Some chess politicians are quick to create or label running slate in the next USCF election.
What is a slate? Who makes this slate? Who cares? I certainly do not. I have no slate. I do not want any slate. I only care about the candidates’ talent, integrity, professionalism, experience and passion for chess. I also care about the candidates’ willingness to stay AWAY from the destructive chess politics.
If the USCF members feel that there are more qualified candidates than me or the people I asked to help, then please vote for them. This is not about my personal ego. I also have no political ambition. I love chess and I just want to do good things for my sport. Period! There is nothing else to read into. I am not going to waste time playing political games when the USCF has so many problems that need improvement.
My vision for US Chess and the USCF is I want to recruit the BEST TALENTS to help raise this sinking ship. There are so many qualified people willing to help only to be shut out or chased away. This has to stop!
Mr. Mikhail Korenman is well respected by many and he has certainly proven himself in many areas. He is ON the USCF Scholastic Council and he has ample experience, talent and passion to help the USCF. We need strong cooperation between adult chess, college chess and scholastic chess. Mr. Korenman can make this happen.
Mr. Randy Bauer was supposedly belong to some chess political slate. That did not stop me for asking him to help. Why? Because he has proven to me that he did put the best interest of chess first. It is also because of his financial expertise! Together with Mr. Joel Channing, the USCF can become a fiscally responsible and viable organization again. We need to balance the budget. We need to stop losing money year after year The USCF needs all the help possible.
Mr. Paul Truong is the best Chess Marketing and PR person in this country. Without proper and professional Marketing and PR, chess will go no where and no sponsorship will come. Past politicians have done enough to damage the USCF and its reputation. We need to turn this critical area around. With a good name and reputation again, the USCF can increase revenues through memberships, sponsorships and advertising, etc.
As for me, people can make their own judgment about me. I have always been very public about countless issues. You may not always agree with me but I will ALWAYS put the best interest of chess first. I will work with everyone who puts the best interest of chess first.
I can go on and on but I want to address this important point as some chess politicians already tried to mislead the members AGAIN. It is time for a positive road ahead! It is time to unite everyone. Thank you for your support!
Susan you have my support 100%. I know you are doing a super job and will be wonderful with USCF. I sincerely have new hope for the future with you helping chess in such a positive way.
I hope everyone helps you to win. That will be a wonderful way for all chess fans to unite under your leadership.
My inquiry is rather off-topic, I admit, but I hope you, Susan, can help me: an Romanian-Hungarian-Bulgarian youth (under 14) chess team event has started today in Snagov (Romania), see
http://www.frsah.ro/documente/Triunghiular_Snagov.doc
– but I cannot find any info about it online. Chief of Hungarian delegation is FM Zsolt Korpics. Could you post here a link to some online source with the results (in English, in Hungarian, or in any other language) ?
I am the father of one of the participants in the Bulgarian team.
>>
What is a slate? Who makes this slate? Who cares? I certainly do not. I have no slate. I do not want any slate.
>>
Well, judging from your post, your “slate” is yourself, Bauer, Korenman, and Truong.
>>
I only care about the candidates’ talent, integrity, experience and passion for chess. I also care about the candidates’ willingness to stay AWAY from the destructive chess politics.
>>
Those are all important, but it’s also important to have a plan of action. What kind of talent are we looking for? What kind of experience? How are they going to use their talents to fix the problems in US Chess? Are our problems limited to personal bickering in government, or are there business and promotional problems that need to be solved also, and how is the best way to solve them?
Bauer has financial expertise, you say. What’s his diagnosis of USCF’s business ills, and how does he plan to rectify it? Exactly why is the budget not balanced now? Are we not taking in enough, are we spending too much, are we losing money on scholastic memberships, or what?
Korenman can bring about more cooperation between adult and scholastic chess. What kind of cooperation are we lacking now, precisely?
