From Dr. Redman, 2-time USCF President

Dr. Redman offers his opinion:

Dear Paul,

I am sorry to say that your story is all too familiar. When the University of Texas at Dallas offered scholarships to the winners of the Denker and the Polgar in Oak Brook in 2006, I made a point of speaking to Bill Hall at length that these scholarships needed to be featured in Chess Life.

We did not give one to the winner of the Polgar because that young lady had already won one. But we did give one to the highest-finisher among juniors and below (our custom) in the Denker. The value was more than $50,000.

There was not one word about the award in Chess Life. When I learned of this, as you can imagine, I went ballistic. The result was that the University of Texas at Dallas declined to offer scholarships last year in Cherry Hill.

Under the new Director of the Chess Program, Jim Stallings, we will offer a scholarship in Dallas to the winner of the Denker (again, for our purposes, junior and below), but it is no longer automatic as it used to be. It will need to be renewed on a year-to-year basis according to whether or not the University believes that the publicity is commensurate with the value of the award.

I don't wish to dwell on the past nor engage in fingerpointing. But your general point that the Federation has been extremely negligent is valid, and we need to recognize our problems in order to fix them.

That being said, let's move forward. I appreciate all that you and Susan have done to bring resources (money, time, and energy) into chess.

And bringing a FIDE Category 15 event to Texas is a major achievement. Congratulations!

Cordially,
Tim Redman

More specific problems addressed

In a message dated 5/9/2008 7:59:35 A.M. Central Daylight Time, Chessoffice (Bill Goichberg) writes:

Paul, I am not aware of a $30,000 offer. I do recall hearing you and/or Susan say at a board meeting that you could sponsor the Grand Prix, but never about a specific follow up. Please forward privately an email that I was copied on regarding this $30,000 offer. I have emails I sent you and Susan regarding the $1000 offer (which I did hear) and wonder why there was no response to these.

Bill Goichberg

This was Paul's response to Bill Goichberg:

Bill,

With all due respect to everything you have done for the USCF, this demonstrated precisely the points Susan and I have tried to make for a long time. No one person can handle everything and gigantic mistakes will happen if things are not changed. We need to work as a team, not only this board, but with many others who are copied on this correspondence.

To give you an example of SPICE, we have a group of 7 people helping SPICE. Two (Susan and I) are full time. The other 5 are professors / employees of TTU volunteering their time to help SPICE because they believe in this institute and what SPICE aims to accomplish. When people work together instead of against each other, magic happens. Even with the unprecedented success of SPICE, we still listen to the advice of the people who have long been involved with college chess such as Dr. Redman and others. In fact, many of the advices we received have been implemented to make the institute bigger and better.

We also had 7 members (now 6) on this USCF board. Why can’t we accomplish the same thing? The big difference at SPICE is each of the seven of us handles different areas. One is a grant writing / writing expert, one is a technical expert, one is a marketing / PR expert, and so on. Each of us does our things and handles different area of needs. However, we consult each other to make sure that everything is done efficiently and properly. We all know what tasks / projects the others are embarking on. There is no ego, personal agenda, politics, or backstabbing.

This is what we wanted to create with this board and this is why we endorsed Randy B, Mikhail K., and Jim B. Each has his own area of expertise. This is also why after you insisting on having an opportunity to continue to be President, we voted unanimously to give you this chance. We felt that peace and harmony is much more important for the USCF.

Unfortunately, you continue the pattern of micro-managing and making decisions on your own without consulting the other 6 board members. This started in September 2007. In the mean time, Bill Hall is swamped with things which are clearly not a priority and things which must be done to ensure the good health of this federation have been neglected for months.

When we were in Crossville for the board meeting, Bill H. mentioned that he believes that the previous sponsor of the Grand Prix will stop the sponsorship. However, he thinks he may have another one lined up. During this meeting, Susan and I told Bill H. that the SPF would be interested in helping. He said thanks and promised to get us all the details immediately. We even agreed that even if the potential sponsor he was working with comes through, there is a possibility of a co-sponsorship to increase the prizes. We discussed both the regular and junior grand prix. We said that our budget would be up to $30,000 cash but it can be increased if needed. Three months went by and no information was given to us. We did not even receive a phone call or email. We still never did.

In the following board meeting by phone, the idea of the College Chess tournament was discussed. We immediately offered to sponsor $1,000 and possibly more.

Let me go back to the history of the problem. Joel Channing contacted the SPF last year about a co-promotional agreement with the USCF. The contract was signed and the USCF supposed to place the SPF logo on the USCF website. It was done several weeks later. When the new website was launched, the SPF logo was purposely removed. We immediately informed Bill Hall. Joel Channing also discussed this issue with Bill H. a number of times.

Nothing was done. We were given the run around that it will be done soon. Months and months went by and then Bill H. finally gave the excuse (during the board meeting by phone) that because Susan is on the board, it may be a conflict of interest of have the SPF logo up. This was the first reason given since September 2007. This board discussed and agreed that it is not a problem. Bill H. was told to take care of it immediately.

Again, a lot of time went by and nothing happened. A deadline was then given to Bill H. and the USCF by the SPF. Every single board member was copied on every correspondence. She said that unless the USCF is doing its job to honor a signed commitment by a certain date, the SPF will withdraw all sponsorships. The deadline was passed and nothing happened. You are more than welcome to check the correspondences. I am absolutely certain that all board members were copied as well as confidential binfo.

The SPF has it own board members. The SPF has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships thanks to UTD, Texas Tech, Texas A&M Kingsville, etc. Earlier this year, the SPF awarded 9 state of the art laptops at the SPNO event in Brownsville, TX earlier this year along with a total of more than $100,000 in scholarships, cash prizes, and chess prizes, etc. This is unprecedented for scholastic chess and it was a major event.

Even though it was an official qualifying event for the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls, there was not even a word about it by the USCF anywhere. Other USCF events were listed on the main page of the USCF website for months while the SPNI national event was not even listed until a week or so ago in some back pages where it is hard to find. This causes plenty of problems because this would be the first year that the SPNI is held at Texas Tech University and many players / coaches still think that it will be held in Dallas at the US Open since the USCF does not talk about this.

How should any sponsor perceive this? Was it negligence, incompetence, or was it purposely omitted for political reasons? If the USCF chooses not to or fails to promote or even cover its own major events, what does it say about this organization? Can you imagine the NBA, PGA, MLB or other major sport not promoting or covering their own events?

Susan gave Dr. Tim Redman some specific examples yesterday. I am giving many more examples today. If this is how the USCF treats its valuable partners and sponsors, what can you expect? If this sort of things takes place in a normal company, heads would roll immediately. This is one of the big reasons why the USCF is losing money, members, sponsors, and partners year after year. The right hand has no clue of what the left hand is doing and no one is there to make sure that the quality is maintained.

The 1st SPICE Cup (category 12) had more than 50 sponsors / donors last year. Regional network TVs, radios, and print media were there to cover the event. The Mayor, Commissioner, Provost, Senior Vice Provost, representatives from the Chancellor and President' office and many other departments were there to support the tournament. Susan did this in less than one month and for a city which chess was little known or supported before that. She found more sponsors for this year's SPICE Cup (category 15 which is over 2600 FIDE average) and to eventually create a similar format as the prestigious annual Wijk aan Zee Corus tournament.

