STATUTES
of the International Chess Composition Union
(Version Rio de Janeiro 2009, valid until the end of 2010. Based on PCCC Statutes
version Jurmala 2008.)
ICCU | Meetings of the ICCU
| Officers of the ICCU | Election of Officers
| Agenda at meetings | Proposals by Member-Countries
| Sessions | Committees | Standing
Committees | Award of titles | Requirements
for a majority | Concluding clauses
ANNEX I | ANNEX II | ANNEX
III
§ I. The International Chess Composition Union (ICCU)
1. The ICCU is an independent organization for all matters of composing and
solving of chess problems and endgames. It is democratically established and
bases itself on the principles of equal rights of her members.
To the ICCU currently belong the chess federations/chess problem societies of
those countries listed in Annex I, each of which has
the right to nominate a delegate. These delegates
together, as "ordinary Members" constitute the ICCU. They are hereinafter
referred to simply as "Members".
2. The task of the ICCU is to pay attention to all matters of international
interest in chess problems and studies.
In particular, its duties include:
- The dissemination and encouragement of chess composition throughout the
world. - The formulation of rules and guide-lines in all spheres of chess composition.
- The arrangement of official international composing and solving tourneys.
- The initiation of the publication of collections of general interest, etc.
- The award of titles to especially deserving representatives of chess composition
including solvers.
3. The ICCU supports and promotes close international cooperation between chess composers and solvers and enthusiasts of chess composition. It seeks to maintain good relations with the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE).
4. Member-federations must acknowledge and observe the Statutes, resolutions
and decisions of the ICCU. They must remit any membership and other fees promptly
within the periods specified by the Presidium. They are obliged to support the
ICCU actively in its activities.
5. The ICCU decides with a two-thirds majority on applications for admission
submitted by chess federations. It may also decide, by the same majority, that
a chess federation shall be expelled. The more detailed conditions of admission
and expulsion are laid down in Annex III.
6. The ICCU has power by a simple resolution of the membership to appoint specially
deserving retiring Members to honorary membership for life. Honorary Members
enjoy all the rights of ordinary membership except for the right to vote and
the rights to elect or be elected. Similarly, the ICCU can accord the title
of Honorary President to a President on the expiry of his term of office (Arnhem
1981).
§
II. Meetings of the ICCU
1. Once every year the President calls an ordinary meeting
which shall be organized each time by a member-country. If no member-country
is prepared to undertake the organization, the President may postpone the meeting
for one year. If in that following year no organizer can be found, the President
shall organize it himself as he sees fit.
2. An ordinary meeting shall consist of several sessions and shall occupy at
least (four) 4 and not more than (eight) 8 days of session.
3. In cases of emergency, the President in consultation with the Vice-Presidents
may call an extraordinary meeting, even between two ordinary meetings, at any
place that seems suitable to him. The President is also entitled to invite the
Vice-Presidents to a Presidium meeting for good reason.
4. The President shall invite in writing to every meeting all the member-federations
listed in Annex I. A personal invitation shall be sent
to Honorary Presidents, Honorary Members.
5. Every member-federation shall be represented at the meetings by the delegate
nominated by it in accordance with paragraph I.1. The delegate may send a deputy
in his place to individual meetings who shall then assume the same rights and
duties as the delegate Member himself. Delegates and deputies must be either
nationals of or habitually resident in the nominating country. No one person
may simultaneously represent more than one country.
6. The name of the deputy shall be notified to the President at least three
weeks before the start of the meeting. If any member-federation is quite unable
to send a delegate or a deputy, the President shall be informed without delay.
7. A quorum at any meeting shall consist of at least one-third (1/3) of the
member-federations listed in Annex I, represented by
the presence of Members. An alteration of the Statutes is nevertheless only
permissible with the presence of Members from at least half (1/2) of the member-federations
listed in Annex I.
8. The meetings shall, in principle, be held in public. However, at the request
of a Member, the ICCU may at any time decide by voting whether the public shall
be excluded from individual sessions. At such closed sessions only Members,
Honorary Presidents, Honorary Members and the Secretary of the ICCU may be present.
§
III. Officers of the ICCU
I. The President is the head of the ICCU. His task shall be to call meetings
of the ICCU, to draw up the Agenda, to take the chair at sessions, to record
the minutes of the whole meeting, and to ensure that the decisions of the ICCU
are put into effect.
2. The President also represents the ICCU in all external matters. He is responsible
for all contact between the ICCU and other organisations, in particular between
the ICCU and the
President, General Secretary and other officials of the FIDE.
