Meet our team!
Sabrina de San Vicente (54) is an International Arbiter (A license) from Uruguay. She lives in Montevideo and is a mother of three and also a grandmother.
Since 2018 Sabrina has been a member of the Qualification Commission (Councillor since 2020) and has taken the chair in April 2022. She is also a FIDE Arbiters Lecturer.
Sabrina participated in the last five Olympiads. In Istanbul 2012, Tromsø 2014 and Baku 2016 she played for the Uruguayan team.
In Batumi 2018 she was a Match Arbiter and in Chennai 2022 she served as a Deputy Chief Arbiter.
Furthermore, she was arbiter in six American Continentals and three Panamerican Youth Championships.
Chess play an important role in the life of Sabrina:
I love being part of the chess family. I want to contribute to FIDE and I enjoy to be in touch with the chess community. My role in the Qualification Commission gives me a great opportunity to do so.
And she strongly believes in teamwork:
Working in the Qualification Commission is both interesting and challenging. I believe we have a great team with many individual qualities. I am confident that together we will succeed in our mission.
Shaun Press (56) is an International Arbiter (A license), FIDE Master, and a long time organiser, who represents Papua New Guinea.
Born in Papua New Guinea, Shaun has lived in Australia for most of his life. He was the Australian national Ratings Officer, and oversaw the modernisation of its ratings software. He has been (Deputy) Chief Arbiter for a number of Australian Championships and Opens, and is currently the Chief Organiser of Australia’s largest open tournament: O2C Doeberl Cup.
As an official he served on the FIDE Rules Commission (2008 – 2014 & 2018 – 2022), System of Pairings and Programs Commission (2010 – 2014) and on the Technical Administration Panel at the 2010, 2012 and 2022 Olympiads.
I am now retired from full time employment. I had a career in IT and Robotics, working at the Australian National University for a large part of my career. That gives me more time for chess now. I have represented Papua New Guinea in eight Chess Olympiads, and played in the 2019 World Cup.
Within the Qualification Commission, Shaun’s main focus will be in the area of regulations, with a special emphasis on clarifying any ambiguities in the current wording.
Nick Faulks (70) is a FIDE Arbiter from Bermuda.
Nick has been in the Qualification Commission for more than ten years, first serving as the Secretary and later as the Chairman.
Nick holds the title of Candidate Master and has played several Olympiads for Bermuda.
Nick will focus on regulations for the change of gender identity registration and the transfers of players. Furthermore, the rating system has his attention.
Paloma Gutiérrez Castillo (37) is a Professor at the University of Malaga (Spain). Her primary work focuses on teaching fluids related courses and conducting applied research on Aerodynamics.
Paloma’s life has been linked to chess since her childhood years. As a player she became Spanish youth champion G12 and G20, three times runner up in the Female Spanish Championship and she gained the Women International Master title in 2006. At the same time, she started her training and organizing activities: she is a FIDE Trainer and Local Arbiter.
Paloma has been involved with the organisation of the Open International de Malaga and is a member of the Presidential Board of the Spanish Chess Federation. This is her second period as Councillor in the Qualification Commission.
My main goal is to make the Chess World better known and more approchable to everyone. The most important piece of the chess puzzle are the players, but a good organization and regulations at all levels are crucial for the proper development of chess. Let chess speak for itself and it will capture everyone!
Paloma will focus on title applications and general regulations.
Irina Semenova (32) is an International Arbiter (D license) from Uzbekistan.
Irina is also a Woman Grandmaster who has been playing for the national women chess team for a long time, scoring team medals in Asian Championships and a gold medal in Asian Nations Cup 2016.
After her study at the Tashkent State University of Economics, Irina (FIDE Trainer) worked as chess trainer for a few years. Later she started a full time at the Uzbekistan Chess Federation as rating officer and manager, and thus also within the organizing committees of international tournaments in Uzbekistan.
Irina has previously been Counselor of the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission (2018 – 2022). She has worked as arbiter at the Asian and Zonal Championships, online and hybrid Championships. In 2022 she was appointed as Arbiter of the Chess Olympiad, her first Olympiad on the other side.