How much longer will USCF insiders continue to publicly trash her name and reputation instead of reaching out and asking her to help, especially when she kept on offering over and over again? She is just one example. When will the USCF reach out and seek help from so many others who are willing, ready, and able to help instead of relying on the same old group of people who created the massive problems in the first place?

Positive and professional changes are needed and it must be done now before this organization disappears into the oblivion.

PT

20 Questions with Paul Truong

These are my in-laws at our wedding reception in Orlando, Florida during the National K-12

Chessville Plays 20 Questions with Mr. Paul Truong
Interviewed by Phil Innes

Following our previous interview with you here at Chessville which covered your life and events to about 2005, bring us up to date on current perspectives.

1) Many journalist colleagues and others in chess, were surprised that Paul Truong and Susan Polgar should have run for the USCF Board when it seemed that they were achieving very much independently of that, or any other organization. What prompted you to seek a Board seat?

The USCF has floundered for a number of years in some key areas. The federation struggled badly to adapt to the rapidly changing chess world and fell way behind in the Internet age. In addition, the USCF has never had anyone with our experience and expertise. We know that we could help turn things around. The USCF needs new leadership with clear a vision for a better and more efficient USCF, and not so preoccupied with petty and destructive politics.

That is why we decided to make this big sacrifice for the sake of the USCF and U.S. chess. The most stunning fact is there are a lot more tournament chess players in the U.S. who are NOT USCF members than ARE USCF members, and the leadership was unable to change this. But very little has been done to change this.

However, we are also realists. We knew before entering the race that some of the long-time chess politicians will do everything they can to stop us. Unfortunately, we did not expect the revolting level some are willing to stoop to.

The full interview can be read here.

More Q&A

dietchess wrote:

Susan and Paul, again I appreciate your responsiveness to my questions. Certainly, you could have chosen not to answer them. I have to admit that the answers don't help me much as for the most part I am evaluating a "They said, we said" scenario. I have no way of verifying either claim so I will have to wait for future developments. What baffles me is that the lawsuit by Sam Sloan against the USCF and various individuals has turned into an internal EB fight. That part I do not understand at all; unless the claim is (somewhat implied in Susan's question #4) that someone on the EB or related to someone on the EB has instructed Mr. Mottershead to launch an investigation and place wrong leads. As a mechanical engineer and as someone involved in a small business I find it impossible to accept such a possibility.

Dietmar


Dietmar,

I forgot to add a few additional items in my previous responses. As both Susan and I stated before, we repeatedly asked to have our experts examine the USCF data for the past 6+ months. Our requests were turned down by Mr. Goichberg and his board majority.

Not only that Mr. Bill Goichberg refused to step down from the subcommittee investigating this matter (a direct conflict of interest) due to the fact that he was the ONLY board member who knew about this investigation, he and his board majority did everything they could to block our own investigation. They refused to provide us answers or information relating to this "investigation". They refused to open up the official records. So far, we know that Mr. Goichberg admitted in writing that he knew about the investigation but chose not stop it. He also chose not to consult his fellow board members.

The problem is not about this investigation. The problem is this investigation should have been turned over immediately to an independent investigator to continue and finalize. To make matters worse, Mr. Goichberg also admitted in writing that he hid this “unauthorized” investigation from his fellow board members for at least a week until Mr. Mottershead bragged out his investigation publicly. Multiple clauses of the NDA were blatantly violated by a number of parties.

We recently requested for the contact information of Mr. Mottershead, Mr. Bogner and Chess Magnet School since they were/are all directly / indirectly involved in this “unauthorized” investigation. The USCF turned down our request. We were told by the ED that he needed the permission from the parties. A week later, we were informed that Mr. Bogner and Mr. Mottershead turned down our request. More road blocks!

Why? If the USCF board majority and these men are so confident about their position, the data, and their conducts, why are they so afraid to allow us to get to the bottom of this? Don't they want to know the truth? Why are they doing everything in their power to block all the facts from coming out? We are the ones who said to release all information and evidence, including ours. I publicly challenged the entire board majority to engage in a LIVE debate session in front of all interested USCF members. Let's show the members all the evidence. They can introduce all the evidence they have and we will introduce all the evidence we have. I do not see any of them eager to release the facts. So the question is what are they hiding?

They can try to block this matter all they want but the facts will come out one way or another. We ran for the board to clean up the vicious and malicious chess politics. We will not back down to their tactics.

Best regards,
PT

More answers to Dietchess

- One side is clearly not telling the truth. That is why we asked for everything to be released for all USCF members to see. Then the members can make up their own minds. But the board majority wants to hide the facts from all the members. They cannot even answer simple questions to us without hiding behind their attorney. If they feel that they are right, I challenge them to engage in a public debate right here in the Chess Discussion (http://www.chessdiscussion.com/) LIVE chat room for all USCF members to see.

- If the board majority refuses to release the pertinent facts to hide their wrong doing, everything will come out in another venue. But one way or another, we will push for everything to come out. When some members of the board majority started to play games with our lives, jobs, children and families as well as personal safety, we have no choice but to do everything possible to protect ourselves. They have gone too far with their vicious and malicious political games and they will have to answer for their actions. Decades of the same old garbage must stop. Enough is enough.

- We have been advised not to discuss the evidence in public but in a proper venue. - How well the board will work together will depend on Mr. Goichberg and his board majority. We have repeatedly offered to minimize the damages for the USCF and get back on track to fix this federation. Our offer was refused. This is the Bill Goichberg show. Mr. Goichberg refused to remove himself from this investigation even though it is a blatant conflict of interest. We are still waiting for his public apology to end this matter and minimize further damages to the USCF.

- One of our platforms during the election is to clean up the destructive politics. The USCF will stand to lose over a hundred thousand dollars in various expenses and fees and potentially much more in damages because four people made horrendous decisions which put the federation in this predicament.

- If Mr. Goichberg and his board majority feel that the 10 points raised by Susan are false, he and his board majority are free to publicly deny or dispute all 10 of them.

Best regards,
Paul Truong

Q and A with Paul Truong - Part 2

Q&A with Paul Truong (Part 2) - Questions by various USCF members

Q: How does it feel to win this very difficult election?

A: Nothing changed for me on a personal level. It is not about me winning a seat. It is about helping the USCF. I still do the same things everyday. Now I would have a chance to help the USCF a lot more. My #1 motivation has always been about US Chess. I love chess and I am absolutely confident that we can do a lot more for this federation.

I used to tell people my chess promotional ideas. People said it would never work. They said that chess is not marketable. Fine! I am not a confrontational person. So rather than going back and forth with useless arguments, I implemented my promotional ideas through the SPF instead of the USCF.Chess can be big if it is being promoted properly. There is no reason why the USCF cannot expand its memberships and revenues. I believe this board will be motivated to do it.

It is actually fitting because I was a NJ kid. When I came to America, I spent my youth in Northern NJ. I went to school there. My family lived there for years until recently when my father retired and moved to Florida. But I have always considered myself a NJ kid. My first ever tournament in the US was in Edison, NJ, directed by Glenn Petersen. I have known Steve Doyle for years. I played at the Westwood, Hillsdale and Dumont Chess Clubs.

Many of my wonderful chess friends such as Aviv Friedman, Chuck Adelman and David Cole are from NJ. Now I am back to NJ as an elected official of the USCF and I see a great future for chess.

Q: Did you believe that your team can win the 4 seats?

