1998 Delegates Meeting
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PRESIDENT'S REPORT
In last year's annual report, I had the pleasure of reporting to you a dramatic turn-a-round in USCF finances. This year's report continues to be positive. The turn-a-round continues. Figure 1 shows, in dramatic fashion, how well the USCF has done in turning the deficits into surpluses. The last five quarters show surpluses of $547,000. The five quarters prior to that showed losses of $347,000. This represents a net turn-a-round of $900,000! Executive Director Mike Cavallo and the entire USCF staff deserve the lion's share of the credit for this wonderful achievement. I congratulate and thank them for a job well done.
Life Membership Investments
The Life Membership Asset Fund (LMA) is an investment fund in which income from new life and sustaining members is deposited. Operating costs, to support life and sustaining members, are withdrawn annually. The total value of the LMA fund is approximately 1.9 million dollars. The USCF building in New Windsor is owned by the LMA and is valued at about $450,000. The remaining assets of the LMA are invested in a variety of equities and treasury notes. A committee called the LMA Management Committee manages the Fund. Delegates at the USCF Annual Delegates Meeting elect the members of this committee.
In order to assure annual reporting of the performance of the LMA investment fund, I have submitted a Delegates Motion requiring that the LMA Management Committee publish an official report each year, either as a separate document, or as part of the USCF Annual Report. The report should include a listing of the investments owned, their valuations, the performance of the investments over the past year, and statements of investment objectives, investment strategies and investment risks
Governance
Major changes have recently been made to the USCF governance structure. Starting in 2000, 125 delegates and 375 alternate delegates will be apportioned among the states and elected by all adult members, 18 and over, who receive Chess Life. These delegates and alternates will serve two-year terms and, along with the delegates-at-large, life voting members and the PB, serve as the electorate for the USCF Policy Board. The Regional Vice-President structure will be eliminated, although RVPs already elected will serve out the remainder of their terms.
The second part of the structural change deals with the Policy Board. Beginning in 1999, seven PB members will be elected at-large, in staggered four-year terms. The Policy Board members will select officers from among their membership. A Chief Financial Officer hired by the Executive Director and approved by the PB will perform the duties of the Treasurer. Staff will handle many of the operational tasks of the Secretary. Officers will be selected on a two-year basis each time the composition of the board changes. While each of us may not agree with every aspect of the changes, we all should thank the entire Blue-Ribbon Committee for bringing about necessary changes to our structure.
However, I am concerned about the transition election of 1999. In this unique one-time election, all seven PB candidates will be elected at once. Seven at once dangerously increases the likelihood of political bloc voting resulting in minority candidates who are unqualified. This also increases the possibility that we will elect Policy Board members who are unable to work together. To correct this, I am asking that the delegates to the 1998 Annual Meeting consider a modification for the 1999 transition year only, and require elected PB members to receive votes from a majority of those voting. Elections after 1999 would then take place exactly as established by the Blue-Ribbon Committee.
McCrary Report Update
Shortly after becoming President, I recommended to the Policy Board that Dr. John McCrary, a practicing psychologist, interview every member of staff in order to assess morale, solicit suggestions, and obtain other feedback. Because of John's interviews and report many changes were subsequently instituted at New Windsor. This year, I again recommended to the Board another series of interviews.
John completed the 1998 interviews this past April. When I spoke to him immediately after the interviews, he told me that, while he expected significant improvements, the favorable turn around exceeded his hopes and expectations. Office morale and the satisfaction with our Executive Director by staff are very high. Congratulations again go to Mike Cavallo!
International
The big news is that the 1998 World Championship tournament will be in Las Vegas this December. It will have the same format as the 1997 World Championship. The new president of FIDE, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, announced this at FIDE’s Executive Council meeting in Bled, Slovenia. USCF delegate to FIDE Steve Doyle, Mike Cavallo and I were there and pledged the cooperation of the USCF.
Ilyumzhinov has enormous wealth and is a rising political figure, in Russia, who may be a candidate to succeed Yeltsin. When I first heard rumors of Las Vegas as a site for a 1998 championship, I didn’t think it possible. There was no championship planned for 1998. It was on a two year cycle. Getting hotel and playing space, on such short notice, in Las Vegas is virtually impossible. But, in short order, FIDE authorized a 1998 championship, Ilyumzhinov guaranteed the funding, a famous Hollywood star of one of the most highly rated TV series turned out to be a friend of Ilyumzhinov’s and is solving the space and hotel problems. A world championship in Las Vegas will generate tremendous publicity for chess, allow additional U.S. players to compete and open the door to new business contacts and potential sponsors.
