FIDE announces the qualifiers to the coming World Cities Team Championship for the Sheikh Zayed Cup scheduled 21-29 December 2012 in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Olympiad champion Armenia will lead 32 city teams in the $150,000 knock-out format championship. Host United Arab Emirates joins qualifiers from the World Team Championship, Continental teams and 25 top zonal teams from the Istanbul Olympiad.
The tournament is organized by the Al Ain Chess Club, headed by Asian Chess Federation president Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan, on behalf of FIDE, Asian Chess Federation and UAE Chess Federation.
Attached are the regulations and flyer outlining the pairing system. Teams will be grouped by rating into 8 groups of 4 teams each who will play a single round robin. The top two qualify into the knockout Round of 16 followed by exciting Quarterfinal and Semifinal matches, and the climactic Final showdown.
Qualified federations should accomplish and return the attached Entry Form with passport copies and ID photos for visa application.
Deadline for registration is 31st October. Otherwise reserves from other countries shall be invited.
Deadline for submission of names of players is 15th November. Visas shall be issued by email. The qualified federations are:
1 Olympiad Champion Armenia
2 World Team Champion Hungary – 5th (after Armenia, China, Ukraine, Russia)
3 European Champion Germany
4 American Champion Brazil
5 Asian Cities Champion Kazakhstan – 2nd (after China)
6 African Champion Egypt
7 Host Country UAE
8 Zone 1.1 Netherlands – 6th
9 Zone 1.2 Slovenia – 25th
10 Zone 1.3 Sweden – 16th
11 Zone 1.4 Romania – 8th
12 Zone 1.5 Serbia – 14th
13 Zone 1.6 Russia
14 Zone 1.7 Latvia – 28th
15 Zone 1.8 Azerbaijan – 10th
16 Zone 1.9 Ukraine
17 Zone 2.1 United States Of America
18 Zone 2.2 Canada
19 Zone 2.3 Cuba – 11th
20 Zone 2.4 Peru – 55th
21 Zone 2.5 Argentina –
22nd 22 Zone 3.1 Iran – 61st
23 Zone 3.2 Bangladesh – 33rd
24 Zone 3.3 Vietnam – 7th
25 Zone 3.4 Uzbekistan – 24th
26 Zone 3.5 China
27 Zone 3.6 Australia – 32nd
28 Zone 3.7 India
29 Zone 4.1 Tunisia – 75th
30 Zone 4.2 Uganda – 90th (after Egypt)
31 Zone 4.3 South Africa – 62nd
32 New Zone 4.4 Nigeria – 96th
Regulations (pdf)
Entry Form (doc)
World Cities Flyer (pdf)
What are they talking about? These are not cities, they are countries.