Thank you for many of the nice messages and email. I received about 600+ messages and email since I made a post about my decision to run a few hours ago. Thank you for your support.
Now I would like to explain my plans:
It takes a LOT of work to fix the many problems of the USCF. In order to be successful, it takes a team of people and NOT just me. I cannot do it alone and it makes no sense to have a divided board. Nothing will get accomplished this way. That is why I asked the people I think are most qualified to help this federation.
It is time to do the right things for the USCF and US Chess and END the destructive chess politics.
– FM Paul Truong: As I mentioned a few days ago on another post, he is a very unique individual. His life story is an inspiring movie waiting to happen. His ethics, integrity and passion for chess is second to none. He is also a world-class photographer and one of the most knowledgable people in Chess Marketing and PR. I call him a Marketing genius. He has done more than sometimes an entire organization in this area.
Paul has been the mastermind behind many of the incredible projects for the Susan Polgar Foundation and he is my most trusted advisor for many years. Most people who know top level chess do not know Marketing and PR. Most Marketing and PR people do not understand chess. Paul knows both! Professional Marketing and PR are two of the areas the USCF never had.
Paul was also behind the US Women’s Olympiad Training Program that help the US Women’s Team capture the first ever medal in US history. He was our Captain and Business Manger. Paul is the one chess politicians will try the hardest to derail. They are not comfortable with someone who always speak of the truth and especially someone who cannot be bought. He will be the most important person to change the reputation and culture of the USCF.
Dr. Mikhail Korenman: He is one of the brightest stars for US Chess. He has organized many spectacular events that greatly benefit our sport. Most important of all, he has done all of these things without ever becoming a “chess politician”. He is a man of strong ethics, integrity, honesty and he LOVES chess! He works hard for our beloved game.
Dr. Korenman was the mastermind behind the Chess For Peace project which included former Soviet / Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, WC Anatoly Karpov and me. He has the respect of countless people.
Dr. Korenman is now a member of the USCF Scholastic Council. He is an crucial liaison between adult and scholastic chess.
NM Randy Bauer: Randy served on the USCF Executive Board for one year. His financial and chess expertise would be very important for the USCF. He would work very well with Mr. Joel Channing to handle the USCF finances. In the middle of some of the nastiest political wars in the past, Randy stayed above all of it and he did many good things for this federation.
Randy Bauer has been actively involved as a chess player, coach, director, writer, editor, and elected state and national representative for over 30 years. He is a life member of the USCF, a national master, former Iowa state champion and Minnesota junior, junior high and senior high champion. As a competitor, he has won over 30 Grand Prix tournaments.
Randy has over 20 years professional experience in budget and finance, including nearly 7 years as budget director for the State of Iowa. During that time, the State received multiple national awards for innovation and excellence in its budget processes and financial reporting.
Apologies if I do not understand the nuances of the USCF board elections (which I surely do not), but here is a question for you Susan:
If Sam Sloan is still on the board when you are elected, will you be able to work with him?
Sam Sloan was just elected for a 1 year term. Sam Sloan’s post will be up for grabs in the coming elections. If Susan’s team is elected , Sam Sloan will lose.
“Anonymous said…
Sam Sloan was just elected for a 1 year term. Sam Sloan’s post will be up for grabs in the coming elections. If Susan’s team is elected , Sam Sloan will lose.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006 1:22:51 PM”
If Susan’s whole team is elected there would be no seat left for anyone else.
But what if Susan and Sam both win (and not all of Susan’s slate wins). Will Susan commit to serving her term on the EB even if Sloan is also there?
If Sam Slone make any shady moves, he is “toast” if you get my drift.
Geez Loueze, I feel I’m a part of history on this blog. Anyway, I took anon up on his suggestion and I did google Paul’s name. I couldn’t find the nasty’s. I did see something on Chessco, but that was trashing Susan and Paul both.
Now I’m a total outsider on this. The negative post and the Chessco entry I googled just did not seem credible. Is this just another nasty, political attack or does the poster really have something on Paul? If so, the poster really should offer something solid and just not sling mud.
Lets see….hmmm
Sam Slone credibility? ZERO
Susan’s team credibility? infinite.
Its not a matter of can Susan work with Sam…its a question of whether Sam can work with Susan…
And that’s a BIG IF IF he gets re-elected which I can assure you MANY people will make sure that felon’s chance is about -1.
Excellent news Susan & Paul.
Chess needs PR & Marketing. Chess needs PR & Marketing. Chess needs PR & Marketing.
Chess needs sponsors, and therefore media star players.
ELECTION STRUCTURE
This blog entry is entitled “It takes a team to make a difference!”: indeed it does.
The USCF E.B. election schedule was supposed to be 5 seats, one up for election every year. This would provide continuity and stability; or a sluggish response to the need for change, depending on one’s point of view.