College Chess
USCF scholastic membership has grown dramatically over the years. However, upon graduation from high school, too many scholastic members fail to stay with the USCF. One reason for this is that the USCF has not done enough to promote chess programs at the college level. Last August, the Policy Board took a first step to do something about this. We named Professor Tim Redman, of the University of Texas at Dallas, as the National Coordinator for College Chess.
Tim along with other chess oriented college faculty members, such as Howard Prince of the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), Alan Sherman of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Kenneth Sloan of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, have already begun to improve the chess environment at our universities. Several colleges and universities now give chess-related scholarships (Shimer College, BMCC, the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), while Maryland and Texas have started offering scholarships as prizes in chess tournaments.
Tim gave his first report to the Board at its November meeting. He recommended that an Internet college chess league be formed, that a membership and affiliate discount be given to college teams, and that Chess Life run a regular column devoted to college chess. The Policy Board endorsed all of these recommendations.
In January, concurrent with the Policy Board meeting in Dallas, the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) sponsored a planning meeting for a chess and education conference which will be held in Dallas in the autumn of 2000. As a result of Tim's initiatives, the New York Chess-in-the-Schools Foundation and UTD have each pledged $10,000 to help support what will be called the Koltanowski Conference on Chess and Education.
U.S. Invitational Championship
GM Joel Benjamin won the 1997 Interplay U.S. Individual Championship using the new format, which combines qualifying round robin tournaments with semi-final and final matches. Joel scored 3-0-4 in the round robin preliminary, 2-0-1 in his semi-final match against GM Gregory Kaidanov, and 2-1-3 against GM Larry Christiansen for an overall record of 7-1-8. He earned $10,000 and the Championship ring, designed by Heraldica Imports.
While Joel was winning the U.S. Invitational, WGM Esther Epstein won the U.S. Women's Championship. The women's tournament was played alongside the Invitational. Coupling these events makes it more enjoyable and more attractive. This year, the U.S. Senior Champion will join with these two events; all three will be held together in Denver in October. The senior players want the chance to both watch the games and meet the professionals. Furthermore, they bring in 60 or more players which translates into 300 to 500 hotel nights, thus giving the organizers a chance to strike a better deal with the hotel for all three events.
The World Champions
For the first time, a World Champion played in a U.S. Amateur Team Championship. World Champion Anatoly Karpov joined New York's GM Ron Henley and NM Irina Krush on the "World Wide Web Superstore" team at the Amateur Team East in Parsippany, New Jersey. Eleven-year old Albert Pinnella of Florida joined the team by winning an essay contest. After the tournament Albert said, "Wow ... the most fun days of my life!" In an interview with Karpov by Jerry Bibuld, one of Karpov's amateur opponents typified the feelings of the other Karpov opponents when he said, "This is a great memory. I'll have it for the rest of my life."
Karpov followed with a visit to the National Open in Las Vegas where he gave a simultaneous exhibition. In both Parsippany and Las Vegas, Karpov mingled with the players and greatly enhanced his image.
Not to be outdone, PCA World Champion GM Garry Kasparov flew to Peoria, AZ, where he gave a 15-board simultaneous exhibition and attended a scholastic tournament at which college scholarships were awarded to young players. Kasparov spoke about the history of the world championship and advanced arguments why his version of the championship represents the true championship. The champion was very persuasive.
Scholastic Chess
Junior chess continues to flourish. Our junior memberships, youth and scholastic, continue to increase. These young players will be our champions and corporate sponsors of the future. Our decision to create the position of a full Scholastic Director has worked out very well. I want to take this opportunity to thank Beatriz Marinello. She developed this position from an idea to a highly productive, well respected USCF service.
I wish to give special thanks to Steve Doyle for his work at the Scholastic K-12 in New Jersey, Carol Spengel and Mike Leali for the efforts in organizing the National Elementary in Illinois, Robert Tanner for Junior High in Arizona and Steve Immit for the High School in California. Over 5,000 children played in these tournaments. I extend my thanks to all the others of you who have helped with these tournaments and our other scholastic tournaments and activities. Your contributions have made scholastic chess become USCF's shining star.
