Candidate Statement by FM Paul Truong

FM Paul Truong

I have twenty years of experience in senior management, marketing and PR, specializing in branding, customer retention, advertising and innovative promotion.

I’ve been in chess for 37 years. I’m a Life Master and FIDE Master with numerous national championship titles. My other chess experiences include co-authoring best-selling chess books, coaching national scholastic and Olympiad champions, organizing many high profile chess events, being an award-winning chess journalist and photographer. I was also the captain / business manager of our historic 2004 Silver Medalist U.S. Women’s Olympiad Team.

In electing me, you’re choosing a uniquely qualified business professional with a passion for chess, who will relentlessly restore credibility, integrity, efficiency and professionalism to the USCF. I'll work diligently with other board members to achieve sound and balanced budgets, create innovative and effective marketing programs, increase revenues, promote memberships in all categories and build a positive chess image.

Thank you for your support!

Candidate Statement by NM Randy Bauer

NM Randy Bauer

Three years ago, I was elected to the USCF Executive Board to work to improve our finances. In that year, the USCF had its first budget surplus in eight years. We’re again facing similar tough challenges, and I am committed to working with like-minded members to getthings back on the right track.

We must restore stability to the USCF. We need lessnegative discord and more positive results. We need seasoned, capable leaders with solid background, experience, temperament and ability to work together. We are running out of time and cannot afford anything else.

I have over twenty years experience providing leadership, financial responsibility, a focus on results and improved services for multi-billion dollar enterprises. With no chess income or special interest, I will be an independent voice for the general membership. I pledge to do my best to be a positive, unifying force on the Executive Board.

Candidate Statement by Dr. Korenman

Dr. Mikhail Korenman

Born in Russia. Received Ph.D. in Education from Kansas State University. Currently living in Chicago and teaching high school science.

I have immeasurable experience working in non-profit organizations (http://www.intecsus.org/) with success in grant writing (received $261,000 to operate Karpov School of Chess in Kansas). Organized many successful events, including U.S. Junior Open and Invitational, Pan-American, and Final Four Intercollegiate, as well as FIDE tournaments. Member of the USCF Scholastic Council.

Initiated the Chess for Peace program that featured former Soviet President Gorbachev which was covered in the National Geographic magazine (05/06), New York Times (12/24/05), NPR, NBC, PBS, any countless print media across the US and abroad.

Some of my goals are to work with the Scholastic Committee in promoting coaches certification/training program; stabilize the USCF budget; conduct chess research; create more international events in the US; promote college chess as well as other membership categories.

My Candidate Statement for Chess Life

I have completed my Candidate Statement for Chess Life and sent it to the office yesterday. I will publish my statement right here tomorrow after the deadline.

Your opinions are needed

February 1, 2007 is the deadline for the first candidate statement in Chess Life. Each candidate is entitled to 150 words. What do you think I should put in my statement?

The importance of the USCF image

In the recent weeks, there have been a lot of discussions about the reason why the AF4C backed out of sponsoring the US Championship. Here are some of the remarks:

"I believe this is exactly what some of us have been saying would be the problem with Sam on the EB. There is no way a major corporation is going to consider the USCF when any web search will tie Sam Sloan and his web filth to the USCF." Mark Nibbelin

"Sevan did tell me he heard this from John Henderson, and Don Schultz heard something similar from Erik Anderson, and I later spoke to Henderson who told me the same thing, that AF4C's sponsor pulled out because they found internet postings by Sam Sloan and learned that he was on the Executive Board." FM Bill Goichberg

"Sam - one day, maybe, you will come to the realization that you are the root cause of sponsors not wanting to deal with the USCF. I've spent the last 3 weeks having conference calls and meetings with CMOs of large businesses in the Chicagoland area. 2 of them specifically during the meetings asked me to explain YOU and why they would want to associate their corporate images with the likes of a character as yourself given that you are a board member. They were very specific of what they found about you thru Internet searches and your website. One of their words were 'I understand there are strange, questionable, and downright improper characters in all activities out there, but having an improper character on the board of a national organization that is a NFP to boot is asking a bit much for me to look past." Sevan Muradian

"That means Sam Sloan is NOT responsible for the decision by AF4C not to foot the bill themselves and is NOT responsible for the delay in making an announcement. However, we would have a 2007 US Championship today if Sam Sloan was not on the Executive Board. He and his supporters are indeed responsible for that!" NM Michael Aigner

Membership Poll

There have been countless debates about the adult membership and printed vs. electronic Chess Life. Which do you prefer? Reading electronic Chess Life 1 week earlier and getting $12-$15 discount or printed version?

