There are some good candidates and there are a few unqualified candidates in the upcoming USCF Executive Board Election.
I asked these 3 top notch people to join me in reforming US Chess and the USCF! Here are my reasons:
Paul Truong: One of the most important pieces of the puzzle for a new USCF! The USCF has never had anyone who understands Chess Marketing & PR and who has the knowledge, proven experience, desire, passion and determination to promote chess positively. In my opinion, Paul is by far the #1 Chess Marketing & PR guy in the United States and perhaps one of the best in the world.
By promoting the image of chess and the USCF properly, it will open many doors to new opportunities including more needed revenues and recognition for our sport. Without this vital aspect, chess will go nowhere. We will just be bickering about how to save money and cut services to our members as usual. We need more revenues and better services for all our members!
In addition to these skills, Paul is also an individual with the highest level of integrity and professionalism. Paul is a proven winner and he has succeeded in every project that he was involved with, including the historic 2004 US Women’s Olympiad Training Program and the 2004 US Women’s Olympiad Team that brought home the first 4 ever medals (2 Gold and 2 Silver).
He is also a USCF Life Member, Life Master and FIDE Master with multiple National Championships under his belt.
Mikhail Korenman: A very important piece of the puzzle for a new USCF! For a long time, there has been too much bickering and animosity among various membership groups such as Scholastic, Adult, Internet, College, etc. Mikhail is a person that can help bridge that gap. He has successful organized big events that involved all these groups. Without unity, the USCF cannot survive.
Some of his major events include Chess for Peace with former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, Anatoly Karpov and me, the US Junior Open, the US Junior Invitational, Lindsborg Open, Lindsborg Invitational and Pan American Intercollegiate, etc.
Mikhail is also another individual with strong morals, integrity and honesty. He is another proven winner! We need someone like Mikhail on board.
Randy Bauer: Another very important piece of the puzzle for a new USCF. Finance is his expertise. While Randy was on the Executive Board a few years ago, the USCF achieved a balanced budget. Randy is committed to honest finances and improved services for USCF members and will provide seasoned, sensible leadership on the Executive Board.
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.
He 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.
We need someone like Randy to work with Mr. Joel Channing, the current VP of Finance to make sure that we have a sound budget. I am confident that we can do it with their incredible experience and expertise in this area.
Summary: As I said up top, there are some good candidates. However, I strongly recommend the 3 people (for this election) who can promote chess and the USCF properly to maintain and enhance our visibility and revenues, unite the memberships to keep our current members and bring in new ones and to keep our finances sound and strong.
These are all critical areas that the USCF desperately needs NOW. We cannot afford destructive chess politics as usual. This is why we need the right team to make the right things happen for US Chess and the USCF!
Thank you for your support! In an unofficial poll created by a USCF member, here are the final results:
1. Polgar 2. Bauer 3. Truong 4. Korenman
5. Jones 6. Schultz 7. Lux 8. Berry
9. Goodall 10. SS
www.uschess.blogspot.com is where I discuss many of the USCF and US Chess issues, especially the upcoming election.
Well, I dont particularly agree with the “unqualified candidates” assumption. Anyone who loves chess and has some experience in their particular field of interest is a “candidate” and deservingly so. However, there is no doubt in my mind that the Paul, Susan, and Randy are at the top of the list of candidates. For instance, I wouldnt venture to say that Hillary Clinton is an unqualfied candidate for President of our country, anymore than I would say Lou Dobbs is a candidate.
Sam Sloan is an unqualified candidate. So is Mike Goodall who wants to leave our troops to die. No thanks!
You’re right capt. Goodall and Sloan are 2 people I’ll never vote for.
Susan, you are an “to use a quote” inspiration. I have paid the $1000.00 sum to get the life membership in the USCF. I do hope that real chess players can help the USCF bring to the children, and the general public, what it is, chess can give to the mind of our children. Thoughtfulness.
And I hope we, as adults can to the same.
Mikhail Korenman:
Is definitely one of the very best people to run for the EB. Please do not forget him.
so it is
Paul, Susan, Randy and Mikhail
just want to make that clear.
I predict this all star cast of 4 will be elected. I am going to work hard to make sure it happens.
Susan is out here posting her little heart out. She can’t carry the load herself. The rest of us don’t know what the gameplan is, so we’ve basically got to tread water.
But the other 3 candidates need to start setting up their campaign websites. They can’t just expect to ride into office on Susan’s coattails.
I think that the internet will be a bigger deal in this election than before. Just look at how much of an impact it has in the regular political campaigns. Just ask Howard Dean.
Susan is superwoman! She’s the best thing that ever happened to chess in this country!
It’s time users and chess players, and the USCF began demanding more from ChessBase.The system is closed, and improvements are minimal. there is no community, and we need to have our input regarded. Below is my recent e-mail to ChessBase. I hope other players will jopin me and demand better:
Boys:
Under relate to in this form, you don’t even have Fritz X listed.
There are no user forums.
The playchess.com offerings haven’t changed from Fritz 9.
It’s time you opened up your closed system, encouraged input from users, and generally started regarding customers as partners not patzers.
Improvements are needed, and if you don’t step up to the plate, I will.
While the USCF is right now run by some pretty stupid and in some cases dishonest people, that’s not really it’s problem; the problem is what the USCF itself has to offer to its members. It is a 286 microprocessor in the era of the dual core Pentium. No amount of brilliant marketing can get people to buy such an obsolete piece of crap. Or even if the marketing is successful, that just means it’s done the members a disservice by selling them something that objectively isn’t worth buying. It’s like some salesperson trying to sell a chess position that’s a rook down with no compensation, claiming that it’s a winning position. It is not a winning position no matter what the salesperson says. A really convincing salesperson might be able to sell the position anyway, but that just means he’s cheated the buyer.
The USCF needs to radically restructure its goals and its offerings in order to present anything worthwhile to members. It will never do that. There is this idea of fighting spirit in football, keep playing against impossible odds, even if you’re 100 points down it’s not over til it’s over. But chessplayers are more objective than that. They know when there is play left in a position and when there is not. If you are down a rook with no tactical shot and no pawn on the 7th (or whatever), you are kidding yourself by playing til you get mated. The USCF should simply resign, 0-1. Susan is a great player but nobody can save this dead lost endgame. It is a waste of her time and energy, an exercise in mascohism. It’s not her fault that the endgame is doomed, since it’s other people who have patzed up the opening and middlegame. But her best bet is to just pull out a fresh chess set and start a new game. With Sam Sloan in charge of the USCF, it has gotten what it deserves.
Sam Sloan and his medicated friends are spamming this site again. I’m glad you’re banning these lunatics!
Thanks Susan!
New Slate: Sam Sloan, Mike Goodall, Don Schultz and Joe Lux! Mark my word: You can bank our victory!
Mike Goodall’s supporter!
Hey Susan,
I’ve had nothing but great experiences with Mikhail’s tournaments. He organized/ran the Lindsborg tournaments with such professionalism and was very very kind to the participants (his wife fed the entire field in the open section one day!)… I have no doubts about his abilities to bring the USCF back.
Randy Bauer is another decent candidate, but it’s hard to say that he’s an active chess player in Iowa… I have never seen him at a tournament in the last 6 years I’ve played in the state, and I’ve won my fair share of events there. But He did do a good job of responding on the whole Natrol scandal, and I appreciate it.
I have no idea who Paul Troung is, so I cant comment on him.
Keep up the good work!
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