Mi Caissa Tu Caissa

Candidate Statement for June Chess Life

2009-04-23T15:02:00.006-04:00

This year is the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the USCF. Its 1939 charter (still in effect) declared that the missions of the USCF were: to hold two national tournaments (the US Open, and the US Championship); to promote the knowledge of chess and to help players become masters of the game; and to foster the development of chess clubs and other chess organizations. I believe that those goals are still the proper goals for the USCF.

But today, the US Championship is struggling, and its success in any year depends almost entirely on the out-sourced organizer. Attendance at the US Open has been declining for years. Apart from publishing Chess Life, the USCF spends little to promote knowledge of the game, never mind mastery. Fostering the development of chess clubs and organizations is not a focus.

Here are some of the things which I think the USCF must do:

Eliminate the requirement for USCF membership to play in USCF-rated tournaments, especially for juniors. Rating chess tournaments should be covered by rating fees, which should be nominal. A USCF membership fee should not be an obstacle to playing rated, organized, chess.
Expand the number of national tournaments, and involve the USCF in co-sponsoring and underwriting major regional tournaments, along with state affiliates and local organizations. The US Championship should not be out-sourced, and it should be held in major cities. It should have a prize fund of at least $200,000 every year. Private for-profit companies, such as Continental Chess Association, control too much of the tournament scene. I support the effort to bring the Chess Olympiad to Chicago.
Organize chess leagues in schools and work-places, with proctored matches on Internet servers, benefitting from the experience of the US Chess League.
Have 501(c)(3) status from the IRS, and be able to receive tax-deductible contributions. That means operating for the good of chess and the community as a whole, rather than focusing so much on membership service. We need to be an organization that can attract charitable contributions. We should build an endowment for the USCF through concerted fund-raising.
Sponsor and underwrite chess courses, training camps and summer institutes, especially for juniors and for those representing the USCF in international competition. Provide scholarships. Lack of means should not be an impediment to talented players becoming masters.
Recognize that in twenty years from now, the USCF will probably not be publishing a paper magazine, and continue to move chess news and features, tournament announcements, and competitor information onto uschess.org. The USCF should have a world-class web site.

Some of these ideas must be phased in rather than implemented all at once. For example, eliminating the requirement for USCF membership to participate in USCF-rated tournaments might dramatically reduce the number of dues-paying members, causing financial problems. But we should be moving towards not requiring membership fees on top of entry fees for tournament entrants.

Candidate Statement for May Chess Life

2009-03-20T20:00:00.000-04:00

The most pressing issue facing the new Executive Board next August will be how to proceed with the lawsuits that embroil the USCF and two of the EB members who were elected in 2007; namely, Susan Polgar and Paul Truong (a married couple).

In September 2007, while working as a volunteer System Administrator for the USCF on its web site, I uncovered technical evidence that Paul Truong had authored thousands of vulgar, obscene, Usenet posts, impersonating various chess personalities, and viciously attacking the USCF and numerous USCF officials, employees, and volunteers. These posts, commonly referred to as "Fake Sam Sloan" posts, continued after Truong became an Executive Board member in August 2007. I put my findings into a confidential report (the "Mottershead Report") to the Executive Board, which was soon leaked on the Internet, though I was not the person who leaked it.

Truong's "Fake Sam Sloan" activity has led, ultimately, to five lawsuits for the USCF.

First, the USCF found itself as a co-defendant with Truong in two lawsuits by people he impersonated: one brought by the "real" Sam Sloan and a second by another person. The USCF is now out of these cases.

A third case arose when the USCF filed suit against "John Does", trying to discover how confidential emails between the USCF and its lawyers had been leaked and came to be posted on her blog by Polgar. After obtaining information through subpoenas, the USCF eventually alleged that a confederate of Polgar's had hacked into an EB member's email account over 100 times; that she received the stolen emails; and that she published them on her website, seeking to embarrass the other members of the Executive Board, knowing that they were stolen. The Secret Service is also investigating this affair as a criminal matter.

The fourth case was brought by Susan Polgar after she was subpoenaed in the email hacking case. She seeks $25 million in damages for unspecified "defamation" and other claims.

The last case was filed by the USCF to have a judge order the removal of Polgar and Truong from the Executive Board for misconduct and failure to fulfill their duties to the USCF as Executive Board members.

I believe that it is incumbent on all candidates in this election to make their position on these lawsuits clear, especially those candidates who are apparently being sponsored or supported by Susan Polgar and Paul Truong.

My position is that the USCF must defend itself vigorously in the $25 million lawsuit against it filed by Susan Polgar. My view is that this lawsuit (in which I am also one of the defendants) is without merit and that it was filed to keep the USCF and the Executive Board from holding Polgar and Truong accountable for their misconduct. I also believe that the USCF must proceed with the lawsuit to have Polgar and Truong removed from its Executive Board by a judge.

Candidate Statement for April Chess Life

2009-02-20T20:00:00.000-05:00

After graduating from Harvard in 1976, I spent fourteen years as an Engineering Manager for Digital, a major computer manufacturer, eight of them in Europe. In 1993, I started an Internet development company. In 1998 I became a VP of Engineering at Oracle, a former client. Since 2001, I have been a consultant.

I now live in Carlisle, Massachusetts with my wife and two children. Returning to chess as a "Chess Dad", in summer 2007 I volunteered full-time on the redesign of the USCF website. I am an active board member of MACA. I help run a scholastic chess club.

The USCF faces critical decisions, and I am running for the EB to be an independent voice on the Board and to bring my solid technical, management, and entrepreneurial experience to the USCF.

Contact Me

1970-01-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

If you would like to contact me regarding the USCF Executive Board Election, or something on this blog, my email address is: