My final statement about the latest USCF issue

January 16, 2008

I was elected to make a difference in the USCF and US Chess. I do not want to waste any more time on the ongoing, ridiculous issues that are being played out in the media. I have a few comments about the current problems.

First, there has been much misinformation and many false rumors circulated. If the USCF board continues to pursue this obvious witch hunt, wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars that the USCF does not have, USCF members are entitled to know about it. I recommend a policy of open information if this continues.

For instance, we have requested the same access to the USCF database as the contractors so that our own experts can examine the validity of the data as well as matching IPs of suspicious posters. We were told we could not have that access. Also, we have pointed out a handful of suspicious handles and postings directly related to this case to the attorney and other board members. We asked them to investigate. This request, and others, have been ignored or denied. These two points have been misrepresented in the media, and ultimately do USCF and US Chess harm.

If the members of this board are so sure of their actions, the 83,000 members of the USCF—because the board is merely a representation of the larger body—should have access to the correct information. The board and their attorney(s) should consent to and authorize all correspondence in the confidential BINFO from August 2007 be released to the public. This should include the correspondence of all seven board members, the ED, the attorneys, and all parties relating to this case.

In addition, please grant us consent and immunity to release all information and board member correspondence and NDAs related to this case. . We recommend that all confidentiality clauses are waived in order to make the case clear and in order to expedite its conclusion. We propose to show all USCF members any evidence we have of who leaked what to whom, who made what deals under the table and for what reasons, etc. We give consent to the board and their attorneys to publish all information they have about us relating to this case. Everyone can then decide who is clean and who is not.

Every board starts with big hopes and dreams and usually ends with one problem or another, unfortunately. The same destructive political chess games have been played for years. It is the USCF members who lose.

Whoever has the majority votes will decide how the political games are being played instead of focusing on what is best for the USCF. This is the long pattern of destructive politics that no one has been able to fix so far. These problems have hindered the proper growth of chess within the USCF for decades. This is how so much money has been wasted and the financial situation of the USCF has gone down the drain.

No one wants to talk about how much money this federation has wasted in the past 12-24 months alone. If we want to let the sunshine in, it has to be done across the board and not selectively to harm people who oppose the majority and the status quo. GM Larry Evans had the same experience when he wanted to be involved. So did GM Lev Alburt, GM Yasser Seirawan and many others. The same thing will happen to the next people who want to run and help the USCF. The sad truth is that before my husband and I ran for the executive board we were told that we better have good lawyers. Now we understand why.

As far as I am concerned, this matter ends unless everything can be opened up for all members to examine. I highly doubt that the board majority will agree to this. I can only hope. We have wasted enough time, money and energy on this. I will now devote my time and energy to promoting U.S. chess. That is why I was elected.

Here is a reminder:

“USCF is a not-for-profit membership organization devoted to extending the role of chess in American society.

USCF promotes the study and knowledge of the game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, but also as a means for the improvement of society. It informs, educates, and fosters the development of players (professional and amateur) and potential players. It encourages the development of a network of institutions devoted to enhancing the growth of chess, from local clubs to state and regional associations, and it promotes chess in American schools.”

This will be my last statement about this issue.

Yours for the USCF,
Susan Polgar

Stating the facts

Stating the facts

by SusanPolgar on Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:00 am on the http://www.chessdiscussion.com/ forum

The following was issued by the majority of the USCF Executive Board last night to the NY Times:

"In asking for Mr. Truong’s resignation, the statement did not say whether the four members agreed that he had done what Mr. Sloan claimed. Instead, the board said Mr. Truong had not cooperated with a lawyer retained by the federation."

This is a blatant misrepresentation of the facts. Answers and evidence were submitted to the USCF attorney. I was on the phone with the USCF attorney for a considerable length of time to discuss this matter and to answer his questions. If additional information was needed, we should have been asked. No one asked. I have an email from the USCF attorney confirming that he received the evidence. We were under the impression that everything was fine until last night after the statement has already been submitted to the NY Times. I can clearly document the time line step by step.

I cannot discuss this matter in details due to the pending legal issues. We followed the instructions of our attorneys, including the one who was assigned to us by the insurance company. All evidence will come out in due time.

Lastly, there have been numerous leaks of board confidential information from the 5 member sub-committee to various unauthorized people which can severely harm this federation in many ways. Some of the confidential information was told to Sam Sloan which can clearly effect the case for the USCF. These are the information that only the other 5 board members and their attorneys would know. We did not even know about it until after various stories were leaked out. We will make an official motion to investigate this type of inappropriate actions by board members shortly.

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.SusanPolgar.blogspot.com
http://www.ChessDiscussion.com

Your Open Forum

I apologize for not posting here in the last few days. The main reason for that is I am completely stunned and disappointed with the extreme level of dirty, destructive and vicious chess politics that exist within the USCF right now.

I may not be perfect but I have done everything possible to conduct myself with grace and dignity throughout my entire 33 years in chess. I have given 150% of myself to US Chess and the USCF in the past 5+ years. For these people to attack, insult, lie and trying to destroy my personal and professional life is just unthinkable. If they can do that to me, what would they do to other less known people who want to help the USCF?

Where is the leadership? Why are they so afraid to fix what is wrong with the USCF? Why are they so afraid to make the USCF better?

I am having a hard time coming up with words to express how I feel. I do not expect anyone to like me or agree with what I do. However, I do expect a basic level of courtesy and respect that should be given to any normal human being. Is this how they would treat their wives, girlfriends, mothers or daughters? I sure hope not!

This post is dedicated to you. What is your feeling about the USCF? What do you want to ask? The forum is yours!

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!