A: I am not sure what you mean by team. Susan and I felt that the most qualified candidates that can help the USCF now are Misha Korenman, Jim Berry and Randy Bauer. It does not mean that other candidates are not qualified. It just means that we believe that they can help the USCF the most right now. It may be different 2 years from now with different priorities.

I wish that Misha would have been elected too. But unfortunately there were only 4 spots. He is the great voice for scholastic chess as well as professional and college chess. I have no doubt that Misha will work closely with this board. He is a great person and a tremendous chess lover.

We had a clear strategy and our goals and mission were very straight forward. We pounded on the issues rather than relying on personal attacks. We pointed out the problems with the organization as a whole and we offered the solutions. When others relentlessly attacked and insulted us, we refused to get into the mud slinging war. It does not do any good for chess to keep attacking each other. There are enough things to do to improve this federation.

Q: Someone said that Susan and you spent less than $50 for this election. Is it true and if it is, how is it possible to win spending that little? It is unheard of.

A: Yes, it is true. Once again, this is what I have been saying all along. It is the same thing as chess marketing, PR and promotion. We do not have to spend tons of money to get good results. I learned throughout my life experience to make things work with what I have.

The USCF forgot or neglected the grassroots way long ago. We did not. We met thousands of people in the past few years. People believe in Susan’s vision. And people campaigned hard on our behalf. They want to see positive changes and she offered the greatest prospect for this to happen.

It is also about the Internet. With today's technology, there is no reason why we cannot update chess news very rapidly. If the two of us can do this, the USCF as an organization should be able to do many times more. I think we were very efficient using this technology to get our messages out instead of using the print media. But we also did not email people. Spamming people will have the reversed effect.

Q: Would you want any position for yourself on this board?

A: No. I want nothing for myself. I am a behind the scene guy. I don’t need or want any glory. I am most happy when I can make magic happen from the background. But I think the other board members will play major roles in reforming the USCF.

Bill Goichberg has an incredible amount of experience. So is Randy Hough. I know both of them for more than 25 years. Joe Channing is a great guy and he has a lot of wonderful ideas. Jim Berry is fantastic and one the biggest chess lovers I know. So is his twin brother Frank. I consider both of them friends. I have great respect for Randy Bauer, especially when it comes to finances and budgeting. Susan of course is a chess magnet. She has the special ability to energize and excite the members.

As for me, I like to be behind the scene doing I am good at. I am not so good being in the front because I am a no nonsense guy and I say what I mean. I will not be bashful in saying what is on my mind when I am asked a question. Some people do not like that.

I think the USCF would benefit greatly with Susan as President. She will bring instant credibility for this federation in this country as well as around the world. Imagine the kind of publicity the USCF can get with her as the face and voice of this federation. She ran her company for more than 10 years. She also has a lot of experience in the non-profit field being on the board of the SPF and Point Hope. She can do it all.

I think Randy B. is the most obvious choice as VP of Finance. He is very successful in this area. I think Bill or Joel could be the critical pieces to help move the USCF along as VP. Jim Berry or Randy Hough would be great as the USCF Secretary. I just want to be a part of the team and help with marketing, PR and promotion.

Q: What are some of your immediate goals for the USCF?

A: Reduce frivolous spending and increase revenues. We have to be fiscally responsible. I see of lot of waste which can be reduced and there are areas we need to spend more on. But we are going nowhere unless we can generate more revenues. I intend to discuss all of these areas with my colleagues next week.

Q & A with Paul Truong - Part 1

This is Mr. Jim Wilkinson, Chief of Staff of the US Treasury Department.

Q&A with Paul Truong (Part 1)

Q: In your opinion, who are some the most qualified candidates in this election?

A: Quite a few. Susan obviously would bring the most positive exposure, credibility and much more to the USCF. Mikhail will be a major asset for the USCF due to his ability to promote, organize and raise revenues for chess. Randy is very competent in what he does. Jim is my friend and he can also bring a lot to the table.

I have never met Stephen but he has excellent credentials. However, his skills can be helpful for the USCF with or without him being elected. I am sorry that we missed each other at the recent National Open in Las Vegas. Don also has a lot of experience but I think it is time for a new direction with the USCF.

Q: In which areas can you help the USCF?

A: A lot actually. Even though my strongest area would be management, I am not for micro-managing. Managing the USCF is the ED’s job. What I can bring is my expertise in Marketing, PR and Promotion. I can help find unique ways for the USCF to gain revenue sources which have not been tapped. I can also help bring the USCF membership level up. Another important area would be professionalism. These areas are badly needed.

Q: Bill Goichberg sent a very questionable election post card to the USCF members. Can you comment on that?

A: What can I say? I was shocked when I heard about it and I was even more stunned when I read it. He can say whatever he wants about me. But to put Susan Polgar in the same category as a convicted felon like Sam Sloan? Is that appropriate for a USCF President? What he said is completely false and he knows it. I am not sure why he did what he did but it's unfortunate that he did.

My professional references were always available to the USCF or for any credible sources. Bill knows this. In fact, one of the USCF staffer did verify my references. I consented of course. I have nothing to hide. However, I am not going to publish them for all to see. Why should I do this while no other candidate was asked of this? I have to protect my former employers as well as myself from unethical and destructive people. There are too many unprofessional and problematic people who are willing to do anything to harm others. Even though I do not work with these companies anymore, I still have many friends there and some of them are sponsors to chess. In fact, I was the ONLY candidate who insisted on having every board member / candidate furnished a verifiable resume. I was told no by Bill Goichberg and Bill Hall last year at the US Open in Oak Brook. They said it was illegal to do so. Therefore, it is wrong for Bill to be disingenious to the USCF members, especially as the USCF President.

My marriage was never a secret. Our friends and families knew about it. Thousands of people knew about it. When Bill asked Susan if we are married, she wrote a lengthy email explaining the reason why she didn’t publicize it in the media and she chose to tell people personally. This was not my decision. It was hers and I have to respec it since it was a matter of life or death to her and her kids. She copied other board members and some other candidates. Knowing this, Bill decided to mislead the USCF members for political reasons. It was very disappointing. Having said that, I still respect Bill for everything he has done for chess for many decades. But if I feel that he is wrong, I will say so.

Q: Why didn’t Susan or you respond to the countless vicious attacks and false accusations by some people on the USCF forums?

A: Do you think it would help if we responded? Does it really matter what we say? Most of these people have never met or know us. We do not have time to keep going back and forth with these people. Both Susan and I were active in the forums until legal threats and insults started and the AUG was abandoned. I believe that it was highly inappropriate for board members to vote to change the rules in the middle of an election.

Q: Why do you feel that you must be elected to be able to help the USCF?

A: Actually, I can help US Chess and the USCF even if I am not elected. I have done it for 5+ years already. But it would be in a different role. I can do a lot more if I am a board member, especially because no other candidates have my specific skills. These are the things I cannot do if I am not a board member.

Happy to help chess!

This is Paul (at 14) and his father as Vietnamese boat people back in 1979

Here is an interview that Mr. Randy Hough (a USCF board member) did with Paul more than 20 years ago (there are a few minor factual errors but in general it is a fantastic article). He has not changed. He is still full of energy, still loves chess as much as anyone (even though he does not play competitively, he uses his knowledge to help countless youngsters) and still works hard, but now for chess full time. Even though he basically stopped playing serious chess in the mid 80's, he's still a very strong player.