Choices:

- Full price membership with Chess Life
- $12-$15 discount membership with electronic Chess Life
- Either is fine

Click http://poll.pollcode.com/fjyE to vote.

What's important to you?

What are the most important USCF chess issues to you?

* Tournaments Chess
* Scholastic Chess
* Chess Life Magazine
* USCF Website
* College Chess
* Internet Chess
* Anti-Cheating
* USCF Membership Dues
* USCF Ratings
* Other

Click http://poll.pollcode.com/OAg or here to vote!

My personal and professional recommendation

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.

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: I strongly recommend the 3 people 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 results:

1. Polgar 2. Bauer 3. Truong 4. Korenman

5. Jones 6. Schultz 7. Lux 8. Berry

9. Goodall 10. Sloan

Unofficial Poll

Here are the top 4 finishers in the unofficial poll created by a USCF member:

1. Susan Polgar
2. Randy Bauer
3. Paul Truong
4. Mikhail Korenman

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5. Stephen Jones
6. Don Schultz
7. Joe Lux
8. Jim Berry
9. Mike Goodall

10. Sam Sloan

Thank you everyone for your well wishes!

Thank you everyone for your well wishes!

I received over a thousand email and messages since last night. I am very lucky to have good friends in NY, especially Jacqui and Doc Judi who were constantly on the phone checking up on me.

I was supposed to leave for Texas yesterday morning for a couple days to promote chess. I felt something was wrong before I went to the airport so I decided to go to the doctor before I go. Luckily I did! I just feel very bad to let the local kids down.

It was quite a frightening experience fainting and having to go through an emergency medical procedure. But I feel quite good and upbeat now after a good night rest. I have to go back to the hospital every two days for a checkup but I should be fine.

Thank you again for all your well wishes!

Susan Polgar
 

Unfortunate Medical Emergency

Dear friends and colleagues,

As you all know, I am absolutely determined to change the culture of chess in America for the better. As I have said many times, it will be the most difficult task of my life, even more difficult than winning World Championships and Olympic Gold medals.

Most chess politicians do not want to change their ways. They do not want to relinquish their power even if it helps chess or the USCF. Therefore, I have to work even harder to promote chess in this country and around the world in a positive light. I also have other more important duties such as raising my 2 sons.

It is not easy to wake up before 7 AM each morning to get my children ready for school, pick them up after school, help them with their homework, additional educational activities, teach them chess, prepare dinner, bathe and get them ready for bed, etc.

In the middle of the motherly duties, I also teach chess to private students and at various schools, write chess articles for many major publications, run a full time chess center, answering tons of email and messages, work on my new books, DVDs and update this blog daily. That is almost a full time job in itself.

On top of these daily tasks, I have to deal with destructive chess politicians who do not think twice about smearing my name and harming my family as well as destroying chess. I also have to deal with a psychotic ex.

My body finally gave out this morning from massive stress. I fainted and collapsed (luckily) at my doctor’s office. Ambulance had to be called and I was taken to the hospital. I spent nearly the entire day at the emergency room. The doctor had to finally do a minor operation. I am OK now. I just have to be extremely careful for the next 10 days or so. Thank God that my Mother is here visiting and she was able to help me as well as taking care of my children.

I love chess with a passion and I love my children. I will continue to give 150% of myself to make sure that my children will have normal and healthy life in spite of various problems that they have to face. I will also continue to do everything I can to help chess, especially in the United States.

I made a plea with the USCF members in the USCF forums not long ago about the same issue. Chess cannot survive with the same old pattern of dirty and destructive politics. The level of animosity and hatred between chess politicians will eventually sink our sport. I asked for civility and mutual respect. These destructive politicians did not care. Not only that they did not stop, they launched even bigger and more vicious lies and attacks.

That is why I am pleading with all of you here. If you love this game then please do your parts to help promote this game in a positive light. Please give each other the mutual respect and please put the best interest of chess first. Please do not give these inhuman politicians chances to continue to destroy our sport. We must unite for the sake of our Chess.

Thank you!
Susan Polgar

The dirty and disgusting truth about USCF politics

This is how chess politicians play chess

Some of you may misconstrue this as an attack. However, I think it is time to bring up some facts. Lies and deceits must be stopped for the sake of the USCF!

As I repeatedly mentioned before, I have no interest to be involved in chess politics. Unfortunately, something incredible happened in the last election that forced me to try to save the USCF.

During the last election, Mr. Sam Sloan, a person who spent time in jail, a person who have no respect for the laws, got elected to the USCF Executive Board. How? Here are just three of the many reasons:

1. He LIED about his past to the USCF members. He misled the USCF members by stating that he was never convicted for any crime. He lied before, during and after the election about this and many other very important issues.

2. There is a feud between various chess political groups dating back to many decades. One of the groups is currently in power. The opposing group decided to get even by campaigning and supporting Mr. Sloan to destroy the other side. They succeeded.

3. The current voting system does not give the USCF members too much information by any candidate and there is no way to dispute the lies. Therefore, even if someone wanted to point out the lies and deceits by a candidate, they cannot effectively do it in a large scale. Most USCF members do not know what kind of a monster this person is.

This kind of dirty and destructive chess politics have been going on for a long time. It is not going to change by itself. The level of hatred and animosity is way too much. That is why I decided to do something to fix it. I know people from all political parties and some truly have the best interest of the USCF at heart. Unfortunately, not all of them do.

My goal is to reach out and unite all sides for the common good of our sport. But it is not easy. As I just mentioned, Mr. Sloan is one of those individuals who does not play by the rules. He is also someone with no morals or integrity. He will lie and distort the facts for his own benefits and he does this day after day. His supporters will do the same.

No one in their right mind and no one who has the best interest of chess and the USCF would ever endorse or protect an individual like this. This is a man who proudly bragged on his website about countless sexual relationships with young people and he even had their pictures on his website. And his supporters defend this. Need I say more?

That is why I refused to do business with any individual or any company that support the unethical and illegal conducts of Mr. Sloan. They do not deserve my support and I am sending them a strong message. If they want my support then they need to learn to stop destroying the USCF.

The latest disgusting and illegal deed from Mr. Sloan is he released confidential USCF information to the public as well as releasing confidential personnel information to attack his opponents. Not only that, he even falsified information about other candidates to discredit them. As I stated earlier, Mr. Sloan has no respect for the laws. He has no respect for anyone.

What are the options?

If various people sue Mr. Sloan, they will get no where. He has no money so what do you win? Nothing and you have to pay big bucks to take legal actions.

If various people sue the USCF for allowing and providing Mr. Sloan a forum to lie and deceive USCF members then people say that you do not care about this federation.

If various people do nothing then they will continue to lie and deceive USCF members.

The only solution is by showing people like Mr. Sloan the permanent door in the next election and all elections to come. People like Mr. Sloan do not belong on any Executive Board. People like Mr. Sloan have no comprehension of honesty, integrity or strong morals. People like Mr. Sloan have no business representing the USCF, an organization with more than 40,000 young people.

If elected, my team and I will do our best to end the destructive chess politics and concentrate on making improvement in many critical areas. We have to fight hard to take back our federation. This federation can no longer endure and tolerate people like Mr. Sloan.

Thank you for your support!

Some people just do not get it

In the last few days, I have been bombarded by chess politicians trying to make a "political deal". The idea is for me not to give my recommendations to 2 of these candidates: Mr. Randy Bauer, Mr. Paul Truong and Mr. Mikhail Korenman.

In exchange, they will campaign for me and 1 of these above 3 candidates. Thank you for thinking of me but the answer is:

"No thank you! Not now! Not today! Not ever!"

I am not running for the Executive Board for my personal accomplishment or ego. I do not like chess politics. I do not have time to play political games. I decided to run because the USCF needs a lot of help.

The level of professionalism, integrity and credibility of the USCF has plummeted due to many poor, unethical and political decisions by some chess politicians. Too many USCF members are frustrated and lost trust in this federation.

I spent the last several years listening, talking and sharing ideas to tens and thousands of members and non-members of the USCF. Then I spent many months working on a comprehensive plan to help this federation as well as searching for the most qualified candidates with the highest level of integrity and professionalism.

The USCF needs qualified and passionate people who can bring on board a tremendous level of energy, expertise and experience. The last thing we need is more chess politicians with no understanding of the needs of the members to engage in more political games.

I am going full steam ahead. Even though there are a few very good candidates, I strongly believe that Mr. Paul Truong, Mr. Mikhail Korenman and Mr. Randy Bauer will play vital roles in helping the USCF!

My response to a USCF member about ethical issues

Dear Brian (Lafferty),

I am a columnist for Chess Life (CL) since 2002 and Chess Life for Kids (CL4K) since its inception last year. My work in chess journalism earned me several Chess Journalist of America Awards as well as the Cramer Award.

I receive $500 for each article in Chess Life and I receive $0 for articles in CL4K. I already informed the USCF ED many weeks ago (long before I submitted my election petition) that I would be happy to follow his instructions in regards to my column in CL.

I have no problem following the rules and regulations as long as they are fair and just for all members. The ethics proposal above is a start but it is incomplete as there are many other issues when it comes to being a viable, ethical and productive board member. What about the current board members?

This federation has lost the trust of too many members because of the ongoing dirty and destructive chess politics. If elected, I am committed to perform my duties at the highest level of integrity and professionalism. One of my many goals is to restore the much needed credibility and respectability to the USCF.

In the future, if you would like for me to answer your questions on a timely basis, please feel free to post them on my blog at www.susanpolgar.blogspot.com or via my email at susanpolgar@aol.com. I will not be very active in this forum until proper rules are set and properly enforced and not selectively enforced for political reasons.

I decided a few weeks ago that I would not participate in discussions or debates in this (USCF) forum until rules are properly enforced. Many members asked me to reconsider my decision. I respected their requests and decided to give it another shot. Some members (including people on the board) immediately abused the process.

Even though this (USCF) forum does represent some important figures in chess, it does not represent the majority of the USCF members. On the other hand, this forum does represent some of the ongoing problems of this federation.

I decided to run for the Executive Board to help the USCF and not to join the dirty and destructive political wars that contributed to the demise of this federation. That is why I decided to take my goals, plans and vision directly to the majority of the USCF members. Thank you for bringing up this issue.

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar 

The motto of the USCF

The USCF is the National Chess Federation of the United States with a little over 80,000 members in which more than 50% are young people. This federation has been on the decline for years on many fronts, including financial and membership level. The USCF has lost a lot of its credibility and respectability in recent years due to poor management decisions, unprofessional and unethical conducts by board members.

That is why I think the upcoming Executive Board election is crucial. We must elect the most qualified candidates (who can help the USCF improve) who possess strong moral, integrity and professionalism. We cannot afford to send back the same chess politicians with little or no success year after year. It is time for positive changes! Please make sure you encourage everyone to vote. The future of chess is in our hands.

What other qualities would you like to see from the people who represent our federation?

A new direction

I heard the quote below earlier today from Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and it really touched me. I feel like it was written for me for the upcoming up USCF election. This is exactly how I approached this process!

"...before I committed myself and my family to this race, I wanted to be sure that this was right for us and, more importantly, right for the (country) USCF.

I certainly didn't expect to find myself in this position a year ago. But as I've spoken to many of you in my travels across the states these past (months) years; as I've read your emails and read your letters; I've been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of (chess) politics.

So I've spent some time thinking about how I could best advance the cause of change and progress that we so desperately need."

I am tired of the dirty and destructive politics as usual. So many chess politicians spend too much of their time throwing out dirt and focusing of all the negativities instead of actually doing something productive for US Chess and the USCF.

This federation has sunk to a new level of unprofessionalism and destruction. As a result of this, we lost countless supporters and sponsors including the AF4C, an organization that has invested millions of dollars to help US Chess and the USCF.

We have to stop the bleeding! It is time for a change! We need to immediately restore the credibility, integrity and respectability back to chess and the USCF! There are many areas we need to work hard to improve on. But most important of all, we need to work together for the common good of our sport!

This is why I am committed to this change. I am looking forward to a new and improved USCF! Together, we CAN end the typical "destructive politics as usual" and BEGIN a new positive direction.

I want to thank all of you for your time, suggestions, encouragement and support!

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar

My various responses

Dear Bill (Smythe from IL),

I have been criticized many times in my life. I have no problem with it. That is a part of life. People are entitled to disagree and speak out. That is not what I talk about.

It is totally inexcusable when deliberate and vicious lies are launched to permanently harm people on a personal and professional level. I will not accept this.

We, as an organization, need to protect ALL members equally. I stand for professionalism and I will never change whether I will be elected to the Executive Board or not.

As I stated earlier, I have taken my platform directly to the USCF members. I have done that for a while already. I have met tens and thousands of people each year.

I am also the most assessable World Champion in the world through my websites, blogs and face to face meetings. How many World Champions would allow the public to communicate directly with them on a daily basis? It means that I welcome interaction, suggestions, discussions or even criticism from chess players.

I am me. I believe in strong ethics, integrity and professionalism, I refuse to behave like some of these chess politicians. I am not going to get into this dirty and destructive game. If that will cost me some votes then so be it.

Thank you for sharing your opinion.

Best wishes, Susan Polgar

-----------------------------

Dear Duncan (Oxley from CA),

Thank you and I understand your points and they are fair. However, please let me offer you this. Paul has been a friend of mine since 1985-86. He has helped me countless times over the years without anyone ever knowing about it. He does not like the limelight. He is quiet and reserved. He asked me not to talk about him. Most people do not know this.

In 2001 when I asked him to be my business manager, he first declined. Only after when I convinced him of my vision to promote chess in the US that he changed his mind because he loves chess and he wanted to see it grow the right way. All of a sudden, he was being asked to change hats and become a public figure, in essence, the bad guy, the enforcer.

What have been some of his roles? He was asked to defend and protect the 2004 US Women's Olympiad Team. Do you know how many times the members of this team were called various names? He defended and protected all of us to give us a chance and piece of mind to concentrate on our jobs in Spain. He did his job and we did our jobs.

He was asked to defend us again when signed legal contracts were broken. He was asked to protect us when chess politicians were trying to lie about the facts to smear our names and when private info was leaked for political reasons. He was asked to be put in the most unfortunate situations. He did it without pay and without complains.

When he is being compensated, he usually donated that money to the US Chess Trust, the SPF or other good groups. He was the only one in US Chess history to succeed because we came back with 4 Women's Olympiad medals (2 gold and 2 silver medals). He helped the entire team overcome all obstacles and relentless attacks.

I asked him to promote the SPF and various activities on a less than shoe string budget and he achieved better results than even some organizations with millions of dollars to spend. He succeeded in everything that was asked of him. Another word, he is being blame for doing his job better than anyone else.

He was asked by me not to respond when people falsely accused him of cheating when I was the one who asked him to test out lines for me on the Internet. I needed to rework my repertoire without anyone knowing about it. He was and still is my trainer and my results since coming out of retirement are better than ever.

He was asked by me not to respond when people falsely accused him of being BB on the Internet. Why? Because I was in a lengthy legal battle (and still am) with this individual and I did not want anything to jeopardize it.

I have dealt with tens and thousands of people in my 30+ year career and he is undoubtedly the most loyal and most professional person I have ever met.

I approach this election and the USCF the same way I approached each of my world championship event or Olympiad. There has to be a goal and vision. Then you bring in the best team (such as trainers, practice partners, physical trainers, etc.) to help you accomplish that goal. I did not approach this election in 1 day. I took a long time to pinpoint the weaknesses and came up with a comprehensive plan and team which I strongly believe can successfully address these weaknesses. This is how I approach everything in life.

I can tell you without hesitation that Paul will be the most important piece of the puzzle. He can bring something that no one else could and that the USCF needs the most. There is no one who could even come close. That is the bottom line. The same goes with others pieces of the puzzle.

There is zero ounce of political motive in any of my decision. The best interest of US Chess and the USCF always comes first. I put in a lot of energy and thoughts to do this for one reason only and that is to fix the USCF. We cannot continue to survive year after year with massive internal destruction.

In the next few months, I will unveil one piece of the puzzle at the time. This will be the most unique and professional election. This is why I chose not to respond to the "typical" trashing by the "typical" chess politicians. We have to rise above it and I will step up to do it.

Thank you again for your post and I ask that you please give my vision and goals a fair evaluation.

Best wishes, Susan Polgar

--------------------

Thank you Mike (Swatek from OK). This is one part of the USCF culture I would like to change. It does no good to go back and forth. That will only contribute further to the destruction of this federation. Therefore, I will give them the last words. I believe Mr. Duncan stated something very important earlier, most of the USCF members are smarter than that. They can see the truth.

There have been too much hatred and animosity already. We have to work hard to unite everyone. I realize that people can never agree to everything. Even my sisters and I disagree on issues. But I am sure people can see our results by working together and helping each other. After all, we have a very big common bond: Our love for chess! The same goes with the members of the USCF.

This election is very important to me, not as an individual, but as a voice for countless frustrated members for years. I have been traveling around this country for the past 5 years promoting chess and speaking to tens and thousands of USCF and non USCF members. I do not forget the comments that were made to me. I want to keep those members and I want the non-members to proudly join us.

Now that my children are a little older (hopefully they do not grow so fast), I am ready, willing and able to do everything in my power to energize US Chess and the USCF as well as restoring the integrity, credibility and respectability for this federation. We must move on in the positive direction.

But I cannot do it alone. That is why I have asked the most qualified people to join me in this critical mission. I also want to energize the local and state networks to help promote our game the grassroots way.

Thank you for the kind words and thank you for your support!

Best wishes, Susan Polgar

----------------------------

Michael (Aigner from CA),

Thank you for your honest thoughts. The answer is very simple. I cannot do what Paul does and he cannot do what I do. That is why we work well together for many years and that is why this federation needs his expertise. I do not know of a single person that can do what he does. He is good in what he does and I am good in what I do. We are as different as night and day.

The same goes with Randy Bauer or Mikhail Korenman. People keep throwing the word slate as we are planning to take over the world Randy, Mikhail and I have not spoken in a long time. For some reasons, people seem to think that we are all the same people and have the same opinion. We may on some issues and we may also disagree on other issues. I did not ask Randy, Mikhail or Paul to do this to agree with me. I asked them to bring their incredible and unique expertise to the USCF.

If you do not feel that I have the vision or ability to change the USCF for the better then please vote for other qualified candidates. I have no problem with that. Members should vote for the candidates who can help this federation the most.

This federation sure needs it. Happy New Year and Good Luck with your FM title quest! This will be my last post here for a while. Time to get back to other chess activities!

Best wishes, Susan Polgar

Standing firm on my principles for a positive USCF

This was a letter I posted at the USCF forum which has become the paradise for destructive chess politicians who contributed to the downfall of the USCF.

Dear Hal,

Thank you for your post although I completely disagree with quite a few things you said. However, you are entitled to your opinion and I respect your right. In addition, thank you for your help many years ago. I have made my decision a while back not to discuss or debate in this environment (USCF Forum). It is not healthy or productive.

I decided to run in this election to help the USCF and changing the environment and culture of the game are two of the things I will try to achieve.

I want to energize the members in a positive way. As I said before, unless the forum's rules here are strictly enforced and people can properly respect each other, I will take my issues and discuss with the USCF members in person at countless events that I attend each year or in a more civilized and productive environment. In addition, my forums attract about 3-6 million unique chess players each month.

I will make my campaign the way I see fit. I am not going to follow the same path that does not work and clearly needed to be changed. It is like in chess. Why would anyone play the same losing lines over and over again? Surely you would not want me to do that?

I would like to wake up each morning and be proud for what I stand for.I also want my children and family to be proud of me and because of this, I will always try my best to do the right things. Joining this dirty and destructive political game is not the right thing for me and I am not going to do that.

Whether I will be elected or not, I will continue to give US Chess 150% of myself. I hope you will join me to a more positive, respectful, professional and productive road.

Happy New Year Hal!

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar

A plea to my fellow USCF members

Dear USCF members,

I have asked the Executive Board several times recently to help fix the serious problems in this forum. I understand that they are working as hard as they can and I appreciate their efforts. I wish it could be done much sooner. This becomes a serious legal issue when a board member is throwing out outrageous fabricated charges and threatening to file false police reports. This is no longer dirty or destructive politics. This is now involving people’s personal lives.

I am a professional player with an impeccable record on and off the board for 30+ years. In the last 5 years, I have given 150% of myself to help promote chess in the United States in a professional and dignified way. You may or may not like what I have done. I may have made some mistakes along the way. I apologize if I offended anyone. No one is perfect but the bottom line is I tried my hardest because I love my sport and I want to help my sport. It is especially not easy for me having to raise 2 young boys being a single Mom for the last 5+ years.

