I am sad to announce that I have just been told that there will be no live broadcast of the 2013 College Chess Final Four, which will take place on April 6-7 in Rockville, MD. The reason given is the USCF and organizer do not have the budget for this.
With IMs and GMs from so many nations such as the Philippines, Germany, Mexico, Cuba, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Georgia, and the United States, etc., the strongest ever College Chess Final Four in this country cannot be seen live by fans from around the world.
Colleges are putting in millions of dollars each year to create college chess programs and giving out chess scholarships. It is very unfortunate that College Chess is being ignored because it is NOT a cash cow for the USCF and its chess politicians.
It costs no more than a few hundred dollars at most to broadcast these important games. My understanding is the decision is final. I will do my best to update the results in real time right here on this blog and on my twitter feed (@SusanPolgar).
The chess politicians are ruining this game.
The USCF generates millions of dollars every year and they can’t afford to broadcast the biggest event of the year?
If I had to guess, this must be the so-called repercussion Mr. Troung mentioned a few months back in the aftermath of his much publicized altercation with the head of Texas Tech a few months back (PanAm Championships). I can’t help but speculate that these two events might be related in some way, i hope its not though but pretty awful if it is..
I donate $300.00 to pay for the expenses.
Let me know where to send the funds.
This is not surprising as the USCF makes no mention of the Final Four on their website. I can’t find an official page for the Final Four anywhere. If it weren’t for this blogspot, media attempting to cover the event would have an extremely difficult time. It’s more than a travesty. When you search “final four chess” on BAH’s website, the only thing that comes up is an article about last year’s event. Instead of worrying about who they’re going to offer an internship to, maybe BAH should focus just a little bit on letting people watch the chess that’s being played at their facility.