Paul played a major part in helping the 2004 US Women's Olympiad team capture the team Silver and me in capture 4 Olympiad medals (He's my personal chess coach as well as captain and business manager of the team.) I remember that the Vietnamese chess delegation at the 2004 Olympiad still feared him. They know of his reputation in chess 3 decades earlier. And they were right. Just as Mr. Clayton said of Paul as a youngster, he was also right. Paul has an incredible ability to evaluate and assess positions correctly.

He is also the same way in life. Paul's strategy in the last round of the Olympiad help our team defeated Vietnam 2.5 - 0.5 to win the team Silver. If it was not for Paul, we would have went home with no medal as a number of teams were separated by only 1 point (The US Women's Teams have never won a single medal in Olympiad history until Paul was involved and we came back from the 2004 Olympiad with 4 medals - 2 Gold and 2 Silver.)

The USCF is very fortunate to have someone with his experience, professional expertise and passion for chess wanting to help our sport. Just look at what he has helped me accomplish with the Susan Polgar Foundation as well as promoting chess in the US since 2001. As I stated before, no one can even come close to him in chess marketing, promotion and PR. And everything was done with virtually a zero budget.

Instead of using Paul as a person who can motivate and energize the entire sport, I am stunned that some vicious chess politicians choose to attack him because of where he came from and what he had to endure throughout his life. Instead of thinking for the best interest of chess, they chose to attack Paul because they are intimidated by his immense success and talent.

Sept 1986 Chess Life, page 26

PAUL TRUONG:

Happy To Be A USCF Member
BY RANDALL HOUGH
Assistant Editor, Chess Life

Paul Truong is a survivor. And although he would like to say that his love for chess helped to sustain him during two hellish weeks in early 1979 aboard a crowded, leaky, wooden refugee boat -- it would be untrue.

For Paul, who was born in Saigon on June 2, 1965, and whose Vietnamese name is Hoainhan, found that "survival pushed everything else to the back of [his] mind." Still, chess does play an important role in the life of this energetic, young Vietnamese-American.

Paul learned the moves in 1971 at age six from USCF master Kenneth Clayton (Paul learned chess at age 5 from his father. Mr. Clayton started to teach him at age 6 but since one does not speak Vietnam and one does not speak English, their interaction was very difficult.), who was then working in Vietnam as a computer adviser. Paul and his father Tien, who spoke good English, used to visit a local sports club (It was actually not a local sport club. It was the National Sports Center. It's local because of the vincinity of the center.) with a large swimming pool, billiards tables, and whatnot. But it was chess which attracted the lad.

Recalls Clayton of the young boy: "He was always attentive, retained what I taught him, possessed good nerves and evaluated positions objectively. I recall one game against a strong player, whom Paul defeated in an ending in which he used a Bishop to trap his opponent's Knight on the run of the board. Playing virtually a piece up, he just walked in with the King. He had seen a similar maneuver in one of my games."

At age eight, Paul won the closest thing that Vietnam had to a national championship (This was the national championship of South Vietnam and not Vietnam because at that time, North and South Vietnam were split. They were 2 separate countries just as North and South Korea. Therefore, no player from North Vietnam could compete and this championship only included players from South Vietnam.) by finishing behind only Clayton in a tournament at the sports club. "

In our game," Clayton remembers, "I set some nice traps that he saw. I was finally able to wear him down positionally, but it was a real struggle." Clayton estimates that the eight-year-olds strength was in the class "A" range.

UNHAPPY DAYS

The happy times didn't last. The South Vietnamese government fell to the Communists in early 1975, and Tien Truong, a former employee of the United States government, faced hard times for himself and for his family. And in 1979, when the Communists began to persecute Vietnamese citizens of Chinese ancestry, the Truongs formulated a plan to leave. Acquiring false identification papers and greasing the palms of a few officials, Tien and Paul managed to leave.

"We wanted the freedom a human being deserves," says Paul, "and my father was concerned about his children's futures." But Paul's mother, Yen, and a younger brother, who was too young to make the perilous journey through the South China Sea, had to remain behind.

The following six weeks were the most memorable period of Paul's life. Over 600 passengers were crammed into a 150-foot wooden vessel, which had to return to Vietnam for repairs after several days at sea. When the boat again left Vietnam, after payment by the passengers of additional bribes, it was boarded by pirates on the second day out. And the refugees found themselves without much of their food, medical supplies, and valuables. Women were raped, and the boat was virtually torn apart as the pirates searched for jewelry.

There were additional boardings, and the boat drifted for days beneath the tropical sun - a vessel of misery filled with terrorized human beings. And then the refugees were spotted by an American oil tanker.

Tien Truong persuaded the tanker's captain to help the passengers reach the East Coast of Malaysia, where they spent weeks in a teeming, island refugee camp before setting out in a new boat. On this second voyage, people began to die of hunger and thirst before reaching the coast of Indonesian Sumatra ... where they were again turned away.

In despair the passengers began to throw over­board the dead bodies in order to lighten the boat's load. And suddenly, the Indonesian authorities took pity on these unwanted refugees, allowing them ashore. Whereupon. Tien and Paul spent six months in yet another camp. On December 1, 1979, Tien and Paul arrived in the United States, sponsored by an aunt who lived in New Jersey.

PRAYERS, HARD WORK, SAVING

Paul started school in the ninth grade in Washington Township, New Jersey finding that he had plenty of catching up to do. Tien looked for and eventually found a job with Versa a valve manufacturer in Paramus, New Jersey. Where he now works as a control manager. After school, Paul also worked. He and his father offered and they saved money to pay for the freedom of his mother and younger brother And years later - in August 1985 - they to arrived in America.

School, money scrimping, hard work - none these things kept Paul away from his old love of chess. But his rust was apparent in early American tournaments, and his first rating was only in the 1600s. However, he improved rapidly thanks in significant measure, to support from the North New Jersey chess community. At the 1981 New York State Championship, he achieved a USCF master's rating, which he has kept ever since.

Thus far in his chess life, Paul's most memorable competitive experiences (aside from playing for the Collins Kids against Iceland in 1983) occurred in the summer of 1984 when he qualified for the U.S. Junior closed (in which he finished a disappointing eleventh in a twelve-player field despite defeating tournament favorite Maxim Dlugy) and when he participated in Gary Kasparov's "Starwars Simul" - a set of ten game played by Kasparov in London against British and U.S. juniors with the Americans in New York playing via a telecommunications hookup. Paul went astray in a complex middlegame, but the then world championship contender later said that Paul played better than any of his com­patriots.

In a Sicilian Defense, Paul Truong sacks a Rook for White's Knight on c3. That's the sort of sharp trading he had to practice to survive a perilous journey to the United States.

Very important issues for the USCF

kbachler wrote:

I recently outlined a vision for USCF, including some high-level discussion of how to implement the vision. I'd like to see the EB candidates address this. (It may be helpful to first read the thread #1 Role for USCF: An Infrastructure for Volunteers)

Paul Truong: Kevin, Please let me address another issue which is a part of my vision. This is not an issue for debate and I do not want to go back and forth with a hundred posts. This is just my personal take as a retired business professional. I completely disagree with the assessment of some of the people about the state of the USCF.

In my opinion, the bottom line is NOT about if we are making, losing or breaking even this year. This is a short term thing. The bigger picture is to make sure that we will never go back to 2003. How did we get to 2003? Years of mismanagement and lack of proper direction! The only way to change this is to increase revenues while making sure that every dollar is spent efficiently. We are not doing this enough and it bothers me.