Successfully working together within the chess community and gaining new experiences brings me the greatest joy.
Irina will focus on title applications and general regulations.
Günther van den Bergh (52) is an International Arbiter (A license) from South Africa.
Günther studied mathematics and statistics at University as well as Electrical Engineering at Technical College. Currently he is a programmer & web developer by profession and a horticulturist specialising in hydroponic systems.
Günther has acted as Chief Arbiter at many Zonal and Continental events in Africa, and has been Match Arbiter at many Olympiads. He was also the Chief Arbiter at the 2014 World Youth Chess Championships that were held in Durban, South Africa.
He is currently the Chairperson of the Arbiters & Organisers Commission of Chess South Africa as well as the federation’s Ratings Officer.
I like anything to do with puzzles – the more difficult the better. My hobbies include writing my own pairing software and solving problems using Game Theory.
Günther will have a special focus on our website and review of title applications.
Casto Abundo (72) is an International Arbiter (A license) and International Organizer from the Philippines.
Casto has a long chess career. His prominent arbiter positions include being Chief Arbiter of the World Championship 2000, World Team Championship 2004, World Youth Championship 2013 and numerous Asian Continental Championships. He was also Director of the Manila Olympiad 1992.
Casto was General Secretary of FIDE under President Campomanes, FIDE Rating Administrator (1989 – 2007) and Chairman of the FIDE Constitutional Commission (2006 – 2014). Currently he is Executive Director of the Asian Chess Federation, a member of the FIDE Historical Committee and Senior Adviser to FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich.
I wish to share my experience of half a century with the new generation within FIDE. The work of the Qualification Commission is instrumental in developing chess all over the world. My fondest legacy is including chess in the Philippine scholastic athletic leagues in the 70’s when chess was not considered a sport. Today Philippine universities give scholarships to chess players and hire full time chess coaches.
Lorenginis Berti Contreras (69) is an international Arbiter (C license) from Chile. In daily life Lorenginis works as a travel agent.
Next to his experiences in the Chess Olympiads (Thessaloniki 1988, Tromsø 2014, Baku 2016 and Chennai 2022) he keeps very fond memories of the matches Korchnoi-Morovic, Karpov-Morovic and Hou Yifan-Henriquez that were organized in Chile.
Receiving the Arbiter’s Award in the last Olympiad is the crown on his career.
Lorenginis is the rating officer of Chili, and he is a lecturer in arbiter training courses in South America.
Lorenginis looks back on his chess career with much contentment:
If I would be born again, I would do the same. And I will always love chess.
Lorenginis will be part of the team that reviews title applications.
Walter Brown Jr. (76) is an International Arbiter (C license) from the USA.
Walter will focus on direct titles and he leads the team responsible for title applications.
Edgardo Campora (27) is a FIDE Arbiter from Uruguay.
Edgardo is the manager of the Uruguayan Chess Federation since 2018. With studies in Administration and Computer Engineering, he complements his knowledge with the Chess World.
He has been part of the Organizing Committee of the World Youth Chess Championship 2017, the American Continental 2018 and the Pan Americans Youth Championships 2016 and 2022 in Montevideo.
Furthermore, Edgardo was part of the Arbiters teams of the Pan American Youth Championship 2022, the Finals of the Uruguayan Chess Championships 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 and the Montevideo Open ‘Marcel Duchamp Cup 2022’.
Chess has become my great passion over time, which has allowed me to obtain the FA title recently and joining the Qualification Commission. This is a great opportunity to help the world of chess from another area and I will try to bring some fresh ideas to the great works that my colleagues have been doing in this time.
Edgardo will focus on statistics with the Qualification Commission.
Amadou Lamine Cisse (50) is a National Arbiter from Senegal.
Amadou Lamine Cissé is President of the Senegalese Chess Federation. He was the champion of Senegal in 2021.
He has a background in sociology and project management and currently works as a strategic advisor to the City of Montreal after having had a long professional experience with the United Nations system.