Professional marketing from Truong? That sounds promising. What’s he got in mind? What kind of successes has he had and how does he want to bring them to the national level?
And of course, the classic interview question, “Where do you want to be in 5 years?” If you and the people you name all get elected, and implement your plans, what do you expect the face of US Chess to look like in a couple of years? What can we look forward to?
And where do you stand on Kirsan and the all-important FIDE issue?
I will discuss everything in due time. We have to take one step at the time. In addition, I receive hundreds of questions / inquiries daily. I cannot possibly answer all of them. I will address the most critical issues first.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
Presumably “Susan” is reacting to this post at The Chessmill.
Providing links to relevant source material will surely benefit your readers.
I see nothing wrong with acting as a slate. It just means you have a unified, coherent program. There’s nothing sinister about it, except in the mind of a certain paranoid narcissist whose name I won’t mention.
Hello Susan,
You might want to talk to your friend about how to market yourself. Already, you are chasing away supporters with your reactionary, bullying tactics (strong words to illustrate a point). I would hate to see you talk your way out of contention before the real race actually starts.
Charlie
dont forget that some posts seem to disappear from here. to make things look better for her?
does susan actually know what she is doing? what is slate? she’s been telling us who else besides her, so slate it is
platform is to be positive etc… but no substance yet, it is good to be nice and all that but lets face it, when you want to fix things and clean house then you cant be nice about it. In a sense someone like Fischer would clean house better because he doesnt care who likes him. Not that that would happen but thats the type need to fix things.
i think if Susan wants to keep saying all these bad things about others, she needs to be more specific and say who said what, because right now she is basicly being no better than they are. Susan seems to be quite a decent person, I know some friends of Campomanes and they all say he’s a great guy, but that even they wouldnt trust him with their money. Just saying is that al we know is her public image which clearly has a machine behind it. we should have a look at it first to make sure there is no “trick” in the future like Kasparov claimed on Big Blue
Dear GM Polgar,
I know that the word “slate” has negative connotations in party politics. You are trying to sound independent by not endorsing a slate. And yet in your posts on this forum, you are publically supporting other candidates.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck.
There is nothing wrong with actively promoting other candidates. If the election were held today, I would vote for most if not all of your slate. However, to deny that you have a slate is disingenious at best and a lie at worst.
The very reason that you are running is to be truthful with the voters. If you are publically supporting Bauer, Korenman and Truong, then go ahead and say that. But do not try to have it both ways and deny that this constitutes a slate. Simply put, by cross-promoting with other candidates, you have formed a slate.
Michael Aigner
Susan may I suggest gently that you might have a misunderstanding of the use of the word slate. From the dictionary I get.
slate.
4. a list of candidates, officers, etc., to be considered for nomination, appointment, election, or the like.
slate also mean things like a type of stone. but item 4 on the list is given here.
Your slate is not your ideas or position but simply the list of candidates. Your slate is you and those who are running as a unit along with you. You do have a slate.
Susan I am so sick and tired of the endless mismanagement of the USCF. I will vote for you and all your slate no matter what position you take. I know you and your friends will do a wonderful job for chess in USA. I expect you will win without even trying to run. I dont think you have to work hard at this. Your wonderful reputation should win you the election.
But right now I think you do have a slate which is you and your group of friends. but you have not yet stated a position on issues.
Personally I know all the decisions you and your friends will make will be good decisions. I personally do not need details. You have my vote now and will have my vote no matter what positions you take on chess.
Go for it Susan. We need you. Chess has suffered long enough in USA.
All the great business leaders who have built the great companies of the world have done it with one trick. They simply hire the best people. They do not worry about what the person will do. they just get the good people. You have done this. You have the most wonderful people picked out already. There is nothing more to do except get elected and run the show. And I believe if you do nothing, you will get elected based on your reputation. People really love you. They will definitely elect you. So please sit back and relax. You will be elected. I promise to do all I can locally to help you get elected. I believe in you. I know many other people also believe in you.