Is the USCF better off today than a few years ago? Yes. Is it enough to say that the state of this federation is healthy? No, not by a long shot! Healthier does not mean healthy! To be content with where we are today is totally irresponsible. It is great that things have improved but we must continue this trend every year. There is nothing to brag about when we are losing money in 9 of the last 11 years. We should not react only when our finances are bad. Unfortunately, this has been the mentality for a long time.

The same goes with big league sports. Teams replace their managers / leaders because positive changes are needed. Otherwise, things will get stale. We have people in the leadership positions afraid to make decisions because every move they make are second guessed by other chess politicians. All you have to do is look at the behavior in this forum. You cannot run a successful organization without deep vision and strong leadership. We need to run this federation like a professional and profitable corporation. Our leaders should be held accountable for the annual bottom line and not for every single decision. Otherwise, things would become a cumbersome bureaucratic system which will lead to failure.

We need to be a lot stronger financially and there is absolutely no reason why this can’t be done. We need to rebuild our LMA and have plenty of reserves. Imagine what we would do if Frank Berry did not step up to sponsor the US Championship or the KCF with the Olympiad? Has anyone taken a look at the operation in Crossville? Can it be run more efficiently? I bet it can. Can we save money with our current payroll so we can increase staff power for the same money? While some of us are fighting over a dollar or two with the memberships, we are wasting thousands and thousands of dollars elsewhere.

I also mentioned before about national scholastic events. There is absolutely no reason why we cannot increase the profit in these events by increasing sponsorship and advertisement revenues.

We cannot afford to hire consultants and pay tens and thousands of dollars to assess the situation and come up with sound solutions. I know because I got paid the big bucks to do just this in my career. But why not utilize in house talent who are willing, ready and able to volunteer? We do it for finances. Why not in this area?

There are so many people who are willing, ready and able to volunteer. We are not doing enough to utilize their talents. There are also countless people who are so willing, ready and able to help on the state and local level. All they want is to do good things for this game for an occasional thank you.

I just had lunch in Queens with a major chess business owner from the midwest an hour ago. He asked to meet GM Polgar and me. He would like to know how he and his company can help the SPF. I did not solicite him. He called me. I asked him why the SPF? Why not the USCF? He said he tried for many years but he did not like the way how he was treated. This is not the first time I have heard this. This is a man who loves chess and wants nothing more than to help and he walked away from this federation. I don't think he and his company have ever been recognized by the USCF.

The biggest problem we have is not finding players, sponsors or even promoting the game properly. The biggest problem is within us and our mentality. As I said before, how do you expect different results if we keep on repeating the same mistakes? I have many items on my list but this is a big one. If elected and I cannot help this federation improve, I will never run again. That is the promise that I have made over and over.

There is no reason why the USCF cannot have plenty of money in reserve if we run the operation properly. I want to bring everyone back and bring in new ones. I don't want to lose a single sponsor, supporter or volunteer. I want to thank every company and every person. I want to treat our partners, volunteers, sponsors and supporters like gold. Isn't time for us to do the right and logical things that can help the USCF?

Best regards,
PT

April 30, 1979 - April 30, 2007

On April 30, 1979, Paul and his father escaped from Vietnam as boat people. This was on the 4th anniversary of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. They arrived in the United States on December 1, 1979 without two empty hands.

He survived the tragic ordeal and built a successful life in this country for himself and his family. I am very thankful that he has done so much to help me, the Susan Polgar Foundation, the USCF and US Chess. Now, he is now committed to help US Chess even more by running in the upcoming USCF Executive Board Election.

If elected, I am 100% confident that he will be able to help the USCF:

* Restore the respectability and credibility of the USCF.
* Restore a balanced budget.
* Restore the strong cooperation between adult, collegiate, youth and scholastic chess. The USCF needs to support and promote all its membership categories.
* Recognize that the USCF is in need of Professional Marketing.

You can read more about Paul and his incredible journey in 3 segments here and here and here.

Very contrasting view - Status quo vs Reform

Comments by Mr. Don Schultz:

My problem is that the USCF is not the terrible organization that you apparently are depicting it. Prophecies such as advanced by critics become self-fullfilling and none of us want that. We have good employees, dedicated Board members and thousands of helpful volunteers.

I consider the USCF the best national chess federation in the world. Unlike other countries we receive no government subsidies. Chess federations in many other countries are pawns of their governments. But back to reform/status quo point. How do you propose to bring about change. look at soccer, despite its worldwide popularity that great sport is moving forward at a snail's pace in the U.S.

How do I intend to cause change? I simply don't know, but am being pro-active in searching for the right answer. For example, FIDE, as you know, has just had a major reorganization with the esttablishment of FIDE Global headed up by Bessel Kok.

Bessel is a smart leader who has had enormous success in the business world. Therefore I have asked him to meet with our Board. We set September as the time frame which is good since the new Board will be installed then. My objective is for the USCF Board to learn the value of FIDE's organization change and investigate if there are there any parts of it that the USCF can benefit by adopting. This could lead to major changes in the USCF organization structure. Good organizations must evolve with a changing marketplace or perish. And USCF will evolve.

So what specific changes will you make if your team wins the election?
Don

This is the response by FM Paul Truong

Don, Your response is precisely what I am talking about. You are great in what you do and I am extremely successful in what I do. It is always better if we focus on what we know best.

I did not say that the USCF is a terrible organization. I said that the USCF has many flaws in its structure and it is an inefficient organization. Any competent systems analyst can tell you this. I stand by my analysis.

You said: "How do I intend to cause change? I simply don't know, but am being pro-active in searching for the right answer. For example, FIDE, as you know, has just had a major reorganization with the establishment of FIDE Global headed up by Bessel Kok.

Bessel is a smart leader who has had enormous success in the business world. Therefore I have asked him to meet with our Board. We set September as the time frame which is good since the new Board will be installed then. My objective is for the USCF Board to learn the value of FIDE's organization change and investigate if there are there any parts of it that the USCF can benefit by adopting. "

You just admitted that you do not have the solutions. I do. You want to bring in FIDE. Why? Mr. Kok is a legend. He knows how to stage grand things. But that is not what the USCF needs. The USCF DOES NOT have the money or budget. We need to do things the grassroots way. We need to involve our local affiliates, volunteers and supporters. We need to stop gambling our money. We need to learn to take baby steps toward a sufficient, efficient and sound USCF instead. We cannot pay someone $1 million to play a match against the computer. But we can afford to utilize our existing resources more efficiently.

We need to focus on helping our teachers, coaches and volunteers so they can help our kids. We have tons of people who want to help but do not know how. We need to make sure that our kids do not drop out of chess after an event or two. We need to support and do more for college chess because this is the bridge between scholastic and adult chess. We need to do more for our military chess. We need to do more for correspondence chess. We need to partner up with ICC, WCN, FICS, etc. with Internet Chess. We can do all of this without costing us anything. We can do more with what we have by utilizing our website, CL and CL4K a lot more.

The next point you made is you invited Mr. Kok to meet the next board. This is the next problem. You do not know who will be elected to the board. Why would you set up something for the next board? I totally disagree with this. The next board should set their own course. It is up to the next board to set up the meeting with Mr. Kok if they choose to. It should not be up to you or this board. This is the long time problem with the USCF. The new board always has to undo things from the previous board. This is the status quo.