But in practice many E.B. members serve less than 5 years. This means in some years multiple seats are up for election.
This has given rise to the “slate effect”, which Bill Goichberg + group used so effectively a couple years ago.
Their slate victory gave them the votes needed to significantly improve the UsChess.org website, and to implement some accounting principles. These were accomplished quickly by traditional USCF standards.
Now Susan + 3 are together running with a slate strategy. This is appropriate and wise: by herself Susan could do only so much with 1-of-5 votes.
I predict Susan + slate will win, no surprise there.
I further predict the USCF will see a big increase in the percentage of people who vote this time around. This could be an enduring positive change too.
Y’all got my vote.
Gene Milener
http://CastleLong.com/
“Anonymous said…
Lets see….hmmm
Sam Slone credibility? ZERO
Susan’s team credibility? infinite.
Its not a matter of can Susan work with Sam…its a question of whether Sam can work with Susan…
And that’s a BIG IF IF he gets re-elected which I can assure you MANY people will make sure that felon’s chance is about -1.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006 1:58:13 PM”
We know that for better or worse, if both Sam and Susan are elected, Sam would serve. I am asking to make sure that Susan would serve too.
We sure don’t need a vacancy on the Board right after the election.
Anonymous @ 1:33:31PM wrote:
That sounds like Paul wrote that bio about himself. Anyone who knows anything about him really knows how “Shady” of a person he really is.
Five will get you ten Sam wrote that himself.
IrishSpy
You hit the nail on the head. Sam is on all the message boards and slings mud anonmously every chance he gets. I was already tagging him with that post. He can be such a pest. But I am sure this will signal the beginning of the end of Sam being a nuisance to USCF.
Bye Bye Sam. You are done.
I am so happy to see Susan running. This is going to signal a glorious turn for Chess in America.
Let me say if everyone campaigns for Susan to all the local chess clubs and friends and helps to get the vote out, then Susan will win and Sam will be gone.
Susan said she has made a committment to run. She is not a quitter. She will serve under any and all circumstances if she wins. Don’t worry about that. Susan is wonderful. Just vote for the entire slate and get all your friends to vote for the slate.
Let us all work together to make it happen.
Susan… You have my support and that of the chess community I am associated with here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Chess is a game that we present to our young people – and to others of course – as a means to develop life skills which will stand them in good stead for their lifetime. We as adults – and those who are mentors and role models – must set a proper standard worthy of trust and respect. Kids are smart, and they see straight through hypocrisy and the lackings of high standards. You have always exemplified these high standards, and you have built this trust and respect over the years.
We wish you the best in this new endeavor!
Dr. Rene Carlos Ochoa
Peninsula Chess Center
Susan: This is great news and you have all my support. I will get the word out to the NYC scholastic community. As we’ve discussed, scholastic memberships do not carry voting rights. Because of what happened at the last USCF election, I joined the USCF as an adult for a year just so that I can vote in the next election. Do the Family Plans advertised on the USCF website carry voting rights? If a parent of a scholastic player wanted to vote, what is the least expensive method? Getting a 6 month trial membership? If so, they would have to time it so that the election fell within the 6 months. I think it is important to get the word out to chess parents because I know that this slate will represent our interests well.
Good luck Susan!
Susan – Good luck to you and your team
I am in the UK otherwise my votes would be yours
Best wishes
Trefor
I will join the USCF, just so that I can vote for you.
Your Rook, Knight, pawns storm and bishop, already out towards opponent KING.
Dont forget to bring your QUEEN!
Remove every opponent pieces that protecting his King.
They certainly needs to be harmoniously attacking your opponent position.
You have to put all of your pieces at the right position.
I know every move you make, will make this a successful attack.
May I congrat you now?
I’m sorry Im not telling you about CHESS, you are the GM and World Champion, it is another thing, you know what I mean….. Good luck.
Susan is the sort of dynamic and energetic leader that the USCF needs. I am honored that she would wish to work with me and excited about the possibilities it can bring to the USCF.
I am a self-proclaimed budget and finance geek, and what I find appealing is that Susan has brought together people with differing talents who could work together for the good of the USCF.
It is time to end the divisiveness and partisan bickering on the USCF Executive Board. I know that is what Susan wants, and that is why I am excited about working with her for the betterment of chess in the US.
Susan, I have the highest respect for you and your good intentions in running for the USCF board. But I think it is a mistake, it’s a thankless job in which it’s very difficult to accomplish anything useful, and it’s always been that way. The USCF is just not that worthwhile an organization. I quit many years ago and have never regretted it. Your blog is a much better way of promoting chess and keeping chess fans informed than Chess Life or anything else the USCF has ever done. I would be a lot more excited if you had announced an new organization independent of the USCF and I’d volunteer to help. I hope you’ll keep the blog going if you get elected. Anyway, good luck with the election, especially if you get elected–you’re going to need it ;-).
