The FIDE World Blitz & Rapid Championships shall be organized annually under the aegis of FIDE by a Federation entrusted with the task by the General Assembly or the Presidential Board at least one year in advance. All rights for the organization of the World Blitz & Rapid Championships and the title of the World Blitz Champion or World Rapid Champion belong to FIDE.

The events will be both Swiss pairings tournaments, and will be held over two days for Blitz and three days for Rapid. The Blitz will have fifteen rounds with two games each round, each player playing with white and black against his paired opponent, Swiss event. The Rapid will be also fifteen rounds, but only one game as paired, Swiss event.

3.1 All players rated at least 2500 in any of the three FIDE rating lists (Standard, Blitz or Rapid) as at the 1

At least two months before the tournament, the organising federation will send an invitation to all affiliated federations. The invitations shall be approved by the FIDE President. Copies of the invitation shall also be sent to the FIDE President, to the Continental Presidents and to the Zone Presidents.

5.1 In the Blitz Championship, each player will have 3 minutes + 2 seconds additional time per move, starting from move 1.

5.2 In the Rapid Championship, each player will have 15 minutes + 10 seconds additional time per move, starting from move 1.

6.1 The players are not permitted to speak to their opponents during the games. Appropriate sporting behaviour is expected from all participants and FIDE rules of conduct are to be strictly followed at all times.

6.2 During the playing session, a player may leave the playing area only with the permission of the Chief Arbiter and only if he is accompanied by one of the arbiters.

6.3 Players are required to attend the Players' Meeting on the day of the Opening Ceremony at a time to be decided by the Chief Arbiter and the Organisers. If necessary, the Chief Arbiter may call other Players' Meetings.

6.4 The draw for Colours and Pairings will be made in the first Players’ Meeting for all three events.

6.5 Players are requested to note the requirements of FIDE Regulations C.01 (Article 8.1) in respect of their dignified appearance at all times during the matches. FIDE may provide a dress code for the event and players and officials will comply with the dress code.

6.6 If any player withdraws after completing 50% or more of the games, the rest of his games are lost by default. In case a player completes less than 50%, all his results are annulled. If such a withdrawal is not justified, he will forfeit his right to the prize for the tournament as well as incur further sanctions by FIDE

6.7 A protest against any decision must be submitted in writing to the Chairman of the Appeals Committee, immediately after the game. The decision of the Appeals Committee is final.

6.8 Apart from the players and principals, no other person shall be allowed in the actual playing area during the games, except with the express permission of the Chief Arbiter.

6.9 The players are not permitted to bring into the playing venue any electronic or technical or other equipment extraneous to play, which may in any way disturb or upset the opponent or may be in breach of the Rules of Chess. The Chief Arbiter shall decide what constitutes extraneous equipment liable to offend the opponent or may be in breach of the Rules of Chess.

6.10 The players shall shake hands (or shall greet each other in a normal social manner in accordance with the conventional rules of their society) before the start and after the end of each game. If a player fails to meet these requirements and after being asked to do so by the Chief Arbiter, then the player will lose the game immediately.

6.11 During the game, a player may talk only to an arbiter or communicate with a steward.

6.12 Organizers shall provide in sufficiency, free of charge, coffee, tea and soft drinks for the players and principals. It is advisable that the same offer shall apply for the press members.

6.13 During play either the Chief Arbiter or the Deputy Chief Arbiter must be present in the playing area.

6.14 Tournaments will be played according to the rules of the inadequate supervision of the Rapid play Laws of Chess ( FIDE Handbook, E.I.01B Appendices, art. 1 to 4 ).

6.15 The Chief Arbiter may, in consultation with the Chairman of Appeals Committee, the players and after the approval of the FIDE President, issue additional written regulations to lay down the exact playing hours and take care of other details not covered by these regulations.

6.16 Immediately after the end of the event, the Chief Arbiter shall draw up a report in the English language and send it without delay to the FIDE Secretariat. The report shall be supplemented by adding two copies of the bulletins of the event. The report shall contain the result of each individual game as well as the final standings of the event. In addition, the report shall contain a general description of the course of the event.

6.17 Immediately after the end of the event, the Chairman of Appeals Committee shall draw up a report in the English language and send it without delay to the FIDE Secretariat. The report shall contain an overview of the organisation, the conditions and any other matter that may be deemed relevant by the Chairman of Appeals Committee.

9.2 The playing venue shall be decorated with the FIDE flag, IOC flag, the flags of the host nation and the participating players’ Federations and the sponsors' brandings.

9.3 After the WCOC agrees with the Organisers on the arrangements in respect of the tournament hall, facilities, accommodation and meals, transportation, telecommunication, ceremonies, no objections from the participants shall be acceptable.

10.1 The players are expected to cooperate reasonably with the media. General interviews with them can be arranged only through the Press Officer.

10.2 The players are required to make themselves available for short interviews immediately after each game. In general, both players shall be available for the daily press conference.