I am not interested in the dirty or destructive chess politics. I do not want to get back or get even with anyone. The long standing feud between various people contributed to the decline of this federation. I just want to help the USCF and I feel I can achieve that best by running for the Executive Board. I tried to define some of the biggest weaknesses within this federation and came up with the short list of people which I feel can help strengthen these areas. Then I asked them to come forward to help by running in this election as well. In the next few months, I will go into further details about how I think these goals can be achieved.

At that time, if you feel that the candidates that I recommend can do a good job then please vote for these people. If you feel that other candidates can do a better job then please vote for them. If you are unsure then you can debate and discuss the pros and cons about each candidate. Each of the 10 candidates feels that he/she can do the best job. It is up to you to make that decision. The election process should be fair and it does not have to be ugly or destructive.

So far I have sealed my lips and allowed some people to maliciously attack me, lie about me and smear my name. It was my decision not to fight back. I feel that it does not help this federation or anyone by going back and forth. There are too much animosity and hatred already. I would like to promote professionalism, unity and cooperation. Regardless of our differences, I am confident that we can work together for the good of US Chess and the USCF in a positive manner. I ask for you to please not give these destructive people more ammunition to misbehave. This has gone too far already.

Thank you for reading this and I hope to be able to communicate with all of you sometimes in the future.

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar

More contrasting examples

I woke up before 7 AM this morning, did LIVE blogging of the Corus Super Tournament for 15,000+ followers. Then I go to teach a group of young people at the Polgar Chess Center. After that, BBC will come to my chess center to film. That's just half the day and I have activities until midnight.

In the mean time, one of the candidates who is a current USCF Executive Board member spent his day posting lies, misinformation and personal attacks to harm the USCF, its sponsors and supporters. Welcome to the current state of the USCF!

Mr. Goichberg, President of the USCF, confirmed the rumors that have been floating around about the 2007 US Championship and AF4C. This is what Mr. Goichberg wrote on the USCF forum:

"... heard from his major sponsor that they had done an internet search, found objectionable posts by Sam Sloan and others, and were very concerned. A few days later, it was announced that by mutual agreement between AF4C and USCF, AF4C would not fund the 2007 Championship."

This is why changes are needed now in this election. People who have no integrity, honesty and moral should not be put in the position that can harm the USCF. This is why I kept stating some of the key areas I will focus on:

- The respectability and credibility of the USCF MUST be drastically improved!
- The destructive Chess Politics MUST be stopped!
- The welfare of US Chess and the USCF MUST be the #1 priority!
- The level of professionalism of the USCF MUST be improved!- The USCF budget MUST be balanced!
- The USCF MUST support and promote all its membership categories! A strong cooperation and partnership between adult, collegiate, youth and scholastic chess as well as military, correspondence, email and Internet chess, etc. MUST be established!
- The USCF MUST establish a strong Professional Marketing & PR system!

We will move forward to make this positive change! Thank you for your support!

The most interesting question of the day

The following question was raised sometimes tonight on the USCF forum. In my opinion, it is one of the most interesting questions of the day:

"...So in terms of celebrity, does she deserve these articles and this PR more than any of our more active leading US players? And I likewise note that GM Maurice Ashley - who, like Susan, is relatively inactive for the moment, and is raising young children of his own in suburban NYC, just as Susan is - is often giving of himself and making appearances at chess events, and yet we don't see the same coverage of his activities as we do of Susan's. How many people realize, for instance, how much work went into the $500,000 HB Global Chess Challenge, or how much work Maurice did in NYC under the auspices of the Harlem Educational Activities Fund." Hal Bogner

I know Mr. Bogner for many years and he helped me a few times when I was younger. I always appreciate the help. My goal is to unite the members to raise the sinking USCF ship. Therefore, I do appreciate the questions, especially about Marketing & PR.

Here is my take. If I have a Business Manager (Mr. Paul Truong) who does a fantastic job in Marketing & PR (I believe he is the best Chess Marketing & PR person in the US) for events that I organize or participate in, is that supposed to be a negative or positive?

I have to say it is very positive! The size of the prize funds or budget does not matter! What matters is knowing what to do and how to do promote an event.

