My response to Mr. Russell

This was what I responded to Mr. (Hanon) Russell:

Hanon,

I do not know about other board members but Paul and I were not told about the House of Staunton deal. We first heard about the (legal) problems at the latest board meeting.

Susan Polgar

I have to add that this is not the first time where important matters were hidden from other board members, at least to Paul and me, until serious problems occurred. There were instances in the past where the current USCF President and the current the USCF Executive Director made decisions in various critical matters without disclosing them to the other board members. Significant decisions which involve legal matters were made without the knowledge of anyone else. Some of these decisions have created serious legal problems for this federation, and money is being unnecessarily wasted.

Specific problems addressed

Dr. Tim Redman, two-time USCF President just wrote the following:

In a message dated 5/8/2008 6:18:22 P.M. Central Daylight Time, Tim Redman writes:

I have a great deal of respect for Susan Polgar, but in my view, her responses are still at the level of vague generalities. I look forward to her providing us with more specific action items.

Here was my response to his inquiry:

Dear Tim,

1. One of the first things the USCF must do is to improve its image. As long as the endless culture of personal attacks continue (as pointed out by Dr. McCrary), the USCF will be ineffective in getting any substantial revenues in sponsorship, advertisement, or donation. There are many people who are willing, ready, and able to contribute financially to chess because they believe in the benefits of the game. For example, if you just look at the people attending the US Senior Open / CCI event this past weekend, the potential is incredible. And that is just one event.

There are countless opportunities with so many of our national events and other special events. But the USCF has done nothing to capitalize on these opportunities. Both Paul and I offered to go to these events to represent the USCF. Paul offered to conduct free classes or seminars to teach parents, coaches, organizers, and other interest parties ways to generate publicity, interest, sponsorship, and donation. We were even willing to pay our own expenses. All he asked for is a room and proper announcements and promotion by the USCF. Months and months went by and not even an inch has moved.

Paul offered to teach (also for free) CL and CLO contributors the art of photography. Pictures sell. These images represent the direction, mission, and goals of the USCF. Each picture has its own story. They represent the stories we want to sell to the chess community and the public. Paul was asked and he accepted to be “THE” official photographer for the 2008 Chess Olympiad in Dresden. His pictures have appeared in major mainstream publications worldwide. Months went by and again nothing.

2. I was asked and accepted the position of the Official Ambassador of the 2008 Chess Olympiad. This is the highest possible honor. I will also be in charge of all International media for the Olympiad. The organizer asked me to promote the Olympiad and I will have a full page daily column in the largest German newspaper in Dresden. I will also give interviews and conduct a LIVE show (for a live audience and TV) every night during the Olympiad. I was asked to promote chess (and being paid a lot of money to do so) in many places in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Hungary, Germany, etc. and my own federation refuses my help (for free) while we continue to lose money. This makes zero sense whatsoever. I hope you can understand why I am frustrated. How many qualified people has this federation lost because of the same old pattern of politics or incompetence?

Chess CAN be promoted and we have proven that again and again. There are specific steps to follow and Paul and I made these suggestions back in August / September of last year. Both of us are willing to go out and do this for the USCF. We followed the exact same suggestions we made to the USCF with SPICE / SPF and you saw the results in around 8-9 months. More than $500,000 has come in this year alone and I expect to exceed $1 million by the end of the year. If my name and reputation and Paul's expertise can generate this kind of money and publicity for one small program, the USCF can generate a lot more with the same plans.

It is like a game of chess. We created a sound plan and we went out and execute the plans. As I said earlier, each board member has special talent / skills. If we want this board to succeed, we must utilize the strength of each of us without any personal ego, agenda, or politics involved.

3. The SPF offered to sponsor the Grand Prix, college chess and other events. As for college chess, we dealt with Jim Stallings (he is great) and we gave whatever he asked for. As for the USCF, months went by again and not even a single person contacted us. Things which were promised were not delivered timely. The same story happens to other interested parties. This is why we must have a quality control system. Similar opportunities were lost because things fall through the crack for years. We offered to take the calls or inquiries and follow up to help the USCF. Again, we have the same old story. Months and months went by and nothing. I personally handle every inquiry or possible sponsorship / donation opportunity myself for SPICE / SPF.

