Final Chess Life Statement by Paul Truong

Dear friends and colleagues,

What has happened to the USCF in recent years? Well, it has not been good at all! There was little sense of pride. There was little sense of financial responsibility. There was little sense of professionalism. There was little sense of urgency. There was little attempt to positively promote chess or the USCF.

However, there were plenty of internal political wars. There were plenty of horrific business and financial blunders. There was plenty of frivolous spending. There was plenty of dishonesty and unprofessionalism. There were plenty of unethical conducts. There were plenty of violations of the Standards of Conduct for the USCF Executive Board.

Some believe that if it ain’t broken, why fix it? I would say something is broken when we keep on losing money and sponsors. The USCF lost money again last year! There’s hardly any room left for errors. As each day went by, this federation fell further behind. With massive overheads, shrinking revenues and lack of strong leadership, we’re doomed to fail again.

Every year is a new excuse. Every year is a new finger-pointing game. This federation wasted so much time, money and resources dealing with nonsense by chess politicians instead of focusing on improving many needed areas. If we keep on electing the same people, how can we expect different results?

What are some of my many areas of expertise? What can I bring to the USCF? I have twenty years of leadership experience in senior management, marketing and PR, specializing in branding, customer retention, and innovative promotion, areas that the USCF sorely needs immediately.

While others were busy playing politics, I spent the last 5+ years volunteering my full time to positively promote chess in the US. I was able to secure more publicity and media coverage for all the events that I was involved with than the entire USCF. I helped create countless headline news chess events.

The Susan Polgar Foundation awarded approximately $400,000 in scholarships and chess prizes in the last few years. It was done with a micro budget. I proved that we do not have to spend tens and thousands of dollars to positively and correctly promote chess. We just need to know how to do it and have the passion and diligence to follow through. I can help do the same for the USCF.

In electing me, you’re choosing a uniquely qualified and highly successful 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.

This is an absolutely critical election for the USCF. This federation cannot afford to fail again. You, the members, have the power to set this federation on the right course for the next 4 years! Together, we can fix the USCF! Thank you for your support!