1. Venue and dates

1. The World Chess Blitz Championship shall be organized in Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.
2. The dates of the event – 7-8 November 2008. 7 November – opening of the tournament.
3. The final of the World Chess Blitz Championship shall take place on 8 November in the Opera and Ballet Theater named after Abai.

2. Time control.

1. The games of the tournament shall be played with a classical time control of 5 minutes for the whole game for each opponent, without increment.
2. Should any dispute arise, the decision of an arbiter who was closest to the game where the conflict took place, or Chief Arbiter, shall be final. Only the Appeals Committee can overturn a decision of the Chief Arbiter.

3. Participants of the Championship.

1. There are ten players who shall be seeded directly to the final part of the World Blitz Championship, i.e. five first players in the final standings of the two previous World Blitz Championships.
2. In case if one of the seeded players is a prize winner of both of the Championships, a player who took next place (after 5th place) from the latest World Blitz Championship fills the vacancy.
3. Champion of the 15th Asian Games Marat Kazhgaleev.
4. One nominee of the Organising Committee – Rafael Vaganian.
5. Continental Champions in Blitz of 2008 - 4 players. In case one of the players refuses to participate OR if there has not been a Continental Blitz Championship, the player shall be nominated by the Continental President.
6. Participants of the tournament shall be provided with a single room in a 4-5 star hotel, for a period 7-8 November (2 nights), covered by the Organisers.
7. The playing system will be single round-robin (16 players, 15 rounds)
8. Tie-break criteria in order of priority: a) Direct encounter, b) Sonnenborn – Berger, c) Number of games played with black, d) Number of won games, e) Play off.

4. Prize Fund.

1. The total prize fund for the World Chess Blitz Championship shall be 350, 000 Swiss Francs.
2. FIDE shall receive 20% of this amount, i.e. 70, 000 SFr.
3. The prize share for the players shall be 80% - 280, 000 SFr.
4. The distribution of the prize fund shall be as follows:

1st place – 80, 000 SFr
2nd place – 50, 000 SFr
3rd place – 30, 000 SFr
4th place – 20, 000 SFr
5th place – 15, 000 SFr
6th place – 13, 000 SFr
7th place – 12, 000 SFr
8th place – 10, 000 SFr
9th place - 9, 000 SFr
10th place - 8, 000 SFr
11th place - 7, 000 SFr
12th place - 6, 000 SFr
13th place - 5, 000 SFr
14th place - 5, 000 SFr
15th place - 5, 000 SFr
16th place - 5, 000 SFr

5. The prizes cannot be shared and will be determined according to the additional criteria according to the FIDE Regulations. These regulations will be announced and distributed to the players during the technical meeting, before the start of the tournament.
6. The prizes are subject to taxation according to the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The exact terms of taxation will be announced and distributed to the players during the technical meeting, before the start of the tournament.

5. Arbiters

1. The Arbiters’ team shall be approved as follows:

   Chief Arbiter – IA A. Filipowicz (POL)
   Deputy Chief Arbiter – FIDE Arbiter S. Seifullin (KAZ)
   Secretary (Line Arbiter) - S. Kim (KAZ)
   Line Arbiter - IA M. Ivakhin (RUS)
   Line Arbiter – IA V. Semenikhin (KAZ)
   Line Arbiter – IA H. Turdialiev (UZB)
   Line Arbiter – IA S. Yurovsky (KAZ)

2. The Arbiters shall be provided with accommodation and full board as well as cars for the period of the Championship. The Chief Arbiter shall be reimbursed airfare for a round trip in economy class. Non-Kazakhstan Arbiters shall be provided with airfare for round trips.
3. Any local arbiters needed, shall be provided with a train round trip ticket.

6. Principals

1. The Organisers shall provide FIDE President with a suite in a 5-star hotel, full board and a car as well as the airfare in the 1st class Moscow-Almaty-Moscow.
2. FIDE Observer for the World Chess Blitz Championship – B. Assanov (KAZ).
3. Chief Arbiter, all Arbiters and FIDE Observer shall be approved by the FIDE President.
4. The Championship will be conducted according to the official FIDE laws of chess for blitz games. The Appeals Committee will consist of the FIDE Observer (Chairman) and two members to be appointed by the Organising Committee and announced during the technical meeting.

7. Stipends

1. Chief Arbiter – 3, 000 SFr
2. Deputy Chief Arbiter – 2, 000 SFr
3. Line Arbiters – 1, 000 SFr each
4. FIDE Observer – 3, 000 SFr