4. Respect members and affiliates, etc. The USCF is desperate for memberships. There are many people / organizations which brought in big numbers. It is the job of the ED or an assigned person to call these people / organizations to thank them for signing up a large amount of memberships. We need to follow up to see if there are things we can do to help them succeed even on a bigger scale. I do that with my chess center, the SPF, and SPICE every time someone makes a contribution. Why not the USCF? This is PR 101.

There are many other areas we could improve on. We have people who know how to run successful businesses. Listen to them. Learn from them. Reach out to them. Let's stop this political nonsense because all it will do is bring the USCF down financially and legally.I will be honest and say that my expertise when it comes to memberships and dues structure is no where near Beatriz M., Bill G., Grant P., Mike N., and many others. All I can suggest is to simplify the structure. Many people cannot comprehend our structure and this is not good for us. I know that I (as a chess Mom, organizer, promoter, and coach, etc.) get confused myself. I hear similar complaints from other parents, coaches, and organizers.

There are many other issues which I do not have time to write down. I am not looking for an argument with Bill G. or other board members. I am not looking for personal glory or inflate my ego. I have received enough accolades in my career. The bottom line is I know what I can do. I see the problems and weaknesses of the USCF. I know how to help. I did not run for the board to play politics. I ran because I want to see the USCF succeed. I am in Pittsburgh now as a chess Mom. I will have very limited time. I have given many specifics. There are many more points but I am sure you can see the direction I would like to focus on. Fixing the dues is just a small and short term solution. To make the USCF better, we must fix the many weaknesses and problems and that was exactly what Paul and I proposed back in August / September 2007.

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar

Stating my position

Bill G.,

I will re-state my position. The USCF has annual revenues of $3+ million. There is absolutely no reason why we cannot comfortably operate within this budget. If we do then we’re not doing our jobs. There are 2 clear solutions to resolve this problem:

1. Cut spending, expenses, and unnecessary waste, etc.
2. Raise revenues through memberships, advertisements, sponsorships, or donations, etc.

This is business 101. Here come the problems:

1. Where to cut spending and expenses without negatively effecting members’ services and the overall operation?
2. How to raise revenues?

Both Paul and I have given you a number of professional suggestions. There are a number of other people out there who are experts in many of these areas and can effectively help the USCF without costing the federation money. We have no time for destructive and petty politics. This must stop now as it will for sure destroy what’s left of the USCF.

Dr. McCrary said: “Sadly, as long as the endless culture of personal attacks continue, our public image and sponsor-relations will suffer greatly.”

Steve Doyle said: “we can't change the past--we can only go forward.”

I agree with both of them. You are the President. You must rise above all the chess politics and set positive examples.

Many of us are willing, ready, and able to support you to save the USCF but we must take a different course of action immediately. It is not too late but the fate of the USCF is in your hands.

Susan Polgar

The same old status quo will destroy the USCF

Here is my follow up to respond to Bill Goichberg:

First of all, please do not add any name to the list of recipients above which I purposely deleted. There is a reason for this.

Secondly, I brought up (back in August 2007) a number of suggestions to improve and modernize the USCF. I clearly stated to you and to the USCF members that the status quo does not work and the USCF will fail miserably if we continue down the same path. The members clearly voted for serious changes. I also said that even though we were doing OK financially at that time, we must take steps to improve the federation. We cannot simply "react" every time we face problems.

We had room to implement many important improvements at that time but this was not the direction of the board majority. You on your own made a number of decisions shortly after that without consulting other board members. This clearly contributed to the current problems. It is not too late to fix things but being defensive about your records will not help alleviate these serious problems.

I am not interested in arguing with you. The USCF is in serious trouble and it should no longer be the Bill Goichberg show. You need to listen and take the advice from others in areas you have no expertise in. If you continue the attitude that Bill Goichberg does not lose any debate / argument, the USCF is doomed.

As I stated in my previous email, what you proposed only covers a limited area. Here are the areas which must be addressed / improved upon:

1. The structure of the dues MUST be simplified. Even with the current structure, people are complaining that it is too confusing. If the finance committee, the scholastic council, and others agree with raising / lowering dues or changing other areas, I have no problem with it. The point is we should not change the dues structure like a yo yo.

We also cannot do this and ignore other serious problems. In this case, we will always be in the same position.

2. We need to cut a lot more expenses. Both Paul and I brought this up in the last board meeting in private sessions. We are more than happy to bring it up again in the next meeting in closed sessions.