3. In cases where the President is unable to discharge the duties defined in
paragraph III.2. above, he may delegate these duties to a Member of the ICCU.
4. The functions of the President given in paragraph III.1. above shall in
principle be discharged by him personally. Only in the event of an impediment
may he delegate them to a Vice-President.
5. To carry out his organisational duties, the President may avail himself
of the help of his Secretary. The Secretary is entitled to take part in all
sessions of the ICCU.
6. To support and assist the president and to represent him in the event of
a temporary impediment or at his special request, three (3) Vice-Presidents
shall be elected. If a President should die or resign during his term of office,
the 1st Vice-President shall take over all his functions until the expiry of
the term of office. In the event of the 1st Vice-President’s being unavailable
the President’s functions shall devolve on the 2nd Vice-President, and subsequently
in to the 3rd Vice-President, and then finally on to the Member most senior
in service in the ICCU.
§
IV. Election of Officers
1. Elections to the Presidium shall be held at every fourth meeting of the
ICCU. Voting shall take place for all four posts in the same year. However,
if a Presidium post falls permanently
vacant during the term of office, a special election may be held for the relevant
post, if the ICCU deems this appropriate, but the candidate elected shall serve
only for the remainder of
the original four-year period.
2. In an election year a special meeting of the ICCU shall be arranged for
the purpose of voting, not later than the penultimate day of the Congress, and
at no later than 21.00 on that
day.
3. At the opening session of the ICCU in an election year, the President shall
nominate a working party of three persons from different countries to supervise
the elections. One of the
three should normally be the Secretary. No current delegate or deputy may be
a member of this working party.
4. A delegate wishing to stand for election to the Presidium shall give his
name on paper to the working party by 22.00 on the day before the elections
are to be held. The paper must
show clearly the post or posts for which the delegate wishes to stand.
5. The working party shall display a list of the candidates for each post by
9.00 on the day of the elections. No additions shall then be made to this list,
except as provided for in paragraph
7 below. Withdrawals, however, will be permitted.
6. The election shall be held in a closed session of the ICCU. One member
of the working party (not the Secretary) shall take the chair. Each post shall
be dealt with separately, starting
with the President and continuing through the Vice-Presidents in order. The
chairman shall read out the names of the candidates for the Presidency. At this
point each of these candidates
may, if he so wishes, address the ICCU for a maximum of 10 minutes. Afterwards
there can be a discussion. The chairman shall then invite delegates to record
in secret their vote for one
of these candidates, on paper provided for the purpose. Any candidate obtaining
a majority of the votes cast shall be declared elected. Otherwise delegates
will vote again between the two candidates gaining the most votes in the first
round. In the event of a tie in the second round, the chairman shall call a
recess of not more than 10 minutes, after which the vote shall be taken again.
If the result is again a tie, the chairman shall determine the outcome by selecting
one of two folded slips of paper each bearing the name of one candidate.
7. Any candidate defeated in the vote for the Presidency may now declare his
candidature for any or all of the posts of Vice-President, if he has not already
done so. The chairman shall
read out the names of candidates for the post of 1st Vice-President. Any candidate
may address the ICCU for not more than 10 minutes, provided he has not already
spoken.
8. In the event of a tie, the same procedure shall be adopted as for the Presidency.
9. The posts of 2nd and 3rd Vice-President shall be dealt with in exactly
the same way, with previously defeated candidates being entitled to stand, and
candidates having the same right to
address the ICCU for a maximum of 10 minutes.
10. All the voting shall take place within the same session.
11. The duties of the working party shall cease as soon as the new Presidium
has been elected in its entirety.
§
V. Agenda at meetings
1. An Agenda shall be drawn up for every ordinary meeting of the ICCU, and
shall be communicated to all Members at least six (6) weeks before the start
of the meeting.
2. Each Agenda shall contain in particular the following items:
- Verification of attendance and voting-rights.
- Agreement of the minutes of the previous meeting.
- Any elections which may fall due.
- Proposals by member-countries.
- Announcement of place for the next meeting.
- Any other business.
§
VI. Proposals by Member-Countries
1. Any proposals by member-countries to be dealt with on the Agenda in accordance
with paragraph V.2d above must reach the President at least ten (10) weeks before
the start of the meeting. Any proposals received later, together with proposals
made by Members during a session of the ICCU, may be dealt with only under Any
other Business paragraph V2f as far as the remaining programme for the meeting
permits.
2. However a Member has the right to propose that a matter seeming to him to
be urgent shall be dealt with by the ICCU out of turn. The ICCU shall then immediately
decide on this proposal by a straight majority vote.