There is a great spiritual statement that is very hard to accomplish. It is called “YOU NEED DO NOTHING” now that is true in the sense that you need to actually get to the place where you actually do nothing. imagine that. just sit down and drink a cup of coffee and do nothing and you will be elected. What you will do is to do that which Love asks you to do. You have already responded to LOVE. You are running for the USCF EB. This is the expression of your love for chess players and children.
now sit back and do nothing until LOVE guides you to do another act of love. When you sit back and do nothing you are allowing the world to shift to accept your act of love. allow the people to elect you. allow the people to validate your act of love.
After you are elected always chose love in every decision and you will be a shining light to everyone.
Remember this journey you have decided to go and take is all about your transformation into the love that you are. It is not about changing anyone and it is not about the uscf. It is all about you shining the love that you are.
>>
Presumably “Susan” is reacting to this post at The Chessmill.
>>
Ah. All right, I now see the other half of this conversation, and can see what is being responded to.
This article seems to confuse the difference between planning and implementation, in order to make a specious criticism. Of course you want a diversity of opinion at the planning stage. Let all the views be heard, and then choose which one to use.
Which one to use. You can’t choose them all. If we think of the USCF as a cart, and imagine the board members pulling it along, it’s a legitimate question to debate whether they should be pulling the cart North or East. But eventually they have to reach a decision, and when that happens, they all need to pull the same direction. If half pull North and half pull East, the cart ends up going Northeast, which is something none of them wanted.
For that reason, I think the article’s point falls flat. “It doesn’t take a team. It takes an individual.”, it says. The problem with that is that the Board is not an individual, it’s a group of people. A group of people who need to work together and all pull the same direction.
The planning stage is the election itself. As a voter, I’m not going to vote for two people who want to pull the cart North, and two who want to pull it South, just to have a variety of opinion. If that happens, the cart goes nowhere. No, no. As a voter, I’m going to decide for myself which direction the cart needs to be going, and then vote only for people who want to pull it that same way.
I think the article is mistaken in assuming that people working together as a team will necessarily march in lockstep, and be unable to make corrections to their course when necessary. The idea that a group of individuals, all pulling different directions would do better, is almost laughable. They wouldn’t come together, they’d simply blame each other. (“Hey, if you guys were pulling my direction, this wouldn’t be happening.”)
In politics, they call this “gridlock”. You don’t usually see people advocating it.
to slate abkanzeln
to slate heruntermachen
to slate missbrauchen
to slate heftig tadeln
to have a clean slate [fig.] eine weiße Weste haben
to put sth. on the slate etw. anschreiben
to roundly slate so. (Brit.) jmdn. niederbügeln
to wipe the slate clean einen Neuanfang machen
thats what i found in my english dictionary (with german expressions)
the very last expression: “to wipe the slate clean”, is – in my opinion – the most applicable one …
(thx god – we in germany do not have such problems with our chess umbrella organization (Deutscher Schachbund) – good luck to you in US – hopefully you’ll establish a sound basis for the future of chess in the US under a reformed USCF)
Who are running against your team ? This is to ensure that we get to know the relative credentials of both the teams (multiple teams ??) so that we can make an informed decision whom to vote for. To rephrase the question, which of the current executive members are you running against ?
Don’t worry too much about the slate connotation.
I think you have to wait until mid january to find out all the people who are going to be running.
However, we can assume that those presently elected might be interested in running again. But that has not always been the case with USCF. many people figure they are ready to leave when their term in office expires.
However, Sam Sloan who was recently elected for a 1 year term will surely run again. I might guess he has been running for the past 10 years or longer. He probably will never quit running.
Beatrice Marinello probably would be due to run again. I dont know her status for sure.
Not sure on any of the others.
