Chess in the United States has grown tremendously, especially among the scholastic market in the last few years. However, dirty, petty, vindictive chess politics within the governing body (USCF) stopped the growth of organized rated chess in this country. The membership level has gone down instead of up.
One obvious solution is to get experienced and passionate professionals to run for the Executive Board instead of allowing people with conviction records or bad news chess politicians to run US Chess.
This question was raised elsewhere and I think it is a good question to discuss. Can you think of 3-5 good candidates to run for the 3 Executive Board seats in the upcoming 2007 election?
The same question can be raised about FIDE. Can you name a few good candidates to run in the next FIDE election?
From the Northeast:
George Mirijanian
Active in Massachusetts Chess Association events for YEARS. Excellent, pragmatic chess guy, pro-kids chess, a real modern-day ambassador of the game IMHO.
He’d never take the job but you asked.
Chess Training Blog
Garry Kasparov or………Susan Polgar !!!
I think it would be useful to understand why there is a drop off and make sure that we are addressing the root cause of the problem.
In Northern California, we have a thriving scholastic chess market (I think over 1400 players in our championship tournament! Yet there does seem to be a high drop off rate and a much less thriving adult environment.
How much of that is due to USCF politics is hard to judge. From what I hear, there does need to be dramatic changes in the leadership, I just don’t know if that would help enough.
My vote is Dr. Alan Kirshner He has been an incredibly positive force for scholastic chess in Northern California.
Secondly, who ever is the driving force behind the US Chess League also deserves consideration. That is great marketing and a great program.
Susan,
Please explain to us, why did chess become such a political issue? Why are all these problems? Really. I have an opinion about just about everything, but this is an exception.
Gabor
Seirawan
This is not an easy task Susan but there is a way.
You need an top professional Business or Company manager one that will act to the request of the members. One that should be instructed in all aspects to do what is best for the members, players, sponsors, and chess.
(these managers thrive on progress and success)
For sure, Susan should run the USCF ! 😉
I do not know names but ins’t there some US GM that has recently retired from playing that would be able to sill such post?
I do not know names but isn’t there some wise, grown retired US GM that would like to fill that post?
Ideally you want someone who has practical experience in the world running some type of organization or business. Someone who knows how to work in a group and motivate people. Someone who knows something about money.
How about now inactive US GM Ken Rogoff? He just retired from being chief economist for the International Monetary Fund, and is now a Harvard Prof.
Mikhail Korenman for president of FIDE
Real tough questions Susan. I think there are many you can bring onto a slate and get elected but it is another thing to have success. The USCF has floundered in the past with GM’s on board. They do not have the practical experience running an entrepreneural organization and growing it fast.
The real trick when an organization needs to hire a key person is to spend the time defining the type person to hire. This can be a difficult job. I am sure there must be a chess player somewhere with experience drawing up such a “job discription”
George Mirijanian is a good nice chess person. But I am not sure he is qualified to quickly grow an organization like the USCF across the US.
Ken Rogoff could probably be elected easily but he sounds more like an intellectual without the real practical experiencing growing a small organization into a big one. But it may depend on how and what you want to do with the USCF.
Yaz Seriwan would be a great catch if you could get him interested. He has run his own small business and knows chess and chess politics. He has lots of class also. A very respected person.
Certainly Greg Shahade has shown the kind of growth from a small organization to good growth. He seems to be on the ball. I am sure he would contribute wonderfully to any effort. He put together the NY Masters and now the US Chess League. Hard to ask for more. Full of the energy that will be needed to get the job done.
But I think you can bring in someone who knows nothing about chess who can do a wonderful job. You really need to define the job and the goals and how to achieve them. then find the person to do that.
Good Luck Susan. You will need it. all the us chess fans are looking to you to get this job done correctly. dont worry everyone will support you. dive right in and just do your best. it will all work out.
Jennifer Shahade……and Susan Polgar…..Greg Shahade……Steve Immitt (if u can draw him away from directing chess tournaments long enough lol) and last but not least Bill Paschall. These are in no particularly order just good people ive met over the years and have a sincere passion for chess and also a professional outlook.
maybe someday myself. but im only 27 and i want to go back to school.
another good person would be Larry Kaufman…..but he may or may not be a possibility. I am not sure, and also his son Ray. Very passionate about chess and could be key contributors in my opinion.
I also wish to state my opinion that bringing in someone who knows nothing about chess is not for the best interest of chess. Obviously, If chess is to find the direction that “chessplayers” want to see it go in than it takes someone who knows the history of USCF (to avoid these same wrong turns) as well as someone who knows “the people of chess” to communicate with these people. No person can do this on their own. It will take a great mind with maybe half a dozen people at least at the major core of the problem to get this thing going in the right direction.
