championships and other administrative matters.
- The Deputy President will carry out the duties and responsibilities as assigned by the President.
- Represent the ACF in lieu of the President and Chair meetings in lieu of the President.
- The ACF President shall be elected every 4 years. He shall also be the representative of the ACF as the FIDE Continental President for Asia (then confirmed by the FIDE General Assembly).
- The President shall be responsible for the coordination and organization of all continental championships.
- He shall also be Chairperson in all Continental Assemblies. He shall be ex-officio in all Zonal Meetings.
- The President, the Deputy President, the Secretary General, the Treasurer and the Vice President are elected on a combined ticket, at least one of whom must be a woman. The ACF Presidential Candidate shall name his ticket to reach the ACF Secretariat at least three months before the opening of the General Assembly.
Members of the ACF Presidential Board shall belong to different federations, with the exception of the President and General Secretary.
- The ACF Presidential Board shall be comprised of the following:
- – ACF’s institutions and officials are:
- – The Continental Assembly
- – The ACF Executive Board
- – The ACF Presidential Board
- – The President
- Where possible, the Board shall meet annually during Continental Championships and endorse the decisions of the President in between Continental Assemblies. The Board meets whenever the President finds it necessary or when at least half the Board members call for a meeting. Meetings of the Board are closed and by invitation.
- Decisions of the Board require a majority of votes with at least half the Board members taking part in the meeting. In case of tie the President has a second and casting vote to establish a majority.
- 1. The Continental Assembly (CA) is the highest authority of the ACF.
- 2. The CA is composed of all member federations.
- 3. Associate members do not have the right to vote.
- 4. A delegate or proxy represents every member federation.
- 5. A representative may have a proxy from only one additional federation beside their own.
- 6. Each member federation has one vote.
- 7. The CA meeting is permitted to pass resolutions if it has been convened according to the statutes. A quorum of 50% of the affiliated federations (including proxies) is required for votes on elections. If the quorum is not fulfilled no actions can be taken.
Proxies for use in the Asian Continental Assembly may be assigned only to delegates from federations within the Asian Continent, unless it is necessary to obtain a quorum.
The ACF Executive Board shall be convened, composed of:- The ACF Presidential Board
- Elected Office Bearers of the FIDE Presidential Board from Asian Federations
- Elected FIDE Executive Board Asian representatives.
- Zone Presidents
- The Executive Director appointed by the ACF President
- 8. Votes are made orally unless a secret ballot is agreed to by the majority.
- 9. Votes on elections are cast by secret ballot.
- 10. Resolutions are passed by a majority of the votes, without counting the abstentions.
- 11. A majority of the votes cast, not counting abstentions, shall be required for the election of the officers, individually and collectively where necessary.
If three or more persons are nominated for the same office and no one person receives the absolute majority on the first ballot then:- The candidate receiving the fewest votes on the first ballot shall be eliminated from the list before the second vote.
- If there are still three or more candidates for the offices or office and no one candidate receives the required absolute majority on the second ballot, the process of eliminating one candidate at a time shall continue, until an election by absolute majority is achieved.
- 12. The annual meeting is convened by the President with at least two months notice.
- 13. The agenda must be sent to member federations by email, fax or regular mail at least one month prior to the meeting.
- 14. Proposals from member federations to be included in the agenda for the CA should reach the ACF Secretariat not later than six weeks before the beginning of the CA.
- 15. The President upon request of one third of the member federations or majority of the Board convenes an extraordinary CA. The CA shall convene within one month of such a request. The agenda shall be sent out within two weeks of the request.
- 16. The annual CA meeting has the following duties that cannot be delegated to another body.
ACF’s institutions and officials are:
- – The Continental Assembly
- – The ACF Executive Board
- – The ACF Presidential Board
- – The President
- – The Deputy President
- – The General Secretary
- – The Treasurer
- – The Vice President
- – The Zone Presidents
Not more than two members per federation shall hold individual positions in B to I above. The ACF President may call a referendum for interim elections in case of incapacity of an elected official.