Again, I am not questioning the credentials of Mr. Kok. He is great. But his success has little relations to the USCF. It is apples and oranges. He has his event in a castle. We do our things in a Holidays Inn ball room or local YMCA. He deals with multimillion dollar projects for FIDE, an organization which pays millions for a chess match while our players play in weekend Swiss or Quads.

GM Polgar and I traveled to over 150 events in the US in the past 5+ years, from NY City to towns with 3,000 people or less. We spoke to tens and thousands of average chess players and supporters and not chess politicians. Do you think Mr. Kok would know what our local affiliates, supporters or volunteers would need more than people who are out there day in day out interacting with the actual members? FIDE and the USCF members look at chess from two different planets. I would ask GM Polgar to tell you about what she learns from all her appearances before I would ask Mr. Kok of how to save the USCF.

What would I change? For starter, the mentality of this federation! Don, there are tens and thousands of people out there who are willing, able and ready to help chess and the USCF and they are doing things on the local level. We need to do a lot more to ignite our base. We have not done anywhere close to the level that we should.

Next, I would sit down and go over each of our annual major chess events and activities to find out what we are doing wrong. I constantly hear that we do not know where the money goes. This is not acceptable. With the proper data, we can pinpoint the exact problem of each event in less than 15 minutes. How can we improve if we keep on making the same mistakes year after year?

Next, I would sit down to evaluate the spending efficiency. We have more than enough revenues with what we are doing right now. The problem is we are wasting our valuable resources. Please correct me if I am wrong since I do not know the full behind the scene numbers. But from what that has been made public, the USCF spent around $100,000 last year to revamp Chess Life, the website and add a CLO editor as well as a get together in Palm Beach.

As I asked earlier, was there any open bidding for the CL and website redesign and for the position of CLO editor? Can you please show me where were the ads placed? Were they in CL or other publications? Were they on the website? How could we spend this much money without reaching out to seek the absolute best candidate?

Efficiency! Mike Nolan is fantastic in what he does. He has made the USCF so much better in so many ways. But as an analyst, the first thing I would question is are we using Mike the most efficient way? I am afraid not. This is just one of the countless things that should be reviewed. The USCF has been ruled by chess lovers with good intentions but poor executions. This has been our demise. We lost money in 9 of the past 11 years. This federation almost went under just a few short years ago. We are in the red again this year and we have no solutions in site. If I have to sum up everything in one word, it would be INEFFICIENCY!

I do not blame the employees or staff. They are not the ones who are responsible for the USCF losing money in 9 of the last 11 years and again this year. Let’s not point fingers at innocent people to deflect the real problems.

As I said, if I am elected and I cannot help the USCF become a stronger, sounder and more successful, I will never run again. Isn’t time for all of our leaders to take responsibilities for their records? Isn’t time we do the right things for the USCF instead of politics as usual?

A board member needs to understand and deal with all membership categories and not just adult or scholastic. We are quite different in how we view things and I am glad that the members will have a chance to choose. This is healthy for the USCF.

Best regards,
Paul Truong

A very important question

mnibb wrote:

Would any candidates care to post or repost what they consider to be the 3 most important things they would like to achieve for the USCF and how they would attempt to achieve them? I'm pretty sure we have seen some of this and if you don't want to post again, that’s fine. Just an opportunity to keep your ideas fresh in your minds and ours.

Here is the answer from Paul Truong:

1. Fiscally Responsible, Sound and Balanced Budget as well as Effective Spending: It is ridiculous that the USCF keeps on losing money. This is not acceptable. We need results, not excuses. I have proven that we do not need to overspend to achieve results. We just need to pay attention to the details and be willing to self evaluate what works and what does not work and improve things immediately. The current system simply does not work. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. We need to stop wasteful spending. We cannot continue the tax and spend strategy. We need to be much more conservative with our budget and money.

2. Effective Marketing, PR and Promotion: This will potentially help increase memberships, revenues and sponsorships. It does not make sense to keep on fighting about a dollar here and there while there is a large untouched market out there. The big problem is not the dues. The big problem is many do not feel that they are getting their money's worth. While we do have many things to offer, how can everyone know if we don't tell them? Most people cannot even find information on the website.

3. Reach out to the Local Affiliates, State Chapters and Volunteer Base to create and maintain a strong support and relationship with membership groups such as adult, scholastic, collegiate, correspondence, military and internet chess. We are not utilizing and doing enough to maximize our support groups. Many want and can help. All these membership groups will affect each other in the future.

For example: Scholastic --> Youth --> College --> Adult {correspondence or military and many are interested in email or Internet chess regardless of the age, etc.) We need to partner up with others such as ICC, FICS, WCN, ChessGames, ChessMail, and PlayChess, etc. We can do non-exclusive co-promotional agreements which will not cost us a penny but will bring us incredible results. This way, the drop off rate will be minimized and the revenues will increase.

And in all three of the areas above, the board MUST MUST MUST conduct themselves with respectability, integrity, credibility and professionalism.

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!

Chess Life Candidate Statement

An Incredible Interview: A Man with a Noble Cause

This interview was originally published in my http://www.chesscafe.com/ column in August 2003. It was the most emotional interview I have ever conducted.

A Man with a Noble Cause
The Mission: Help Chess, Women and Children

This month’s article is a little different. I decided to treat you with something very unique, special, and inspirational. I decided to interview one of my best friends, for almost two decades, who also happens to be my business manager and trainer as well.

His name is Paul Truong. He is the brains behind many current incredible projects to help chess. His mission is to bring chess to the level of popularity of golf, tennis and other sports. He has spent his own time and money to fulfill this mission. Often, people asked me why does he do this? I think you will know why after reading this touching interview.

This was a very emotional interview because it touched upon many painful topics for Paul, some things he tries not to talk about. But somehow, we got through the interview.

Susan Polgar: Why are you so passionate about changing the face of chess in America?

Paul Truong: Well, it is a very good question and one I don’t think I have ever talked about before. It started from circumstances I had to deal with throughout the early part of my life. Growing up in Saigon, Vietnam, I became a chess icon at a very young age. I won the first National Junior (under 21) Championship when I was only 5 years old, unexpectedly. All of a sudden, I became a sensation, a child prodigy. I defended this title for the next three years. At the age of 8½, I stunned the country by winning my first national championship and defended it successfully for four consecutive years. My celebrity status skyrocketed.

I was invited by the late President Marcos of the Philippines to attend the Fischer vs. Karpov match in Manila in 1975 (which of course never took place). I also qualified for the World Junior (under 21) Championship in Manila that same year. At that time, I thought I had a chance to showcase my talent on a world stage. Then, my life came crumbling down. The communists from North Vietnam took over my country on April 30, 1975. I was no longer allowed to travel. I was no longer allowed to play chess freely.

Since my father was working for the US Embassy prior to the fall of South Vietnam, my family was singled out. They considered us traitors. For the next four years, my father had to constantly be in hiding.

Otherwise, he would have been executed. The new government no longer allowed me to train in chess. The only thing they allowed me to do was to defend my National Championship, which I did successfully until April 30, 1979, the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saigon. On that day, my father and I escaped by boat through an underground network, leaving my mother and young brother behind. They would never survive this dangerous escape. Our hope was to be able to get out first and bring them out later through another channel. To make the long story short, we faced death many times. How we survived was a miracle in itself.