I would not be surprised to see some people decide not to run against Susan.
for the gentleman Sirkov wanting to get information on a tournament. The Week in Chess web site covers many tournaments. You should check there.
http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html
Having joined USCF only a couple of months ago I am completely unaware of a few important things. I do not know the leadership structure, number of meetings per year, exact positions open on the board, etc. Just as important, though, I do not know the current problems facing the USCF, the past problems and the details of their alleged mishandling, nor the political dynamics governing the board (such as the cronyism and political backstabbing that have been mentioned).
I am sure that I am not the only new adult member who has fallen neck deep in an uncharted swamp with elections only a few months away. Where can we go to find this basic information so we will have a good knowledge base with which to make judgements when voting?
All you people with your dictionaries pulled out, read again. The important part of the slate definition is:
“..typically a group sharing a set of political views”.
Ms. Polgar has expressed she would like to avoid all politics. She is merely highlighting the skills and passion of others. The people whom she is highlighting and recommending may easilyNOT share a set of political views with Ms. Polgar.
Which seems to be the case. And as such, there is no slate.
Slate is not a bad word. You formed a team of four that will surely act mostly together if they all sit on the board. That is plain and simple a slate.
If you are elected to the board, you will be a chess politician. You will use politics (the art of consensus) to get things done. If you ignore poltics and demand your way in everything, you will fail – nothing will be achieved.
As a candidate, you are taking part in politics. You have to accept the rules of the game. You can’t bully peole into not criticizing you. US politics at any level is tough, but its not as personal as you think. People can rant in public and in private still get on just fine.
At times, you kids from other cultures arguing over common English usage is pretty funny.
Using the term slate may or may not be a correct choice pending any particular (cited or not cited) English dictionary usage, however, from the common understanding of American native English-speaking citizens, it was a poor choice of terms.
A team is not any random group of people thrown together (elected separately) for a particular task (as in a board). A team is a special type of group of people such as follows but not limited to:
To use teams and be a team member, you first need to know what is and what is not a team. Just as aggregates are not groups, placing people in the same room (or on the same board) and calling them a team does not make them one.
To be a team, you first have to be a group. A group may be defined as a number of individuals who join together to achieve a goal. Groups exist for a reason, a purpose. People join groups in order to achieve goals that they are unable to achieve by themselves. Thus, a group may be defined as a collection of individuals who are interdependent—interacting— and/or influencing one another in some way. Usually, a group is a social unit consisting of two or more people who perceive themselves as belonging to the group. However, occasionally in society, a group is defined as a collection of individuals whose interactions are structured by a set of social roles and norms—an involuntary, socially structured group. Finally, a group may be defined as a collection of individuals who are trying to satisfy some personal need through their joint association.
Not all groups are teams, yet teams are only one type of group. Committees, task forces, departments, and councils are groups, but they are not necessarily teams. No matter how often it is called one, the entire membership of any large and complex organization is never a team.
A team is a set of interpersonal interactions structured to achieve established goals. More specifically, a team consists of two or more individuals who (1) are aware of their positive interdependence as they strive to achieve mutual goals, (2) interact while they do so, (3) are aware of who is and who is not a member of the team, (4) have specific roles or functions to perform, and (5) have a limited life span of membership.
In industry, as well as in politics, researchers have found that in a working group, interdependence is usually low and accountability focuses on individual members (and their successes and failures), not on the group as a whole. Each member of the working group has a task he or she completes, but members do not take responsibility for results other than their own. They also rarely engage in tasks that require the combined effort of two or more members. In meetings, members share information and make decisions that help each person do his or her job better, BUT the focus is on individual performance, NOT team goals.
Of particular note, a team is more than the sum of its parts, more than the sum of each person’s individual effort. A team’s performance includes team output that requires the joint efforts of two or more team members as well as each individual’s efforts. Teams meet not only to share information and perspectives and make decisions, but also to produce discrete work products through the team members’ joint efforts and contributions. The focus is on team accountability, thus team members hold themselves and one another accountable for doing high-quality work.