Therefore, in my opinion, I think Mr. Bogner just indirectly praised my business manager, Mr. Paul Truong, for doing an incredible job to promote me, the SPF, chess and my events with a micro budget instead of millions of dollars. And that also means that the USCF (which has little success in Marketing & PR) needs someone like Paul to help. This is exactly why I asked him to run for the upcoming election.

Thank you for the question Hal! Happy New Year!

By the way, Maurice did his best with the HB Global and the USCF even had it on the cover and quite extensive coverage. The problem is it did not get as much mainstream coverage as the organizers would like.

Direction of the USCF?

A few days ago, the USCF just lost one of its biggest supporters in the AF4C. There will be no more $250,000+ US Championship. The most amazing thing is there are actually some chess politicians cheering for this. They feel that they accomplished something by contributing to the exit of this wonderful organization.

It is a sick mentality and destructive mentality for many long time USCF politicians. They do not like professional or successful organizations or people. Why? I do not know. Perhaps they do not like to admit their own failures? Perhaps they need to see a therapist?

These are the same people who cannot raise a penny for the USCF and cannot contribute anything positive for this organization. But they have opinions about everything and everybody and they are very loud about it. They will lie and attack anyone who opposes them. And they wonder why people are so turned off and tuned out about the welfare of the USCF. It is not surprising that this is one the biggest reasons why so many called for a new federation.

This election has just begun and it has taught me a lot. It clearly showed me that DRASTIC CHANGES are needed and it also clearly showed me that I made the right decision to stay out of the mud with these people. It also shows me that I have the righ teammates that can change this destructive direction.

It is amazing that the USCF spent a lot of money to create a new website and forum and yet failed to create and enforce a set guidelines. It is like building a beautiful car but neglecting to install the engine. It reminds me of some old sad jokes but unfortunately, it is the reality.

Instead of USCF members utilizing the forum for positive ideas and meaning discussions to help this federation, it has become a paradise for lies, deceit, personal attacks and chess politics. And when the ED made a decision to enforce the rules, board members challenge his authority by voting to reverse his decision to protect its own board members.

People complain when an ED is unproductive. And when we have a good ED trying to his job, he is not allowed to.

Spending $50,000, $100,000 or more for the US Championship and the US Women's Championship is not in within the budget of the USCF, not now, not in the near future. This federation was and still is in a bad financial situation. Even though things are getting a little better financially speaking, we are nowhere near the position of being able to throw out this kind of money. We need to start to be fiscally responsible. That is why sponsors are needed and we are not going to get serious sponsors if we do not clean up our act and image.

There are plenty of things to spend that money on such as promoting chess, scholastic chess, college chess, Internet chess, military chess, clubs and affiliates, etc. But these politicians do not want to talk about the real issues and solutions. They only want dirt, lies and deceit.

It is a very tough battle to fight to change this destructive mentality but I am confident that if we continue to take the real issues and solutions to the members, we will succeed.

Blocked Website

An interesting thing happened earlier today. I had to go to court this morning to obtain some forms. While I was in court, I checked my email and posting messages from my blogs. Everything was fine.

When I tried to log on www.uschess.org, the access was blocked. A message popped up with a sentence something like: "Access denied! You've tried to enter an inappropriate website."

I first thought that the court Internet does not allow accessing any website. So I double checked by typing www.SusanPolgar.com. It went through. So I checked www.SusanPolgarFoundation.org. It also went through. Then I checked www.SusanPolgar.blogspot.com. No problem again!

I then typed the USCF website again and the same message came up. Does that mean that the NY court find the USCF website inappropriate?

Contrasting differences in philosophy

You be the judge!

When I decided to run for the USCF Executive Board, I had to have a petition signed by at least 30 voting members of the USCF. My supporters were proud to nominate me and my team and they would also be proud to have their names publicly displayed.

On the other hand, a current board member has been fighting hard to hide the names of the people who signed his petition! Why? Because he may or may not get 30 people to agree to have their names publicly published.

This is one of the big problems with the USCF. We have ample destructive chess politicians hiding behind closed doors for years while releasing confidential information and dirt to destroy anyone who they perceive as their political opponents through their surrogates. They want to keep good people away from the USCF so they can keep retain their pseudo power and ego.

This is why I am so adamant about cleaning up the USCF and US Chess Politics! I feel that we have to remove the cancer before any recovery can take place.

What is your take? Do you agree with me?