Ousted members of Florida chess board sue

Ousted members of Florida chess board sue to reclaim their volunteer positions
By Luis Perez, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, August 26, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG — The future of chess belongs to the young. On this, these chess fanatics agree.

As for everything else, well, they'll hash it out in court.

Andrew Scherman, a chess master at 51, says he had the brainy board game's future at heart when he collected 16 written votes supporting him and two 20-somethings as officers of the Florida Chess Association.

They won in a 2008 coup, giving them three seats on the statewide 13-member board. Then, a few months ago, the St. Petersburg Chess Club members were swept off the board like plastic pawns. The proxy votes, the other officers voted, were illegal.

Check. But not mate, apparently.

Scherman is a retired lawyer who has been butting heads in local chess politics for years. On July 21, he moved the game into Pinellas County Circuit Court.

"It wouldn't be so bad if they just did it to me; I might have moved on," Scherman said. "But they did it to Skippy and Joe, too. They're punishing them. They are young. They are active. If you believe in anything about that kids are our future, you can see this is wrong."

Skippy is Robert Foreman, 21. He and Joseph Virgin, 23, of Orlando are also plaintiffs.

Board members Harvey Lerman, 71, and Chuck Hall, 44, call Scherman a troublemaker with an ax to grind and a possible conspiracy to take over the board.

Here is the full article.