How can someone who knows nothing about chess, make chessplayers happy? Let me ask you another question….. Do you all as chessplayers, like running into people who dont know how to play chess? Only to have them say to you….Oh, I dont know how to play but Ive played checkers before? Just some food for thought
Mr. Yasser is too political. I think Susan would be the best choice to run for the board and be president.
May I respectfully disagree with the two premises of this post.
The first premise is that there was “tremendous” growth in US chess within the past few years.
I believe this claim is not supported by USCF membership counts. I believe the opposite is shown.
The second premise is that “vindictive” politics within the USCF stopped that recent growth.
I am aware of these events, but they had next to no effect on the vast majority of members.
We need to be cautious about calling Scholastic child participation “growth”.
Unless a child RENEWS his-her USCF membership for second year, I do not consider it to be growth.
The average USCF member needs the Elo ratings it provides.
The average USCF member needs its Chess Life magazine to be of good quality (it helps to socially bind us). I believe the magazine during the past year.
Sure I would edit Chess Life differently, but then we all have our personal opinions. No Chess Life design can ever please everyone.
I do worry that Chess Life is telling us we should be interested in certain topics, rather than asking us what we want content-wise.
The UsChess.org web site is also worthwhile now that it has been improved.
Back in the 1990’s the average USCF member needed UsChess.org to become a great chess playing web site. But the USCF leadership of the time failed to recognize or care, so that opportunity is gone forever.
The other major need from the USCF is bring media attention to US chess.
There are a few plausible actions it could take toward that goal, but for whatever reason it never takes those actions.
As for candidates: I want someone who is retired and financially well off, who personally loves the idea of growing organized chess.
Susan Polgar would be a bad choice for USCF office, because Susan can do far more good for chess in her current capacity. As just 1 USCF board member among 5 she would have only a small effect.
The current USCF E.B. has power because it ran and was elected as a unified slate.
Gene Milener
http://CastleLong.com/
Susan, can you please elborate on your statement: “However, dirty, petty, vindictive chess politics within the governing body (USCF) stopped the growth of organized rated chess in this country.”
To me, it looks like you are “under the influence” of the anti-current administration political group – and the above statement is intself a dirty, petty swibe at them.
I disagree with many of your musings Mr. Milener with all due respect, but with respect for your opinion I will only comment on one. “You want someone who is retired and well-off”, in regards to running for USCF office. This reasoning is way too pragmatic. What if the best person for the job is not retired and not “well-off”. Should this disqualify the best candidate on grounds of he’s not 60 years old and has not earned millions in his lifetime. Would I be even remotely correct in making the assumption that your ideal candidate may not even be energetic, and/or have the motivational drive to bring US Chess to the level it rightly deserves. Yes, they have all the time in the world, you are right. All the money, and probably with it all the contacts of interest, but i question the “motivational drive” of this “retired, well-off phenom” that you seek. Do you have someone in mind when you speak these words? If so, let the chess world here you speak. Or is your character a fantasy world. Maybe we need a fresh approach, a new outlook, from someone who has seen the “eyes of chess”. Someone who is young, energetic, passionate, confident, creative. Of course, I have a person in mind……I’m not afraid to admit that person is Ms. Susan Polgar. I am merely a chess fan, but a passionate one. USCF has long obliterated the existence of something that will tangibly exist. Until Susan came along, Chess in the United States lacked perspective. She has brought a new “breath of life” to Chess in this country. I see the pictures, this “perspective” is seen on the faces of these 1000’s of young kids, especially young girl’s who can finally say that its not a game for just boys. When people say Susan Polgar, the name “rings that bell”. The future of chess and the “growth” of chess does lie in the youth like it or not! Im 27 and far from youth, but I bet you you are much further from this youth. The politics of the world, and greed and pride of non-youth is what is destroying a lot of this country’s growth in a vast majority of areas. How can you relentlessly suggest that the youth is not growth……This is not a political agenda. This is not New York City, or Nashville Tennessee bringing 3,000 kids together for the purpose of political drive. This is real! Teaching chess to kids the right way!, the educational benefits of the game, the “planning for success in chess and in life”. This is the right way !, this is growth!, This is the way of this lady who has spent her entire being for years to catapolt a “dream”. Not only her own “dream” but a “dream in the youth of our minds” and for the Youth of our country! The future of chess is these youngsters. Not you or I !
With all respects
Jimmie Beatty
Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, and Jeremy Silman
and…Sting
Borat for FIDE president. He is much better than the present one.
Some near term considerations might include:
Julie Young
Hal Bogner
Donna Alarie
Grant Perks
Georgi Orlov