———————————————-
>>> I think the article is mistaken in assuming that people working together as a team will necessarily march in lockstep, and be unable to make corrections to their course when necessary.
It would be cool if Bobby Fischer ran for the USCF board!!! That would generate lots of press and rejuvinate the USCF and the sport of chess!
That anonymous who thinks he can sneer at non-American ‘kids from other cultures’ is plain wrong.
For native English speakers, slate is an inoffensive word, such as:
“Applebee’s shareholder nominates slate of directors for board
A money management firm that has accumulated a stake in Applebee’s International Inc. has nominated a slate of four candidates for election in 2007 to the restaurant chain’s board of directors.”
Hello All,
You can’t always base an opinion on what a person says. You also have to watch and see what the person does. By definition, Susan is involved in politics. She is political. I do not fault her for not liking politics or politicians, I don’t like them either, but just because we don’t like it doesn’t make us apolitical.
Charlie
You can’t always base an opinion on what a person says. You also have to watch and see what the person does.
Good point!!!
What is so bad about the USCF ?? some detailed facts please
Everything! They have a convicted felon serving on the executive board.
Anonymous said…
Everything! They have a convicted felon serving on the executive board.
Felon a person who has committed a felony a wicked person malicious treacherous an offense, as murder or burglary, of graver character than those called misdemeanors, esp. those commonly punished in the U.S. by imprisonment for more than a year. any crime punishable by death or mutilation and forfeiture of lands and goods.
Really who ?? and what did he/she do ??
Bobby Fischer is not a convicted felon… he is having a disagreement with the US Government and has not be convicted of anything. Iceland loves him!!!
I must agree with and add my voice to the two anons who are asking for specifics about the problems of the USCF. New members especially will not have a knowledge of the political history involved. So many are stating that the USCF is full of problems but so far the only “specific” accusation is that a felon serves on the board. To this I reply – “Who is this person and of what were they convicted?”
Dear Susan please shut up those anons who are asking for specific details and make a detailed list of exactly what are the problems and what is wrong with the USCF to make it clear what you mean when you say there are a lot if problems with the USCF
Also how you and your great team will fix them thanks Tom NY
Anonymous said…
Having joined USCF only a couple of months ago I am completely unaware of a few important things. I do not know the leadership structure, number of meetings per year, exact positions open on the board, etc. Just as important, though, I do not know the current problems facing the USCF, the past problems and the details of their alleged mishandling, nor the political dynamics governing the board (such as the cronyism and political backstabbing that have been mentioned).
I am sure that I am not the only new adult member who has fallen neck deep in an uncharted swamp with elections only a few months away. Where can we go to find this basic information so we will have a good knowledge base with which to make judgements when voting?
Fellow member
Check with the USCF you answers might be found there as we at the USCF are there to help our members and will truthfully answer all inquires
Contact Us
USCF Headquarters in Crossville, TN
Office hours: Monday – Friday, 8am-5pm (central).
Phone: 1-931-787-1234
Fax: 1-931-787-1200
Please send e-mail queries to feedback@uschess.org.
Staff Directory
Mailing address:
US Chess Federation
PO Box 3967,
Crossville, TN 38557
About the USCF
The United States Chess Federation (USCF) is the official, not-for-profit US membership organization for chess players and chess supporters of all ages and strengths, from beginners to Grandmasters. The USCF represents the United States in the World Chess Federation (FIDE), linking US members to chess players around the world.Founded in 1939 with the merger of the American Chess Federation and the National Chess Federation to promote the, USCF has grown to over 80,000 members and 2,000+ affiliated chess clubs and organizations today. Under the management of a professional staff headquartered in Crossville, Tennessee, USCF sanctions thousands of tournaments with over half a million officially rated games annually. 25 National Championships award titles to both amateurs and professionals, ranging from elementary school students to senior citizens. Over fifty Grandmasters (one out of every eight GMs in the world) represent the US internationally, and USCF supports the participation of Americans in official FIDE championship events at all levels.