§
VII. Sessions
1. The sessions shall serve the discussion and consideration of the items of
the Agenda, along with the passing of resolutions by the ICCU. The chair shall
be taken by the President himself or his representative appointed in accordance
with paragraph III.4.
2. Every Member is entitled to signify his desire to speak at any time during
the meeting. The Chairman shall accord this right in the order in which he receives
the requests to speak. He also has the right to limit the time allowed to any
speaker when several have requested to speak.
3. The Chairman is also entitled to interrupt a session for good reason.
4. As soon as the ICCU has decided on the termination of a discussion, only
one further speaker each for and against a motion may be allowed. Further requests
to speak shall be refused by the Chairman as being too late.
5. English is the working language of the ICCU. Spoken and written contributions
in other languages by Members should be translated or summarized into English.
§
VIII. Sub-Committees
1. The ICCU shall either decide immediately on a proposal under discussion
or, if the nature and scope of the matter demand it, shall appoint a committee
of two to five (2-5) persons to deal with the matter outside the sessions.
2. A committee of this sort shall gather together for the ICCU all important
facts for the clarification of the matter in hand and the creation of a basis
for a decision by the ICCU. A sub-committee shall report on its work within
the appointed time, and may also put forward its own proposal(s).
3. The President has the right, without any specific decision by the ICCU,
to work in all committees of this sort.
§
IX. Standing Committees
1. For fields of work that require lengthy preparation and activity above and
beyond ICCU meetings, the ICCU is empowered to appoint standing committees.
2. The task of a committee of this sort is to go into the subject thoroughly
and to present to the ICCU concrete results and proposals for the ICCU to decide
on. Each subcommittee shall for this purpose choose a spokesman from among its
members, and convey his or her name to the President.
3. After the fulfilment of its task or for other important reasons sub-committees
appointed in accordance with paragraph VIII. or IX. may be wound up by a simple
majority vote of the ICCU.
§
X. Award of titles
1. It is a fundamental task of the ICCU to award for life the titles of:
- Grandmaster for Chess Compositions
- International Master for Chess Compositions,
- Master for Chess Compositions
- International Judge for Chess Compositions
- International Solving Grandmaster
- International Solving Master
- Solving Master
- Honorary Master of Chess Composition
2. The ICCU also decides by a two-thirds (2/3) majority on the conditions under
which these titles may be awarded.
3. The ICCU may also decide by a two-thirds (2/3) majority to introduce new
titles and determine the necessary conditions.
4. A standing Qualifications Committee
appointed in accordance with paragraph IX. 1., consisting of five (5) ICCU Members
has to decide with simple majority, whether a candidate fulfils the qualifications
for one of the above mentioned titles. The committee needs a quorum of four
(4) persons for a valid decision.
5. Concerning the more detailed qualifications for the acquisition of titles
according to this paragraph, the ICCU shall decide on a set of conditions, attached
to these Statutes as Annex II.
§
XI. Requirements for a majority
1. The ICCU shall decide with a straight majority except in cases where the
statutes expressly require a two-thirds (2/3) majority.
2. The majority shall be determined from the respective number of Members present
at and taking part in the voting. In all cases where a two-thirds (2/3) majority
is required abstention counts as a vote against.
3. The President’s vote counts equal to that of the other Member.
§
XII. Concluding clauses
1. These Statutes came into force for the first time at the meeting in Rio
de Janeiro, October 2009. They are based on the Statutes of the Permanent Commission
of the FIDE for Chess
Compositions.
2. Any alteration to these Statutes may only be carried out if approved by
a two-thirds (2/3) majority.
ANNEX
I
Re paragraph I. 1.
Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Hercegowina, Brazil, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Finland, France, Great Britain,
Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania,
Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation,
Serbia & Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine,
USA (39 members).
ANNEX
II
Re paragraph X.5.
1. For the award of FIDE-titles, the following conditions must be fulfilled:
Composing titles
a) "Grandmaster for Chess Compositions"
A problem Composer must have at least 70 problems in the Albums. For a study
composer the corresponding minimum number of studies required in Albums is 42. Title holders
b) "International Master for Chess Compositions"
A problem composer must have at least 25 problems in the Albums. For a study
composer the corresponding minimum number of studies required in Albums is 15.
(Tbilisi 1975) Title holders
c) "Master for Chess Compositions"
A problem composer must have at least 12 problems in the Albums. For a study
composer the corresponding minimum number of studies required in Albums is 8. Title holders
In counting the points, for the mentioned master titles the value of a joint
composition will be divided by the number of composers collaborating. If a composer
competes with problems as well as studies then 1 study = 1 2/3 problems.
