Photo by Betsy Dynako
Please vote in the most important USCF EB election in history. The long pattern of incompetence, corruption, and political destruction is destroying our national federation. The USCF is approaching insolvency. It will not survive without new leadership (Dr. Korenman, Dr. Hecht, IM Blas Lugo). Please don’t forget to vote and send in your ballots.
Dear Dr. Mikhail Korenman and IM Blas Lugo,
In supporting your candidacy for the current USCF Executive Board election, we would like to share our great concern regarding the current status of the US Chess Federation and the direction it is moving. We hope that when elected you can help USCF leadership to follow the mission of the organization and provide the adequate service to its members. Here are some areas of concern:
As members of the USCF, we do not support the governance body spending hundreds of thousands of membership dollars for legal fees to cover up political mistakes mismanaging this wonderful organization! Such has taken away potential sponsors for the organization, and negative media coverage is not supporting the positive role of chess. Current leadership has not been able to offer new or sound ideas in a long time. We feel that it is time to involve people who understand these deep problems and can offer real positive solutions.
2. “USCF promotes the study and knowledge of the game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, but also as a means for the improvement of society. It informs, educates, and fosters the development of players (professional and amateur) and potential players. It encourages the development of a network of institutions devoted to enhancing the growth of chess, from local clubs to state and regional associations, and it promotes chess in American schools.”
It is our understanding that the USCF membership is declining rapidly, especially adult membership. There are no new networks or events being organized by this organization. There is very poor, if any, relationship between the national organization and state affiliates. This situation has to be changed immediately! USCF should support the young players to grow professionally, providing more services, and support though organizing many more educational and training activities.
3. “USCF offers a monthly magazine, as well as targeted publications to its members and others. It supervises the organization of the U.S. chess championship, an open tournament every summer, and other national events.”
We are extremely concerned about cutting the Chess Life and canceling the Chess for Kids publication completely. After 70 years as a successful publication, Chess Life is in a real dangerous situation to be shut down. Of course, a big concern for us is the US championship. The rules are changing nearly every year. The system has to be changed and the rules must be set far in advanced!
4. “USCF serves as the governing body for chess in the United States and as a participant in international chess organizations and projects.”
USCF should re-establish its relationship with FIDE. There has not been any official FIDE event in the US for the last 10 years! USCF should support all organizers who are planning to organize international chess events in the United States! It is worse when the USCF management is working against organizers who want to help our players.
Former U.S. Champions GM Onischuk and GM Shulman
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Support for Executive Board Candidacy
· GM Anatoly Karpov, 7-time World Champion: “I am very impressed with the tremendous progress and development of the chess programs by Mikhail Korenman over the years. He has done so much for chess.”
· IM John Donaldson, Captain – US Olympiad Teams: “I believe Mikhail has the leadership ability, energy, and vision to help the USCF out of its current problems.”
· GM Alexander Onischuk, 2007 U.S. Champion: “Dr. Korenman understands professional, amateur, and scholastic chess. He’ll be a big asset for the USCF EB.”
· GM Yury Shulman, 2008 U.S. Champion: “Scholastic chess program, organized by Mikhail, involve a lot of kids in Kansas and now in Illinois.”
· IM Anna Zatonskih, 2008 U.S. Women’s Champion: “Mikhail Korenman is an excellent organizer and dedicated chess enthusiast. He does a lot for popularity of chess in the U.S.”
· Wes Fisk, Lindsborg, KS, City Council: “Mikhail has worked tirelessly on the behalf of chess and chess players. He is a visionary, who thinks outside the box”
Support for the election was also received by U.S. Champions Onischuk, Shulman, Zatonskih, Goletiani; Grandmasters Akobian, Kaidanov, Ehlvest, Ibragimov, Stripunsky, Khachiyan, Perelsteyn, Goldin, International Masters Donaldson, Shneider, etc.
National media on Dr. Korenman’s chess achievements:
“I am grateful for your hard work to promote peace.” – Letter from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
“In recent years Lindsborg has witnessed a minor revolution in self-identity, and one man is largely responsible for the shift: Mikhail Korenman has made this town crazy for the game of chess.” – National Geographic magazine
“Mr. Korenman’s enthusiasm, imagination and web of contacts have been crucial to the burgeoning appeal of chess here” – The New York Times
“In the
I agree with you. Bill Goichberg and Jim Berry have destroyed this federation. They spent $600,000 of USCF members’ money without authorization for their political agenda. They don’t care about the future of the USCF. Ruth Haring, Mike Atkins, and Brian Mottershead are his puppets.
