International Reporting Guidebook
The International Reporting Guidebook consists of the information below on common pitfalls and errors to be avoided when reporting on international events.
Countries as equal entities
It is considered poor form to designate a country as a protectorate or territory of another country when such a link does not exist in reality.
- e.g.: Canada is not part of the Unites States of America.
Countries as regional entities
Due to political and regional considerations, some zones may be considered countries, and others may not, depending on geopolitical circumstances out of an organizer's or reporter's control, as well as the game played in some circumstances. It is heavily suggested to develop a policy on the British "constituent countries" (England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland; as opposed to the United Kingdom (one country for the Olympics, four for soccer). Never conflate North Ireland with the Republic of Ireland in any circumstance until and unless they somehow unite in the future) as well as a policy regarding China as "one zone, one country", "many zones, one country", or "many zones, many countries". This last option is politically explosive and should be avoided.
Confusion and mistakes when referring to countries
Due to phonetics, similar names, abbreviations and transliteration errors, there is a risk of making honest mistakes as well as glaring errors that should be avoided at all costs.
Country names
Austria vs. Australia
This is a common mistake made by many people. Therefore referencing an instance is not required.
Slovakia vs. Slovenia
This is a mistake that the WMO and MIL have both made in the past.
Sweden vs. Switzerland
This is a mistake that has happened occasionally.
Country codes
General issues
The main issue with country codes is that they are generally small and different languages have different imperatives as to shortening rules. It is common in Germany and even Europe to use single-letter codes for some countries (such as D for Germany, F for France, B for Belgium) mixed with two-letter codes that may not match with other international standards. Others may use localized codes that have meaning for locals but not internationally, not counting extra potential for mixing up things (NDL, NLD, NED for Netherlands; CDA, CDN, CND, CAN for Canada).
- It is highly recommended to not use variable-length codes.
- It is highly recommended to use a standard list of codes, namely ISO-3166-1. Options exist for two-letter codes, three-letter codes, and three-digit codes.
- It is also recommended to not mix their usage in a single article. Should an editorial guideline change over time, no need to correct from two-letter to three-letter or vice-versa.
Two-letter codes
- AU for Australia, not Austria (AT).
- BE for Belgium, not Belarus (BY).
- SK for Slovakia, not South Korea (KR).
- Note that many countries have two-letter codes based off their language, and not English.
- Using state codes should always be kept visually separate from country codes. While there is no prescribed method, CA is the ISO-3166-2 abbreviation for California and requires that US be visible nearby.
Three-letter codes
- AUS for Australia, AUT for Austria.
- BEL for Belgium, BLR for Belarus.
- IND for India, INA for Indonesia.
Country code suggestions
It is recommended to pick one list from ISO-3166-1 and stick with it.
| ### | A2 | A3 | Name | ISO 3166-2 | EMA | NA | IORMC | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 032 | AR | ARG | Argentina | 2:AR | 1 | ||||
| 036 | AT | AUS | Austria | 2:AT | 01 | ‽ | |||
| 040 | AU | AUT | Australia | 2:AU | 1 | 1 | |||
| 056 | BE | BEL | Belgium | 2:BE | 02 | 0 | |||
| 076 | BR | BRA | Brazil | 2:BR | ‽ | ||||
| 112 | BY | BLR | Belarus | 2:BY | 20 | ≥0 | |||
| 124 | CA | CAN | Canada | 2:CA | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 156 | CN | CHN | China | 2:CN | 1 | ‽ | |||
| 158 | TW | TWN | Taiwan, Province of China | 2:TW | 1 | ‽ | |||
| 203 | CZ | CZE | Czechia | 2:CZ | 22 | ≥1 | |||
| 208 | DK | DNK | Denmark | 2:DK | 03 | 2 | |||
| 246 | FI | FIN | Finland | 2:FI | 14 | ≥1 | |||
| 250 | FR | FRA | France | 2:FR | 04 | 1 | (30 total) ≥10 | ||
| 276 | DE | DEU | Germany | 2:DE | 05 | (7 total) ‽ | |||
| 344 | HK | HKG | Hong Kong | 2:HK | 1 | ‽ | |||
| 348 | HU | HUN | Hungary | 2:HU | 06 | 0 | |||
| 360 | ID | IDN | Indonesia | 2:ID | 1 | ‽ | |||
| 380 | IT | ITA | Italy | 2:IT | 07 | 0 | |||
| 392 | JP | JPN | Japan | 2:JP | 1 | ♥ | |||
| 410 | KR | KOR | Korea, Republic of | 2:KR | 1 | ≥2 | |||
| 484 | MX | MEX | Mexico | 2:MX | 3 | 1 | |||
| 528 | NL | NLD | Netherlands | 2:NL | 08 | ‽ | |||
| 616 | PL | POL | Poland | 2:PL | 19 | 1 | ‽ | ||
| 620 | PT | PRT | Portugal | 2:PT | 12 | 0 | |||
| 643 | RU | RUS | Russian Federation | 2:RU | 15 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 702 | SG | SGP | Singapore | 2:SG | 1 | 1 | |||
| 703 | SK | SVK | Slovakia | 2:SK | 17 | 1 | ≥1 | ||
| 704 | VN | VNM | Viet Nam | 2:VN | 1 | ‽ | |||
| 724 | ES | ESP | Spain | 2:ES | 10 | 0 | |||
| 752 | SE | SWE | Sweden | 2:SE | 09 | 1 | |||
| 756 | CH | CHE | Switzerland | 2:CH | 16 | 0 | |||
| 804 | UA | UKR | Ukraine | 2:UA | 21 | ≥1 | |||
| 826 | GB | GBR | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
2:GB | 11 | 1 | ≥2 | ||
| 840 | US | USA | United States of America | 2:US | 1 | 1 | ≥15 | ||
| Total | . | . | . | . | 20 | 3 | 17 | ||
| 903 | RE | REU | Réunion | (4 MCR) 0 | 638 | ||||
| 933 | BA | BIH | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 70 | |||||
| 933 | BG | BGR | Bulgaria | 100 | |||||
| 933 | HR | HRV | Croatia | 191 | |||||
| 933 | EE | EST | Estonia | 233 | |||||
| 933 | GR | GRC | Greece | 300 | |||||
| 933 | IS | ISL | Iceland | 352 | |||||
| 933 | IE | IRL | Ireland | 372 | |||||
| 933 | LV | LVA | Latvia | 428 | |||||
| 933 | LU | LUX | Luxembourg | 442 | |||||
| 933 | NO | NOR | Norway | 578 | |||||
| 933 | RO | ROU | Romania | 642 | |||||
| 933 | RS | SRB | Serbia | 688 | |||||
| 933 | SI | SVN | Slovenia | 705 | |||||
| 982 | YT | MYT | Mayotte | 175 | |||||
| 985 | GP | GLP | Guadeloupe | 312 | |||||
| 986 | PF | PYF | French Polynesia | 258 | |||||
| 986 | WF | WLF | Wallis and Futuna | 876 | |||||
| 988 | MO | MAC | Macao | 446 | |||||
| 989 | TF | ATF | French Southern Territories | 260 | |||||
| 990 | TR | TUR | Turkey | 792 |
Note: Number of clubs does not count non-riichi initiatives.