10.3 Players are required to be present at all official functions approved by FIDE President or his representative during the Tournament including official receptions and the opening and closing ceremonies.

10.4 Only photographers and camera crews expressly authorized by the Organising Committee may work in the playing venue.

11.1 The entry fee of 100 USD shall be paid to the Organiser. All players must register by not later than 1st May 2013 following which entry fee will be 200 USD.

11.2 The organising federation shall award a gold medal to each of the winners of the title World Blitz Champion and World Rapid Champion, silver medals to the players who respectively took the second place and bronze medal to the player who took the third place in the Blitz and Rapid events.

11.3 The organising federation shall award money prizes for the Championships as follows :

11.4 The tie break system (for medals only) is as follows :

1. Direct Encounter

2. Greater number of wins

3. Greater number of games with Black (unplayed games counted as White)

4. ARCO (Average Rating of Opponents Cut 1)

5. Buchholz Cut 1

11.5 All monetary prizes are shared equally, in cases of any tied position/s.

11.6. One month before the start of the Blitz and Rapid tournaments the organiser will transfer an additional 20% (80,000 USD) to FIDE, over and above the prize fund, to the FIDE bank account.

11.7 The total fees for the World Blitz and Rapid Championships for the principals are as follows : Chief Arbiter (3,500 USD), Deputy Chief Arbiter (3,000 USD), Chairman of Appeals Committee (3,500 USD), Members of Appeals Committee (2,500 USD) and Press Officer (2,500 USD).

11.8 Travelling expenses plus accommodation on full board for players over 2760 (in any of the rating lists as at 1st March 2013 or 1st April 2013 – Standard, Blitz or Rapid), plus the 6 FIDE Principals and the Global Chess representative up to a maximum of 1,100 USD per player travelling from the same continent or Europe and 1,500 USD for players travelling from African or American continent for economy class tickets. Any travelling costs for accompanying persons will be the players’ or Principals’ responsibility.

11.9 All other players will be responsible for their travel expenses as well as accommodation costs. The organiser will offer accommodation alternatives through their website.

11.10 The Organiser shall pay additional commercial costs of 15,000 USD to Global Chess MFZE for assistance in the setup, administration, organisation and management of the Blitz & Rapid Championships. The amount will be transferred directly to FIDE on behalf of Global Chess MFZE.

12.1 A short Opening Ceremony shall take place and all participants are required to take part.

12.2 The Closing Ceremony shall take place according to schedule. The Organizer shall provide three trophies to the first three placed players. The FIDE Anthem, the anthem of the winner’s country and the anthem of the host country shall be played.

13.1 No member of the Appeals Committee shall sit in judgement in a dispute involving a player or party from his Federation except where the dispute is between two players or two parties from his Federation.

13.2 All protests must be submitted in writing to the Appeals Committee not more than 15 minutes after the relevant playing session, or the particular infringement complained against.

13.3 The Committee may decide on the following matters within a reasonable time frame:

a) an appeal against a decision by an arbiter,

b) a protest against a player's behaviour,

c) a complaint alleging false interpretation of the regulations,

d) a request for the interpretation of specific regulations,

e) a protest or complaint against any participant, or

f) all other matters which the Committee considers important.

13.4 If possible, the Committee shall reach a decision not more than 15 minutes after the submission of a protest. The appeals process shall include written representations and a written decision. The Committee shall endeavour to find binding solutions that are within the true spirit of the FIDE motto, Gens Una Sumus.

13.5 Each protest must be accompanied by a deposit fee of USD500 or a written statement that this fee can be deducted from the prize fund if the protest is rejected. If the protest is accepted, the fee shall be returned. If the protest is rejected, then in this case, FIDE reserves the right to withhold the deposit fee.

13.6 The decision of the Appeals Committee arising from any dispute in respect of these regulations shall be final.

14.1 The prize fund and stipends shall be paid by direct bank transfer in US Dollars from FIDE’s bankers UBS, Lausanne.

14.2 FIDE shall not be responsible if any national tax has to be deducted from the prize money or for any tax obligation of the participants in their respective countries.

14.3 At any time in the course of the application of these regulations, any grounds that are not covered or any unforeseen event shall be referred to the President of FIDE for final decision.

15.1 Should a player be in breach of conduct of any of these regulations, then the player may be subject to an automatic penalty, by FIDE, of USD 1,000 for any instance of breach.

15.2 Should a player be in repeated breach of any of these regulations, FIDE reserves the right to expel the player from the tournament and subject the player to an automatic fine of USD 2,500. In this case, the expelled player will not have any right to any prize money, irrespective of his standing at the time of expulsion.

15.3 Should a player withdraw from the tournament without proper justification to the WCOC, then an automatic penalty of USD 5,000 will be imposed by FIDE on the player and the player may be excluded from the next World Blitz or Rapid Championships.