Fred Cramer Awards
The 'Fred Cramer Awards', for journalistic excellence, were made possible through a bequest of former USCF president Fred Cramer. Together with Chess-in-the-Schools, the USCF administers this program.
This year, the number of awards has been increased from six to twelve and includes, for the first time, awards for books and Internet web-sites. The awards are for: Chess Journalist of the Year, Best Overall Magazine, Best State Publication, Best Presentation, Best Chess Book, Best Internet Website, Best Regular Newspaper Column, Best Human Interest Story, Best Tournament Report, Best Analysis, Best Editorial and Best Photo.
New Americans
Over the last decade, we have seen an influx of many professional chessplayers from former Eastern European Communist Bloc countries. These new Americans have contributed enormously to our chess culture and deserve special recognition. GM Gabriel Schwartzman is an outstanding example. He moved to Florida from Romania three years ago. His chess contributions as a player, a teacher, and a journalist are innumerable. While doing this, he attended the University of Florida’s Business School, finished first in his class, received all A’s and finished the four-year curriculum in two and a half years!
There are many other examples: 1996 U.S. Champion Alex Yermolinsky, from Russia and now living in Ohio, wore the U.S. Champion's crown with distinction serving as an articulate spokesperson and conscientious contributor. GM Gregory Kaidanov has taken up residence in Kentucky, has established himself as an outstanding teacher and has started a summer camp of chess instruction. Tennessee recruited �migr�, GM Sam Palatnik has moved into Nashville's new chess center working as resident grandmaster. Gabriel, Alex, Gregory, and Sam are just a few of our new Americans who are helping to enrich chess in the U.S.A.
Volunteer of the Month
Last year, the Policy Board instituted a Volunteer of the Month program as a way to help recognize the contributions of our chess volunteers. Stories and pictures of the volunteers appear each month in Chess Life. Those who were honored this past year are:
Ed Fogel, a New York attorney, who every Thursday spends a full day to help children as part of New York's Chess-in-the-Schools program;
John McCrary, a South Carolina psychologist, who for the past two years traveled to the USCF New Windsor offices conducting confidential staff interviews to assess staff morale and obtain ideas for improving our employee programs;
Florida's George Pyne who has increased his county's participation in classroom and after school chess activities from a handful of students to involving more than 1500 children;
De and Dave Knudson who founded Sioux Empire Chess Foundation for purposes of promoting youth chess programs;
Jerry Bibuld who has spent a lifetime supporting those in chess who are racially discriminated against;
Dr. Ken Sloan who created the Alabama Chess Federation website and maintains a scholastic rating list that has become the single most active chess mailing list;
Kevin Cripe who invests substantial time and money in the sponsoring of a chess team of students, mostly Hispanics of modest means;
John Jacobs who as Coordinator of Chess-in-the-Schools Dallas has brought chess to over 3,000 Dallas inner-city children in 14 elementary schools;
Helen Warren who has a history of promoting chess for the young through her ICA-Warren Junior Program and for the chess masters through her promotion of the U.S. Masters Chess Tournament;
Erv Sedlock an Illinois chess organizer who nurtured the Illinois Grade School from 80 entries in 1984 to over 700 today.
Honorary Society of Chess Mates
Together, with past USCF president Denis Barry, I proposed to the PB a new recognition program, The Honorary Society of Chess Mates, to honor and show appreciation to those who through understanding and tolerance have made it possible for so many to contribute so much to chess. Each year, at the annual convention of delegates, a committee of past USCF presidents will nominate and induct new members. The motion passed unanimously. Leah Koltanowski, Nancy Edmondson, Carrie Marshall, Nina Denker and Ethel Collins have been designated charter members.
Last But Far From Least
On behalf of the USCF, I proudly applaud America's newest chess stars: Congratulations to Tal Shaked on becoming the World Junior Champion and congratulations to Hikaru Nakamura on becoming the youngest U.S. chess master ever. I have no doubt both Tal and Hikaru will be representing the U.S. in international competitions for many years to come.
President,
U.S. Chess Federation
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