In contrast Susan says this:
“- FM Paul Truong: As I mentioned a few days ago on another post, he is a very unique individual. His life story is an inspiring movie waiting to happen. His ethics, integrity and passion for chess is second to none. He is also a world-class photographer and one of the most knowledgable people in Chess Marketing and PR. I call him a Marketing genius. He has done more than sometimes an entire organization in this area.
Paul has been the mastermind behind many of the incredible projects for the Susan Polgar Foundation and he is my most trusted advisor for many years. Most people who know top level chess do not know Marketing and PR. Most Marketing and PR people do not understand chess. Paul knows both! Professional Marketing and PR are two of the areas the USCF never had.
Paul was also behind the US Women’s Olympiad Training Program that help the US Women’s Team capture the first ever medal in US history. He was our Captain and Business Manger. Paul is the one chess politicians will try the hardest to derail. They are not comfortable with someone who always speak of the truth and especially someone who cannot be bought. He will be the most important person to change the reputation and culture of the USCF.”
Paul Truong is as generous and forthright as they come. He is sincere in his efforts to better chess. Anyone who has met him would think so.
Sam stop posting here under your numerous aliases. Just be thankful that you can now undeservedly identify yourself as a past member of the USCF hierarchy forever .
There is no doubt in my mind that this new team will improve USCF markedly
I apologize to some anonymous posters for deleting their messages. This is MY blog. This is NOT your political bashing forum as on the USCF website and other political website.
If you want to make accusations, state your name, USCF ID or other info where they can be verified. I will not allowed anyone to come on here to make baseless accusations as anonymous for political reasons.
In fact, I will not allow any political attacks toward ANY of the candidates. If that is what you want to do then do it on other forums.
Things WILL be different with the USCF if the right people are elected. The time for dirty politics as usual ends here.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
Bravo Susan… I have always maintained you should take the additional step of not allowing anonymous posting at all! If people cant be bothered to sign up for a free blogger account (which of course can be used to post to a zillion other blogs at blogger.com) then who needs to hear their ranting?
Keep on!
we can track down their IP address if you want!
Susan:
I really didn’t want you to be involved in politics but, every head is a totally diferent world and I respect your decision for I know you’re a respectable ambassador. Now, that you’re taking the flag know it is a brave action and reading the response you gave above to people anonimously attacking other persons I realize you are a bold, impartial and of firm character leader. Know this, I support your desicion 110% and I wish every fan as well as every serious player will hold your arm so your flag won’t fall while at battle you stand.
Best regards:
Polin.
Best Post I have read Susan. That is the way to go. Tell them to stop. Make sure they stop.
Hurray for Susan.
I am going to work hard to make sure you get elected. I am going to all the local chess clubs and talk about you. I will try to get everyone to vote for you.
Love your last post. Just Wonderful.
USCF Live Member
Hi Susan,
We will be voting for you and your team! When is the election?
Kirsten (CA)
Susan,
I think one of my posts was deleted. I’ve done my best to identify myself. My handle is “artichoke” on the USCF forums and I’ve used the same handle here, although I don’t have a blog on blogspot so my name doesn’t come up in blue. My USCF ID is 10167825.
How can I sign posts so that they won’t be deleted?
Thanks,
David
“SusanPolgar said…
I apologize to some anonymous posters for deleting their messages. This is MY blog. This is NOT your political bashing forum as on the USCF website and other political website.
If you want to make accusations, state your name, USCF ID or other info where they can be verified. I will not allowed anyone to come on here to make baseless accusations as anonymous for political reasons.
In fact, I will not allow any political attacks toward ANY of the candidates. If that is what you want to do then do it on other forums.
Things WILL be different with the USCF if the right people are elected. The time for dirty politics as usual ends here.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
Wednesday, December 06, 2006 8:14:21 PM”
David,
Thank you for identifying yourself. I have seen your posts on other forums. If I deleted your posts by accident, I apologize. If you have a legit question, I would be happy to answer it if I think it is appropriate. Same goes with everyone else.
This is my blog. The idea of this blog is to bring POSITIVE things to the chess community. There are other forums for political games. I will not allow inuendos and dirty politics.
If the USCF members feel that there are more qualified candidates, they are free to vote for them. I have already addressed my plans and goals to improve this federation. Others are welcome to do the same.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
MK’s open letter against Beatriz Marinello is truly unfortunate.
First, she is one of the good guys on the board. But second, this follows several posts by Susan. I quote her: “In fact, I will not allow any political attacks toward ANY of the candidates. If that is what you want to do then do it on other forums.
“Things WILL be different with the USCF if the right people are elected. The time for dirty politics as usual ends here.”
So now we have here the most unfortunate situation that Susan must decide to abandon her own stated policy, or else delete a post by one of her fellow candidates for the Board. And what about that second sentence. Is MK one of the “right people” if he posts like that?