USCF publishes the award-winning monthly magazine Chess Life, the bimonthly Chess Life for Kids, and this extensive and feature-rich web site. We welcome you to read our mission statement, learn about the benefits of membership, and to join with chess players and fans from throughout the US, in greater enjoyment of “the royal game.”
80,000 members and 2,000+ affiliated chess clubs and organizations today. Under the management of a professional staff headquartered in Crossville, Tennessee, USCF
When you look at this the USCF can’t be all that bad
Anonymous said…
What is so bad about the USCF ?? some detailed facts please
Anonymous said…
Everything! They have a convicted felon serving on the executive board.
Anon read this “Under the USCF Bylaws, any candidate who has been convicted of a felony as an adult in the United States must disclose that conviction in his or her election statements, and is granted an additional 100 words for that purpose.”
Anon this convicted felon story sound a bit odd some real proof would help your comment here
Hi there I have done some checking around and been in touch with 50 or so affiliated chess clubs and all but 2 were quite happy with the uscf (the 2 were complaining about tournament schedules not managements) but a lot of them want to keep the uscf run by Americans and would not vote for foreigners
Sheesh, these kids from other cultures completely missed my point (lending further credibility to my argument): Many times people from foreign cultures use perceived appropriate words (either copied from some web site, a dictionary, thesaurus, or translator) to describe their ideas or concepts, yet mistakenly choose a little-used or even unused term BECAUSE they are unfamiliar with common American dialect and culture.
Don’t worry, it happens worldwide. However, it is funny when some recently arrived Far Eastern native, European native, or Asian native claims expertise and great facility with American culture. In my experience teaching recently arrived immigrants the English language, this trait is common amongst juveniles “kids”.
No sneer intended.
>> That anonymous who thinks he can sneer at non-American ‘kids from other cultures’ is plain wrong.
For native English speakers, slate is an inoffensive word
…And, it is even more funny now because whether or not “slate” is offensive or not has nothing to do with my original point. Further lending credibility to my initial observation
jó reggelt Susan ön mutat azok amerikaiak hogyan mi hungerians kap gondol megtett és étel szerencse Laszlo Halas
Laszlo this writing not Hungarian
First Amendment we all value
yes it’s election time haha
Leave Susan alone she is new at this if she deletes you that’s her choice ..like she said it’s her chess blog and you don’t see her making accusations or mud slinging ..so ease up on her
I am one of the anons who posted earlier requesting more detailed information. I offer my support to Susan and agree with her deleting certain posts for more than one reason.
First, this is her personal blog. If someone painted grafitti on her front door noone would complain if she removed it. So why should she not remove certain posts if they offend her?
This leads into my second point – This blog will, I assume, be an important tool for her campaign.
She has stated already that a list of detailed complaints and plans will be given at a later date. My request for more details on past USCF problems was actually intended for all the other people posting, not a request of Susan.
I am sorry but I will not allow any discussion about Mr. Sloan on my blog. You are free to discuss about him on the USCF or other forums. That is final. All posts about him, good or bad, will be deleted.
As I stated before, I will discuss many issues when the time is right. I am not going to discuss issues when I have not even submit my official petition yet. I will only discuss issues on how to make the USCF better. I am not going to play the typical games like in the past.
I especially will not respond or give serious attention to posts from anonymous posters. My blog will not turn into rec.games.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
Susan – The slate that you are recommending seems credible, so I am not sure of the purpose of your post. Is there something that we are missing?
Chess politicians have a habit of using the word “slate” in a negative way. I spent a lot of time and efford searching for people who I feel are best to help the USCF.
It does not mean that these people will always agree with me on every issue. If elected, we will learn of every issue and have productive discussions before making any decision.
I want to make sure that the USCF members will understand that there is no political motive behind my decision to ask these people to run.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
Good Night Susan sleep well