I voted for Eric Hecht, IM Blas Lugo, and Dr. Mikhail Korenman. I also asked everyone in my club to vote for these 3 most qualified candidates. They also have the support of many top players.
Time to throw out the bums and bring in the professionals.
Thank you Susan for standing up to these corrupt chess politicians. Too many people are fed up and simply walked away. We fully support you in standing up for all of us. Goichberg, Berry, Hall, and others show no class for lying and smearing your name on the USCF website and Chess Life. What they are doing is despicable.
The only chance to save the USCF is to bring in Dr. Hecht who is a financial wizard, IM Blas Lugo who knows how to work with all chess players, and Dr. Korenman who knows how to bring in sponsorship dollars. They’re highly recommended by the chess community.
If Goichberg, Berry, Atkins and Berry get in, the USCF will most likely go bankrupt by the end of the year. I voted. Everyone should vote. This is very important.
I have NOT voted and the reason is because someone saw to it that my ballot/June issue got “lost” in the mail. Under normal circumstances, I would discount it as an honest mistake, oversight or some other glitch. But these are not normal circumstances.
It is no secret I am endorsing Hecht, Korenman and Lugo as evidenced by my Endorsement Page. Furthermore, I have undoubtedly put the current leadership in an uncomfortable position with my USCF Litigation page. None of that, however, is justification to deny my right to cast a ballot in the upcoming election.
My colleague received her ballot two weeks ago. Furthermore, I have received numerous mail-outs from Goichberg and this past week I also received a mail-out from the USCF regarding a credit card. I have not missed any Chess Life issues until now – what a coincidence.
John B. Flores
Endorsement Page
USCF Litigation
Goichberg was involved in a bribery thing last year along with his gang. Jim Berry and Bill Hall are protecting them. Do we want more corruption? I think not.
This is why I also voted for Korenman, Hecht and Lugo.
One can ask for a replacement ballot – I did as my June issue of CL was missing the ballot (strange!) even though my membership still has almost 2 years left.
I received an EB election card in the mail today from Sam Sloan. While I have no intention of voting for him; even he refers to the current President as, by far, the worst one in the history of the USCF!!
2 years ago, Jim Berry received many endorsements from top GMs. In this election, they withdrew their endorsements and they now support Dr. Mikhail Korenman and IM Blas Lugo. Dr. Hecht is also a top choice.
Everyone now understands that Jim Berry was a useless board member. He did nothing other than vote for Goichberg’s personal and political agenda.
Everyone also understands that Goichberg, Berry and Hall are responsible for destroying the USCF and spent over $600,000 of members’ money for their own political and personal agenda.
Now these pair recruited Atkins and Haring to continue to vote for their agenda. If members want to go under, they should vote for these guys.
If the members want to save the USCF, their votes should go to Dr. Hecht, Dr. Korenman and IM Blas Lugo.
When will we know the results of the elections and what safeguards were put in place in order to make sure that the results are an accurate count?
abed
http://www.claudiachess.blogspot.com
USCF President Bill Goichberg kept on denying that he was in anyway involved in a bribery scheme last July / August. It is unfair to have this issue hanging over his head, especially during an important election. Therefore, I propose the following to Mr. Goichberg to clear the air:
– If Polgar or others could not substantiate this allegation, a public apology should be offered to Mr. Goichberg.
– If Polgar or others could substantiate this allegation, it clearly means that Mr. Goichberg lied to USCF members all along and therefore he should resign from the USCF EB immediately. After all, bribery is illegal in Illinois which is where the USCF is registered.
I think this is fair and this matter should be resolved ASAP before more money is wasted for court.
What do you say Mr. Goichberg?
Of course he’s not going to accept the challenge. He knows he’s guilty. This is corruption at the highest level.
I have, today, sent this letter to Bill Hall and Daniel Lucas at uschess.org:
Dear Bill,
As a Life Member of the USCF for decades, it was very disappointing to see the methodology used to have life members maintain their receiving a print copy of Chess Life. Here’s what I find objectionable:
1. You make the life members send you back a postcard indicating they want to keep the status quo of getting their magazine. It would seem more reasonable to have those wishing to change their status to send such a request in.
2. There is no guarantee that all life members received the letter sent by the USCF, nor is there any guarantee a flimsy and small postal card will make it back.