I follow his criticism. His points are legitimate and well stated. But his conclusion! That BM should resign. Wow! Over the top!
We the public should go easy on you guys. This was only your first day as a team and in politics campaigns tend to make mistakes early on. But this post was a blunder and your team should address it. Don’t forget: you are a team. If you can’t come together on something like this, how can you come together when it comes to running the USCF?
The last thing you want is for your campaign to be tainted with hypocrisy.
Jack,
That letter was not posted by Dr. Korenman. It came from someone pretending to be him. I deleted it. My rule applies to everyone. No negative campaign!
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
Susan, glad to hear it. And I note that you addressed the issue within just a few minutes of my post. You ARE really incredible! As you may infer, I’ve worked on some political campaigns – I’ve never seen this kind of response from a candidate. You are awesome!
Thank you! I have so many things on my plate right now. Therefore, the decision to run was a tough one to make. But once I made it, I will give 150% to change things for the better. It will start with no negative campaign.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
Thanks Susan. I don’t say it often enough, but you do bring many positive things to the chess community, on this blog and elsewhere. Your coverage of the recent WC match and refusal to go along with the prevailing GM political opinion-of-the-day about the rulings in that match, in the face of what was obviously immense pressure from your colleagues, was truly impressive. I support your personal candidacy. — David
Thank you David! I am determined to change US Chess and the USCF for the better. I know everyone told me that I can’t change politics as usual. I disagree. It will start with me and people I trust by having a positive campaign with clear and precise goals.
Thank you again!
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
I’m writing this from the point of view of a 2200 player, not a GM or IM or similar.
From my perspective, USCF is an ancient organization. It charges huge amounts of monies for membership but you don’t get much value for it. The only reason people in my ratings bracket (and below) pay up is because the silly tournament organizers require USCF membership. With ICC and similar, you pay much less, and get to play much much much more… with people all over the world, sometimes an IM, etc. With USCF, you hardly get to play — and when you do, you are be lucky to play an FM — IMs and GMs are surely there but only for stronger tournaments.
And talking of tournaments, why are the entry fees so high? Why not have relatively free events, and try to get sponsors to fund it? Many many more people will come.
I just think USCF and similar other national/international organizations need to keep up with the times, or they will be history.
That’s my $0.02. Your mileage may vary.
I agree with many of the comments of the last anonymous poster. Especially the part about charging too much for too little. And also the part about expensive tournaments. I’m not 2200, not even 1200, but I like to play. I don’t like to pay $100. I think part of a platform could be chess for all and not to have a USCF be all about the money.
Thank you mlnibb for your post. None of my events are expensive 🙂 Why? Because I am able to secure ample sponsorship.
That is why Marketing and PR is badly needed. That is also why I asked FM Truong to run. He is the best Chess Marketing and PR person.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
Susan, I think mlnibb may be talking about a different kind of event. I mean, what kind of sponsorship is there likely to be for events involving random 1200-level players? These events really are too expensive and it’s because of the high-roller US tournament culture and the high USCF expenses. There is not enough sponsorship in the world to solve this problem through outside money. It has to be done by bringing back low cost, low hassle events that simply don’t involve big expenditures. I hope you can address this issue if you are elected.
Susan,
You can’t understand how sorry I was to hear your announcement of running a “slate” of candidates.
I don’t have a problem with you running for the board. In fact, had you simply announced your candidacy I would have gladly jumped on board and done everything I could to help you win. My problem is with a “slate” of candidates.
Part of the problems in the USCF have sprung from having subgroups marching along in lock-step with one another. It’s why so few EB members serve a complete term. The majority “slate” controls things, the minority members decide to leave. This creates a “hole” for another slate to win an instant majority, which then perpetuates the cycle.
I don’t want a “slate” of candidates. I want a group of bright people who *don’t* agree, but instead who are willing to sit down with each other and work out a path forward. Who, precisely *because* they don’t agree, see things the others miss. Different points of view are laid on the table, and a consensus hammered out.
When slates come in, consesnsus building leaves. New slates abandon the old slate’s programs, even the good ones, and fire the old slate’s people, again, even the good ones.
For this reason I have declared war on the concept of slates, and I will not vote for, campaign for, nor otherwise support anyone running on that basis.
Only when we get back to getting the best and the brightest to sit down in the same room will the USCF begin to move forward. And, unfortunately, your decision to run as a “slate” instead of an individual has now moved you from being a possible solution to being part of the problem.
I worry about a European takeover of the USCF.They didn’t do so well with the FIDE.I really haven’t seen anything Miss,Mrs,or Mz Polar has done for free either.When you try to oust a GM such as Larry Evens(note his accomplishments!)I have to wonder???Because he was a friend of Bobby??I would hate to stand for all the comments my friends has made:).H.A.Payne