My dream is to introduce the fabulous world of chess to the most disadvantaged communities in Senegal.
Kumar Dharmendra (46) is an International Arbiter (A license) from India.
Dharmendra is a chess professional for more than 25 years. He is the Chairman of the AICF Arbiters Commission, General Secretary of All Bihar Chess Association (one of the provinces in India) and Deputy President of the South Asian Chess Council. Furthermore, he is a FIDE Arbiters Lecturer and he loves to share his knowledge and experiences with his students.
He has headed the famous Delhi Open as Chief Arbiter for many years. At the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai he was part of the organizing team, responsible for the selection, training and appointment of more than 100 Indian arbiters. During the Olympiad itself, he served as a fair play officer.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dharmendra played a prominent role in establishing the Online National Championship of India:
The organization of the Online National Championship of India was an unforgettable experience. We worked continuously for a month. We had barely time to sleep.
Arno Eliëns (49) is an International Arbiter (A license) and International Organizer from the Netherlands.
In daily life, Arno works as a tax lawyer in Amsterdam.
Arno is also the Chairman of the Dutch Arbiters Committee. With experiences as (Deputy) Chief Arbiter in Norway Chess, the Grand Swiss (and its predecessor Isle of Man Swiss), TePe Sigeman, the World Amateur Championship and the European Corporate Championship, Arno is a well-known arbiter within the (elite) chess world.
His most prominent function is however being Chief Arbiter at ‘the Wimbledon of Chess’ – the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee (the Netherlands):
My most challenging experience has been as the Chief Arbiter of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022. Of course the Covid-19 measures and the highly contagious Omicron variant gave us a lot of difficulties. And the Tata Steel Chess Tournament is of course unique itself. The company is really involved with Wijk aan Zee and the tournament. I have never seen this at any other tournament.
Arno will have a special focus on our website, regulations for hybrid events and pairings systems (Scheveningen, Schiller).
Erick Hernandez (44) is an International Arbiter (A license) from El Salvador.
He lives in San Salvador and works in the El Salvador Legislative Assembly where he was reserve Member of Parliament in the period 2018 – 2021.
Erick was President of the El Salvador Chess Federation (2007 – 2008) and the President of Zone 2.3 (2006 – 2022). Recently, he was elected as Treasurer of the Confederation of Chess for Americas (2022 – 2026).
Since he became an International Arbiter in 2002 he has participated in eight Olympiads as Match Arbiter. Furthermore, he was Chief Arbiter in several Continentals and Youth events in America and Organizer of several international events in El Salvador.
As a new member of QC, I would like to benefit from the opportunity of working in the Qualification Commission team and learn from the experience of other members, and later share my experiences with the Federations in the Americas.
Elena Polovina (43) is an International Arbiter (B license) from Russia.
Elena has been in chess since 1984: first as a player and later as a teacher, arbiter, and lecturer. She is also a Woman FIDE Master.
In daily life, Elena (43) is the head of the chess school for young talents.
Her previous experience as an arbiter at World and European events covers the Women’s World Cup 2021 in Sochi (as Deputy Chief Arbiter), the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019 in Moscow(as Deputy Chief Arbiter) and the European Senior Chess Championship 2018 in Norway.
Elena will be a part of the team responsible for title applications.
Cristobal Vega Adorno (48) is an International Arbiter (D license) and FIDE Instructor from Puerto Rico.
In daily life, Cristobal works as a Mathematics Professor in the Department of Education.
Cristobal has been working for chess since 2003. Presently he is the Vice-President of Puerto Rico Chess Federation (after being President in 2014), President of Puerto Rico Chess Academy, the FIDE Rating Officer for Puerto Rico and Chairman of Puerto Rico Arbiters Commission.Federation and President of Puerto Rico Chess Academy.
Furthermore, he has experiences at the Olympiad in different roles: Delegate in Tromsø 2014, Anticheating Arbiter in Baku 2016, Match Arbiter in Batumi 2018 and Head of Delegation in Chennai 2022.
One step in favour of chess is to contribute to the benefit of a better country and a better society.
