Dear Colleagues,

I would like to inform you about the conditions you will find in Tromso Olympiad. According to the Organizers’ decision you will be accommodated in the Malangen Brygger Hotel, which is 70 km far from Tromso. Buses will be used for your transportation to and from the Playing Hall and it will take 1 + 1 hours to go and return.
You can find details about the hotel in the link: http://malangen.com/?lang=en.

The Arbiters’ Meeting has been scheduled on August 1st, in the playing hall and your transportation from the Hotel and back has been scheduled.

The Opening Ceremony will be on August 1st.

The first round of the Olympiad will start at 15:00, on August 2nd and you have to be in the playing hall 2 hours before the start of the round. Rounds 2 to 11 start at 14:00 and you have to be in the playing hall 1 hour before the start of the round.
The Organizers have arranged only breakfast in your hotel. Lunch and Dinner have been arranged for Match Arbiters in Hotels in the center of Tromso (Radisson Hotel). So probably you need to leave your hotel quite early (i.e. 10.30 am), to have lunch in the center of Tromso ( i.e. at 12.00) and go to the playing hall ( 10 min. walk from Radisson Hotel ) at 13:00 ). Then, after the end of the round, you will have dinner in the Radisson Hotel and take the bus to go back to your hotel (according to the Organizers’ schedule the buses will leave from Tromso to the hotel at 20.30 and at 23.00). 

As you understand the schedule will be tight enough and you must be prepared for this. For those who would like to attend the FIDE Arbiters’ Seminar that was scheduled from 3 to 10 August, parallel to the Olympiad, programmed at 9.30 to 12.30 every day except August 7th, please register your participation so that transportation can be arranged from the Hotel to the Seminar Hall that will be opposite to the playing hall.

The FIDE Congress will start on August 5th.
Arbiters’ Commission Meeting will be on August 7th, 9.00-13.00.
The FIDE General Assembly will start on August 11th (Round 9th of Olympiad).
Free days of the Olympiad will be on August 7th and 13th.
Closing Ceremony will be on August 14th, after the end of the last round (11th).
Departure day will be August 15th.
Please have in mind that there is no night in Tromso during the whole period of the Olympiad. There is day light during the whole day.

According to the Organizers decision, tables for the Match Arbiters are not provided in the playing hall. The Match Arbiters will have just a chair each to sit and will be provided with dossiers to put their papers (score sheets, etc.) inside. Coffee, water and tea will be available to the Match Arbiters in the playing hall for free.

As you know, the Match Arbiters play a very significant role in every Olympiad and their contribution to the success of the event is very high. Therefore, at the moment you have accepted your nomination as Match Arbiters of the Olympiad and you will arrive in Tromso, you are kindly requested to exercise your duties and act in the best way so that the event will be as successful as possible.

Your presence in the Arbiters’ Meeting, where the duties of the Match Arbiters as well as recommendations and instructions will be discussed, is necessary.

Additionally you will find instructions for the Tromso Olympiad Match Arbiters here.

I will be very glad to meet you all in Tromso and cooperate with you in this very important event.



With best regards
Takis Nikolopoulos
Chief Arbiter
41st World Chess Olympiad