3. There is no way to do any of this on the website (either put one’s preference or confirm) because there is no announcement that I could find.This is truly an irony.
4. We are told we then will have to continue this little ritual every few years. While this will be a good way to not end up sending print copies to dead people, I hope this methodology will improve to make it easier.
5. You give, in the letter, a deadline shorter than the month we received it in. At the very least, you should advertise this in Chess Life and on the web and give more time. Considering the age group you’re dealing with, anything from extended illness to extended trips would result in life members missing the deadline.
It seems that the USCF is trying to discourage life members to continue to get their print copies by making it a poor process to get those reaffirmations. What steps will be made to insure life members will be able to rectify a glitch that does occur? If a life member changes his mind about just having the website, is it going to be easy to get one’s print subscription back?
As I have every Chess Life magazine (all but a couple of years bound) from its inception, I have every intention of keeping my Life Member right to a print copy of Chess Life, which was what I signed up for when I became a Life Member.
It is also my opinion that trying to eliminate Chess Life in its print form doesn’t recognize the usefulness that we in scholastic chess have found giving away copies of Chess Life or Chess Life for Kids to young people at events meant to encourage interest in chess. Years ago, USCF members used to leave their copies at libraries with contact numbers to help start chess clubs. Although, as a chess journalist, I am in a relatively small group that depends on keeping these old volumes handy to constantly refer back to a rich chess history. Many state federations would do well to check their state histories through old Chess Life magazines. In fact, the USCF should put them all on the web if the web is to be useful. That would go for the old newspaper Chess Life as well.
I hope you will address these issues and make sure life members are properly and kindly served.
Sincerely yours,
Pete Tamburro
Life Member
Pete sent this out to a long list of people earlier today.
This was in the court filing:
42. Defendants Hanken, Hough and Goichberg wanted so badly to see Truong removed from the Board that they even went as far as bribing a
USCF member, Jessica Lauser, and her husband, Hero Smith, with free hotel accommodations, airline tickets, tournament entry fees, meals
and future writing opportunities in exchange for them to come to Dallas for the Delegates Meeting and vote to remove Truong. Lauser was
never a Delegate, and Smith was not even a member of the USCF until days before the USCF Delegates’ Meeting, when Hanken, Hough and
Goichberg paid Smith’s membership fees. Hough and Goichberg then certified both Lauser and Smith as Delegates so they could vote
against Truong in the motions to remove Truong from the Executive Board. After the “USCF trial” against Truong, Lauser and Smith voted against removing Truong from the Executive Board. Despite attending the meeting with the purpose of voting for Truong’s removal, they
changed their votes after hearing facts Truong presented in his defense and which facts were suppressed by Defendants Kronenberger, Goichberg, Hall, Hough, Hanken, and Berry.
Will Mr. Goichberg admit or deny that he was aware / took part in this bribery scheme? How can we have 2 board members, including a sitting USCF President be involved in an illegal / criminal conduct?
Goichberg and Berry are the worst President/VP in USCF history. Bill Hall is the worst USCF ED in USCF history. They drove the USCF the ground. Now they added Ruth Haring and Mike Atkins to their slate so they can continue their agenda. Disgusting!
Goichberg was caught red handed involving with this bribery scheme. But he’s still lying to the members. He won’t take up the public challenge that he will resign from the USCF if the allegation is proven true. Can anyone spell corruption?
Why is Jim Berry protecting the illegal and criminal conduct of Bill Goichberg? How come Ruth Haring and Mike Atkins refused to condemn the action and behavior of Bill Goichberg and Jim Berry? Because it’s all about chess politics. They’ll close their eyes and hide the truth from the USCF members so they can keep their political power instead of doing the right thing for chess and all the members of the USCF.
A vote for them is a vote to extend corruption within the USCF.
USCF President Bill Goichberg obviously (and rightly so since it would be suicidal to lie under oath) refused to deny under oath that he was either involved directly or indirectly with the bribery scandal which took place last year (July / August 2008). His “people” are now attacking anyone who dares to challenge his “lack of integrity”. They continnue to lie to the USCF members.
Shame on you Mr. Goichberg. Shame on the management of the USCF for hiding an illegal conduct of board members. Shame on VP Jim Berry for protecting this kind of despicable action instead of looking out for the best interest of the USCF. If Mr. Goichberg, Mr. Hanken and Mr. Hough have nothing to hide, let them deny the charges under oath. Simple enough, yes? But of course they keep on refusing while continuing their corruption pattern.