New FIDE National Arbiters list
Established in 2013, with International Arbiter Gerry Graham as its head, the Irish Chess Arbiter’s Association [ICAA] is an official affiliated body of the Irish Chess Union and its membership is solely for those who hold an arbiter license with FIDE.
Northern Irish arbiters listed in order of license granted by FIDE through the ICAA:
Richard Gould, 1 March 2016
Ross Harris, 20 May 2019
Brendan Jamison, 7 Oct 2019
Mark Newman, 15 June 2020
Adrian Dornford-Smith, 15 June 2020
Chris Dorrian, 26 Dec 2022
Eddie Khanzharov, 26 Dec 2022
Adam Rushe, 26 Dec 2022
Damien Lavery, 13 March 2023
All FIDE-rated tournaments in Northern Ireland are run through the Irish Chess Union and local arbiters must renew their annual ICU membership at the start of each September to remain eligible to run local events. In terms of officials/authority/jurisdiction at a FIDE-rated tournament, only arbiters with a FIDE license are permitted to act as officials.
In terms of our local chess scene in Northern Ireland, the Ulster Chess Union (UCU) has sole jurisdiction over any Non-FIDE rated tournaments (i.e. UCU only rated events) and the Belfast & District Chess Leagues (i.e. no higher authorities in terms of ICU, ICAA or FIDE apply in these cases but the FIDE rules are still applied).
