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I n f o r m a n t

Action in USCF: the Delegates Meeting

by Richard Buchanan, Colorado USCF Delegate

The 2002 US Open experience blossomed and bloomed this year in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Denver grandmaster Alexander Onischuk was the top-rated player, and Renard Anderson could also be seen on or near the top boards. Our state high school champ Jesse Cohen played in the Arnold Denker Tournament of Champions, and after a rough start recovered to post a respectable score. Andrew Smith of Wyoming tied for third place with a fine score of 4.5 our of 6, with most of his points gained against Experts! The winner of the Denker tournament, Florida master Bruci Lopez, also took 10th place in the US Open, beating a grandmaster and three IMs.

I was there for the USCF Delegates meeting held on the weekend of August 3-4. This annual event usually features much discord, political wrangling, and personal vendettas. This year, though, there was less of this: the assembled folks realized that USCF was going through tough times, and some drastic measures were called for.

Probably someday a report will appear on USCF's website. In the meantime you can read Bill Goichberg's on www.chessnews.org/del02.htm and get his view of what happened. I will hit a few high points here. Those with comments and questions can reach me at buckpeace@pcisys.net and I will respond appropriately.

Elections

Think back, if you will, to your July issue of Chess Life. As you were flitting through it, from one fascinating and instructive article to another, you no doubt paid particular attention to an insert with many names on it. This was, in fact, a ballot that you (yes, YOU!) now were entitled to send in to select the leadership of our beloved national chess federation. The CSCA had nominated eight worthy candidates for seven offices. Others were entitled to get onto the candidates list by petition, but no one seems to have chosen to do so.

OK, eight candidates for seven offices. How many votes were cast from the great state of Colorado? That's right, eight! That sounds dismal and appalling; the reason it sounds that way is that it is dismal and appalling! However, Colorado is in good company: we actually were well above the median among the states. In three states no votes were cast; in six states only one (These included Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming.). In all, thirty states cast 6 or fewer votes, including such centers of chess activity as Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, and the D of C. The total from the whole country was 494 votes. In New Jersey there were 20 candidates and 9 votes.

Is there a message in this? I have often discussed the OMOV (One Member, One Vote) issue, and my concerns are for precisely this reason: people won't vote! (I grant you it was hard this time, partly because the magazine gave instructions on mailing the ballot that were impossible to carry out - see the little note on p. 7 of the August issue. Still, if you really wanted to send in a ballot, you could do it.) There was discussion of this at the meeting, and items on the agenda to do away with OMOV for state elections. However, I think this would make OMOV for national elections totally worthless: if people aren't going to vote for people they know, they certainly won't do it for strangers in faraway states campaigning on issues they don't understand. Moral: Get informed and VOTE! Next summer there will be the first OMOV election for members of the USCF Executive Board. Anyone want to take bets on whether that will be a complete fiasco?

Oh, yes, the results: Well, in great humbleness and modesty, I must admit that I received 8 votes. Andy Rea got 7, so the two of us are the official Colorado Delegates. Mike Fuchs got 6, and the trio of Doris Thackrey, Mary Nelson, and Dean Brown each picked up 5. Vance Aandahl and Dan Avery each got 3, and there were single write-in votes for Ken Schwartz, Daoud Zupa, and Paul Grimm.

In another election, the Delegates and Voting Members elected two folks to the Executive Board to complete terms for members who resigned last year. Those elected were GM Arnold Denker and Dr. Joe Wagner. They were the best-known candidates and won by huge numbers. One sadistic soul wrote my name in. The infamous Sam Sloan took a distant third, and at the meeting he implied that he was entitled to the spot since GM Denker may be too ill to serve. This, fortunately, does not seem to be the case.

FIDE

The meeting had the great fortune (You can decide for yourself the level of sarcasm in this statement.) of being visited by FIDE President Kirsan Iljumzhinov and former President Florencio Campomanes! President KI spoke to us, made nice noises about US chess activities, and was very happy about the recent actions to reunify the World Championship under FIDE control. He talked about getting chess into the Olympics and said that our game is already part of organized sports activity in Africa and SE Asia. At the conclusion, a few brave souls tried a standing ovation, but the majority stayed in our chairs. A report by the FIDE Advisory Committee included a discussion of a French initiative to replace the current FIDE leadership, but there was no action taken on this at the meeting. For more information on this proposal and other efforts to reform FIDE, see www.chessnews.org and click on appropriate articles, especially those by Bill Goichberg and Yasser Seirawan..

USCF leadership

The last two Executive Directors (CEOs) of the USCF have not been successful, to say the least, despite signs of much promise when they started on. George DeFeis resigned last year and was replaced temporarily by Frank Niro, a longtime chess organizer and nationally known figure. Niro did such a fine job in this that he was hired as the ED. He is active and knowledgeable, very popular with the delegates. He spoke to us for quite a while, and gave a "Strategic Vision Presentation" that defined and clarified issues, problems, and plans for our organization.

One startling proposal was to move the USCF office out of New Windsor, NY, where it has been for many years. Apparently a developer made an offer to buy the property for mucho bucks, and if they decided to stay there would be problems and expenses that would have to be dealt with. A popular idea was to move the office into the Sid Samole Chess Museum in Miami (See articles in April 2002 Chess Life.), and while no one could commit to that specific move, the Delegates did OK the general idea. Astonishing, considering that not too many years ago we were given glowing reports about how wonderful the property investment in New Windsor was.

And here it is: Another Dues Increase!!!!

Yes, it apparently was inevitable. In the past there was much resistance to dues increases, but this time Frank Niro's popularity swept aside all opposition. There was squabbling about the details (Frank Camaratta wanted annual dues of $49.95.), but eventually it passed that adult dues would be increased to $49, of which $4 can be an affiliate commission. Youth dues will be $25 ($2 of which is commission.) and Scholastic will be either $19 or $13 depending on publications they get. I voted against this as a matter of principle, but it passed handily, and so dues will go up in January. A new life membership will cost $1000, so if you want one you'd better buy it now.

There was other stuff: a new version of the rulebook will be coming out next year, the budget was passed (Actually, this year has not been bad: almost breaking even included paying about $300 K in cleaning up old bills and expenses.), the usual kudos were given to deserving folks, and the more cumbersome and controversial motions all got tabled or referred.