SP: So what exactly happened?

PT: We had a lot of problems the first time we tried to escape. The wooden boat was only about 150 feet long and there were more than 600 people inside. We were sitting like sardines in a can, even worse. There was no ventilation, no food, no water and not even a bathroom. The engine could not hold up and exploded. We were stranded in the ocean without food and water for a while.

After we were lucky enough to be rescued, our boat was towed back to Vietnam and we were all thrown in jail. Luckily, the authorities did not know who my father was. After bribing the local officials, we were released and we escaped again.

This time, the engine was bigger. But we had different problems. We were attacked by pirates from Thailand. They took the valuables from people on the boat. They raped our women and young girls. They even took some to their boat when they were done. We never saw these young girls again. We had to go through this five different times with five different pirate ships.

SP: So how did you get to safety?

PT: During the fifth attack, the pirates could not find any valuables because the previous four groups took everything. They were angry so they sunk our boat. We were in the middle of nowhere in shark infested waters. Many people could not swim and drowned. Other died of exhaustion. And some died from you know…

SP: You mean from shark attacks?

PT: Unfortunately, yes. My father and I were lucky enough to live through this. An American oil tanker happened to go by, saw us and rescued us. We then were brought to Malaysia.

SP: So you were safe after this?

PT: No. After being in a small enclosed abandoned soccer field with no roof over our head, little food and unbearable living conditions for 30 days, we were thrown out of Malaysia because the locals could no longer to help us. They put us on a boat taken from previous refugees, threw in another 350+ refugees from different boats (now we had about 700 people total), gave us 20 gallons of fuel and 20 gallons of water (no food), then towed us out to international waters.

Could you imagine, 20 gallons of fuel? Where do you go with 20 gallons? And 20 gallons of water for 700 people? How long can anyone last under 120-degree heat directly under the tropical sun with no food or water? Not only that, while the towed us out, they purposely tried to sink us. They towed us in a zigzag formation to tear apart the front of the boat. They did but we were lucky that the boat did not break in half. After they got us to the point where they thought we could never survive, they left us to die.

Again, we had to drift to nowhere for weeks without food, water or fuel. Many people died of hunger and thirst. Dead bodies were everywhere. There was nothing you could do. All you could do was pray.

SP: How did you manage to survive?

PT: I guess my father and I survived because of our inner strength. We said to ourselves, we have to live. We have to make it because if we don’t, my younger brother and mother would die eventually die in Vietnam. They had no way of taking care of themselves. The communists did not treat them well after learning of the escape of my father and me. They punished them. They took away everything they owned. So we had to be strong and make it. We had no choice…. [Paused, tears welling up]

I am sorry. This is a very emotional topic for me. It brings back a part of me that caused me great pain.

SP: That is OK. I know you for 17-18 years now. I know you usually don’t want to talk about it. But I think this is really important for chess fans around the country and around the world to know why you are so passionate about helping chess. I think it is very inspirational. Please go on. How did you survive?

PT: We were drifting nowhere for a long time. All of sudden, after weeks of nothing but ocean, we finally saw land at the end of the horizon.

SP: So that was it?

PT: Not exactly! We could not get there because we had no fuel. And it was too long of a distance to swim. No one would make it. But luckily, I don’t know how, but the current apparently pushed us slowly closer. Then out of nowhere, Indonesian navy ships came in front of us to stop us from entering.

My father was brought to the commanding ship. They told my father to turn our boat around. My father explained to them we could not. We had no fuel, no food, no water and many of our people had died. They said they had order not to let us in. If we do, they have no choice but to shoot us down. My father told them in that case then please just save all of us from a slow and eventual death by shooting all of us now. We would not make it anyway.

Upon returning to our boat, my father ordered everyone to throw overboard all the dead bodies that relatives were still trying to hold on to for a proper burial. This was our only hope to show them how bad the situation was. When the captain of the commanding ship saw how many bodies were there, I think he changed his mind. An hour later, an official helicopter circled around us and they officially requested to have us brought to safety. In my heart, I know that the captain had radioed for help. But he would never admit it.

SP: So this was the end of the journey?

PT: Kind of! After we were brought to this wild and deserted island, we were safe. But we still had no food. I had to hunt and fish with my bare hands, and find fruits from the jungle. We had to do whatever we could to survive. This was a real survival experience, not the game you see on TV. Many more people died as a result of malnutrition. We stayed here for about 5-6 months I think. Then finally, we came to New Jersey on December 1, 1979. I spoke no English. I was frail. I was very rusty in chess. It was a disaster.

SP: So did you start to play a lot chess in here in America? And did anyone know what you had to endure?

PT: I played in any tournament that I can afford to enter. I had no money. I was going to high school full time (without even knowing the language) and I worked seven part-time jobs at night and weekends to raise money to send back to Vietnam to help my mother, my brother and over 60 other relatives. Most people did not know this. Some knew, but very little. I did not want anyone to feel sorry for me. I wanted to earn everything by merit. I became a master again in 1980. I was right around 15. I won many tournaments, but I could not afford to enter many big tournaments, so mostly regional ones.

SP: So when did you leave chess?

PT: At the age of 17, I had to make a very hard decision. Do I want to continue to play chess and be a professional, and to fulfill my dream of being a grandmaster and even world champion? Or do I just give it up and go to college and have a normal career? I chose to leave the game. How could I be a world class player if I did not even have the opportunity to train or play?

So I went to college. And during college, I did the same thing. I had 7 part-time jobs while taking over 21 credits per semester. I also took winter courses, summer courses. I needed to graduate as quickly as possible.

SP: So what happened after college?

PT: I began working professionally. I worked very hard. I put in 16-18 hour days, seven days a week. I became very successful. I did that every day for 15 years. Then in 2001, on 9/11, you remember we had a business meeting right around the World Trade Center area that morning. I guess someone up there did not want us to go. That was when I felt that it was my calling to do something I always wanted to do, and that is to get back in the chess field. That was always my true love.

SP: Is this why making a difference for chess is so important to you?

PT: Yes. Absolutely. I lost my chance to become a very special player in chess when I was younger because of the political situation in my country. I wanted to become the first grandmaster from Asia. But I did not have this chance. Then when I was in America, I could not pursue chess fully because I could not afford it. That is why it is my mission to change this. I want to be able to give every child an opportunity to play this game. I want every child who wants to pursue his or her dream will have the proper guidance and assistance.

I know that I may not reach every child. But I will give it 150% everyday to fulfill this mission. I want to bring respectability to chess. I want to bring chess to the same level as golf or tennis. Why not? Who says we can’t do it? If I can survive everything I went through in life, why can’t I do this? I don’t know failure. I don’t accept failures. I don’t understand the word ‘impossible’. I did not risk my life, give up everything to come here to just be another person. I want to make a difference. I want to give back for the blessing I had.

SP: Is this where you get your passion?

PT: Yes! Whatever I do, I give 150% of myself. Everything I do, I do with a passion. Everything I say, I say it with a passion. This is me. Even now when I am retired from business, I still put in 20-22 hour days, for chess, for free. I hope my passion will rub off on other people. I hope that when more people see why I am doing this, they will join and lend a hand. There are 35-40 million people who play this game according to the numbers I read. Why can’t chess be bigger and more popular? I will not take no for an answer. I am confident. Let me rephrase that. I am absolutely positive that we will succeed if everyone works together.

