FIDE Online Arena
The FIDE Online Arena is the Fédération internationale des échecs or World Chess Federation's (FIDE) commercial Internet chess server devoted to chess playing and related activities.[1] A test version of the server began on August 8, 2013; the fully operational version was announced for October 2013.[1] FIDE Online Arena is the only official online chess platform of the World Chess Federation where Online Official games, tournaments and World Championships can be played, with Official International rating and titles.
The fully operational version of FIDE online arena was launched on April 4, 2014 with the announcement made by FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Games played between two FIDE online arena members will be for FIDE online ratings. A plan to merge online and over-the-board FIDE ratings for the blitz and rapid time controls in the future was also announced. The app, in the mean time, is still in construction.[2] On December 21, 2015, a new interface was rolled out.[3]
According to a September 2015 internal report, there are currently 4805 members, 2078 paying the subscription fee, with India the most populous.[4]
On January 7, 2016, the first newsletter was published, with plans for exhilarating events in 2016, promising to engage all chess fans to a unique gaming experience, along with the New Era that has come along with rated Online games and Arena titles.[5] "Arena titles are going to be included in monthly FIDE rating lists starting from January 2016. As official FIDE titles they can precede the players’ names in over the board competitions as well." However, the official Title regulations of FIDE declare "Only the titles as in (0.3) are acknowledged by FIDE", which list GM, IM, FM, CM and women's versions, but no Arena versions.[6]