Judging title
d) "International Judge for Chess Compositions"
Only national chess federations, national associations for chess compositions
as well as the members of the ICCU have the right to propose a member of their
chess federation as a candidate for the title "International Judge". Title holders
The standing Qualifications Committee
examines the proposal in the ICCU. The candidate has to fulfil the following
qualifications:
i) First application for the title International Judge in one section: 6
awards among them at least 4 awards in the section applied for and among them
two published abroad are needed.
ii) First application for the title International Judge in more than one section:
4 awards (among them two published abroad) in one section which must be signified
as first section and 3 awards in each other section are needed. (This means
that a candidate for 2 sections must present at least 7 awards and for 3 sections
at least 10 awards).
iii) Application for extension of the previously granted titles to other sections:
3 awards in each of those sections.
All awards mentioned above should be of international composing tourneys.
The sections to apply for are: 2#, 3#, n#, s#, h#, fairies, endgames, retros
and mathematics.
All applications must be in written form. They should be addressed to the Spokesman
of the Qualifications Committee or to the President and must be signed by the
Chess federation, the national association for chess compositions or the delegate
of the applying country. (Rotterdam 1991). [forms for applications,
pdf-file, 69 kb]
Solvers’ rating and titles
A rating is a numerical value which a solver gains by solving in two approved
tournaments.
A rating can be gained at the WCSC, WCCC-Open, or other tournaments which fulfil
definite criteria.
The rating list is published twice a year. It is calculated on the basis of
the results of solving tournaments completed (including the report) by the end
of June and the end of December.
The ICCU gives authority to a person(s) or an ICCU responsible for calculating
the ratings according to the approved formula (an Excel macro has been developed
for help).
Solving norms
Norms for the titles International Solving Grandmaster (GM), International
Solving Master (IM), Solving Master (M) can be gained if at least 5 title holders
with ratings GM 2550 / IM 2450 / M 2350 and other solvers with the obligatory
qualifying rating – 2600 for GM / 2500 for IM / 2400 for M altogether compete
at the tournament.
A norm for the title of GM / IM / M:
To obtain a norm a solver must achieve a minimum performance rating 2650 / 2550
/ 2450. He must be placed within the number of solvers with the qualifying rating
2600 / 2500 / 2400 (i.e. at least sixth place when there are six solvers with
rating min. 2600 / 2500 / 2400).
Solving titles
f) International Solving Grandmaster: A solver must gain a norm 3 times
(at least once at the WCSC or ECSC) and achieve a rating of 2600. Title
holders.
g) International Solving Master: A solver must gain a norm twice and
achieve a rating of 2500. Title holders.
h) Solving Master: A solver must gain a norm twice and achieve a rating
of 2400 Title holders.
ANNEX
III
Basic requirements for the admission and expulsion of chess federations.
1. Visible activity in the composing and solving of chess problems or studies
must exist in the country seeking admission.
2. The application must be addressed in writing by the chess federation to
the President of the ICCU. It must be accompanied by the undertaking that the
country in question will actively participate in the tasks and the pursuit of
aims of the ICCU.
3. The delegate nominated by the chess federation (Paragraph I.1. of the statutes)
must orally present his federation’s application at an ordinary meeting of the
ICCU (Paragraph II.1. of the statutes). Only then may a decision on the application
be reached.
4. If a Member is entirely absent from three successive ordinary meetings of
the ICCU, the latter is entitled to decide, in ordinary session, to expel the
chess federation which has nominated this member. The chess federation in question
must first have the opportunity to make written representations on the matter.
Provided that the due conditions are fulfilled, a resumption of representation
at a later ordinary meeting is permissible.
5. Member-federations not fulfilling the duties mentioned in § I.4, including
a failure to comply with financial responsibilities or the committing of acts
which run counter to the Statutes of the ICCU or its resolutions and decisions,
may be temporarily or definitely excluded from the ICCU by a meeting of the
ICCU, on the proposal of the Presidium.
6. When a federation is admitted or expelled, the list in Annex I must be amended
by decision of the ICCU.
The ICCU | Meetings of the ICCU
| Officers of the ICCU | Election of Officers
Agenda at meetings | Proposals by Member-Countries
| Sessions | Committees | Standing
Committees
Award of titles | Requirements for a majority | Concluding
clauses
ANNEX I | ANNEX II | ANNEX
III