SP: How do you plan to reach out to every child around the country? That is quite a job and quite a goal.

PT: You are right. It is not possible for you or I to go to every school or city in America. But thank God we are living in the 21st century with internet technology. We can reach out and help every child this way. Recently, I contacted Mr. Niro and a few people I know who are in the internet chess industry. They agreed to help me achieve this goal. As you already know, we have to start with the kids and we need the support from parents and coaches. So starting next month, and by the way, before I go into this, I want to thank you for doing this with me. You are a true ambassador for this game and you are truly a role model to children and women. You are really an inspiration to me as well.

Thank you for working with me in these very worthwhile projects.

As I was saying, starting in September, we are (you and I) going to have a monthly Q&A session with all parents and coaches who need or want advice on how to help their children, their schools, their communities, etc. Parents and coaches can send us questions and they will get a chance to get the answers they need on the Internet. It will be done live and FREE for everyone. On top of that, we are also conducting special training for youth and scholastic players. All children will benefit tremendously from your experience and wisdom. I am thankful to have the cooperation and assistance from USCF and your Susan Polgar Foundation. We hope this will help hundreds of thousands (maybe even millions) of children out there. Everyone is welcome and it is free. All they have to do is find out the details from your website www.susanpolgar.com. The info will be available soon. I am really excited about this.

SP: How did this idea come about?

PT: When you and I attended all these different national scholastic events, so many parents and coaches came up to us to ask for advice. That was when I started thinking, how can we help more parents and coaches? Then the idea of doing through the Internet came to my mind. This way, we can reach out to everyone 24/7.

SP: I can understand your passion for youth and scholastic chess. Where did the passion for women’s chess come from?

PT: I think the answer is obvious.

A – My best friend for almost two decades is the greatest women’s world champion ever.

B - Being part of a minority group, I want to help the underdog. Just like you, I believe that many young girls can benefit from chess. It can help them raise self-esteem and confidence. With your experience, we can really make a difference. That is why a program like the US Women’s Olympiad program is so important to me. It can change chess, as we know it, forever.

I am so thankful for people like you, Garry Kasparov, Frank Niro, the USCF and the EB board, the Chess Trust, etc. for lending a hand, believing in this. I think by now, everyone realize that we do not do this for money since there is no money (chuckle). In fact, it is costing us a lot of money (smile). But it is worth it. It is truly worth it.

SP: Paul, I really appreciate you doing this. I know that for 20 something years in America, you tried not to talk about your traumatic life experience. I realize that it is very emotional and difficult for you. But I think your story can inspire a lot of people. One last question?

PT: Sure.

SP: Have you thought about putting your inspirational life story into a book, maybe even a movie? I know that there are a lot more incredible details (including an episode where you had a gun pointed right at your head and you refused to back down to the Communists, you would rather die for what you believe in) that you did not want to go into. Your story can rank up there with the Anne Frank story and many other WW/Holocaust stories.

PT: I would like to but I don’t know how to go about and do that. Maybe someone can help me. But if and when it happens, I would like to use the money from book sales or movie deal to help chess. I will only do it for a meaning, not just to make money for myself. I have done that for 15 years already. I don’t need it. But I will do it to help women and children. I will only re-live this painful part of my life if it can benefit millions of children and women.

SP: Once again, thank you Paul for sharing part of your life with us. As one of your best friend for almost 20 years, all I can say is that you are such an inspiration for many, including me. I have no doubt as well that you, me, us, we will succeed in making a difference in chess.

The following is a quote from Garry Kasparov about the US Women’s Olympiad
Program, where Paul is the Captain, Business Manager and even helping out with the training duties.

World Champion Garry Kasparov:

"What I've seen in this team is quite unique in today's world of chess" - it goes to your (Paul) part of the team's chemistry and respect in the team's members' relations.”

http://www.chesscafe.com/text/polgar14.pdf

Statement by Paul Truong for the USCF election

Dear friends and colleagues,

This is an absolutely critical election for the USCF. It’s also one of the most unique elections ever. Why? Because you, the members, have the power to set this federation on the right course for the next 4 years! You, the members, are in the position to take back control of our beloved federation.

What has happened to the USCF in recent years? Well, it hasn’t been great at all! Every time the USCF took a step forward, it also took two steps backward. There was little sense of pride. There was little sense of responsibility. There was little attempt to positively promote chess or the USCF. There was little sense of urgency.

However, there were plenty of internal political wars. There were plenty of horrific business and financial blunders. There was plenty of frivolous spending for political reasons. There was plenty of dishonesty and unprofessionalism.

Some believe that if it ain’t broken, why fix it? I would say something is broken when we’re losing money year after 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 outdated technology, we’re doomed to fail again.

Every year is a new excuse. Every year is a new finger-pointing game. The Executive Director and his staff weren’t allowed to do their jobs because some board members wanted to micromanage them. We wasted so much time, money and resources dealing with nonsense by chess politicians instead of focusing on improving many needed areas.

What are some of my areas of expertise? What can I bring to the table?

I spent the last 5+ years volunteering my full time to positively promote chess in the US, especially for the Susan Polgar Foundation. 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. We did it with virtually a zero budget. I proved that we don’t have to spend tens and thousands of dollars to positively and correctly promote our game. We just need to know how to do it and have the passion and diligence to follow through.

I can bring my unique expertise in marketing, promotion, management and public relations, areas that the USCF sorely needs. When doubters said that the US Women’s Olympiad Training Program would not work, I spent two years without pay to help the team as their captain, manager and personal coach. We came home with an unprecedented 4 medals (2 Gold and 2 Silver), first ever in US history.

I can help restore the much-needed integrity, credibility and professionalism back to the USCF. If you’re happy with the status quo then I’m not the right person. If you want success and accountability then I can make a big difference immediately. Thank you!

Internet Chess and the USCF

Joe Lux asked the following question:

What is your stand on ICC-USCF relationships?

This was the answer from FM Paul Truong, one of the most valuable candidates in the upcoming USCF Executive Board election:

I think the USCF should reach out and partner up with ICC, FICS and other reputable Internet servers. Why? There are several reasons:

* I truly believe that the past management / boards missed the boat because they did not understand the importance of the Internet. Some did not think that it is important to improve the USCF to stay current.

I was in college from the early to mid 80's. My first and main major was computer. Even though I did not pursue a career in computer (I decided to go with Marketing and Management), I constantly train myself to stay current.

I remember playing in a number of Bill Goichberg's events back in the 80's. I also remember how he used to make pairings using index cards. Now, TDs can use WinTD or SwissSys to make pairings faster and more efficient. Whether we like it or not, technology will improve.

* There are a lot more games played on the Internet today than OTB chess. Many kids and even adults I know have never played a single OTB tournament game and yet they have played thousands of online games. This opens up an incredible opportunity for the USCF to increase memberships and revenues.

* I never liked the idea of "exclusive" contracts with any server. If the USCF does that, they will alienate others since many of these online members are very passionate about the server they play on.

I would like to see the USCF having co-promotional agreements with many reputable servers. This would be a win-win situation for all sides. This can be done without costing the USCF a penny and it can bring to the USCF badly needed revenues.

If elected, I will push for co-operation between the USCF and online servers. ICC is obviously ranked among the top servers in the world. FICS also has a strong membership core. PlayChess and WCN are some other big names.

Best regards,
Paul Truong