3. Yes, the USCF will face quite a bit of additional legal expenses and perhaps even serious legal liabilities. I am sorry to strongly disagree with your assessment in this issue. You are more than welcome to bring this up in a closed session in the next board meeting.

4. You still have not addressed the issues of Marketing / PR to make the USCF more attractive to gain additional revenues via sponsorships, advertisements, and donations, etc. You reject ideas from Paul and I and you have no plan in place. The same ideas which we proposed to you brought to SPICE / SPF more than $500,000 in donations, advertisements, and sponsorships in 2008 alone. I expect this amount to surpass $1,000,000 for 2008.

5. You have not addressed the issue of creating a quality control system. I created a quality control system for SPICE / SPF to make sure there is no unnecessary or wasteful spending. Quality control should not involve politics or personal agenda. It should be there to protect the USCF and to ensure that things are being run efficiently. The idea for this is to make sure that we make as little mistakes as possible. In addition, it is to ensure that when mistakes are made, they are fixed immediately before it is too late.

Board members and the ED should not be involved in this process. This would clearly be unproductive. My suggestion is to have a committee of 3 people, people with strong business / financial understandings and successful business backgrounds (Chuck Unruh, Jim Eade, Joel Channing, Frank Camaratta, Steve Doyle, Grant Perks, etc. These are just names which came off the top of my head as successful business people or people who understands financial bottom lines.) to handle this task.

6. You have not addressed the issue of funding the 2008 Olympiad teams, 2009 US and US Women's Championships, and other USCF events. I also brought this issue up in a closed session but you were determined to back another plan.

As for the LMA, IMO, it should be used to take care of the commitments to Life Members and NOT to bail out USCF mismanagement.

Susan Polgar

My official response to the failed status quo

This was my response:

What you are offering is a plan to save the USCF from going under and not a plan to make the USCF a strong and viable organization. It is better than nothing but I personally do not think that this will save the USCF. It seems that every time the USCF has a financial crisis, we tinker with the dues. There are missing items / weaknesses in your plan:

A: This membership plan is way TOO COMPLICATED and TOO CONFUSING! Simpler is always better and more efficient.

B. A lot more cuts are needed in other areas and we should minimize cuts in members' benefits (if any). The members should not have to pay for gross mismanagement. This must be one of the top priorities.

C. How does the USCF plan to handle the very strong possibility of accumulating massive legal fees in the next fiscal year? You are discussing saving a dollar here and there but the looming legal fees and serious legal liabilities can quickly bankrupt this federation.

D. There is absolutely no plan to improve the Marketing / PR aspect of the USCF to raise revenues via sponsorship, advertisement, and donation, etc. This is another top priority.

E. There is no plan for a quality control system to ensure that everything is being handled properly. I know first hand as a board member that a number of critical mistakes were made in the last 8-9 months which cost the USCF a lot of money and opportunities and not a thing has been done to rectify the problems. This must be another top priority to ensure that this federation does not continue to throw away any resources we have left.

F. How will the USCF handle the 2008 Olympiad teams, 2009 US and US Women's Championships, and other USCF events?

Last but not least, I believe that the USCF should not count on the LMA funds whatsoever. We should be able to run this organization for less than $3+ million annually.

Susan Polgar

1.9 cents will save the USCF

President Goichberg just made a proposal that board members should pay for the conference calls in the next board meeting to save the USCF 1.9 cents per minute due to the severe financial crisis. Here was my response:

by SusanPolgar on Sat Jan 26, 2008 11:47 pm

Bill,

When Paul and I proposed the idea of having this type of meeting to SAVE the USCF money (because the USCF must be fiscally responsible no matter how well the federation is doing), you adamantly opposed. When the alternative suggestion came to have the meeting in Las Vegas where the cost would be minimal (according to Pat Knight) to save money, you also adamantly opposed.

Even after the vote for Las Vegas passed, you insisted on a re-vote the next morning to move the meeting to California. There was no concern on your part to save the USCF money at that time. Now, we are discussing 1.9 cents per minute when the board majority is willing spend just about any amount of money for legal fees for the next few years?

If it is OK with you, I would like to have all these expenses brought up in the next meeting. How much did the USCF pay for Internet insurance, deductibles, legal fees to our regular USCF attorney as well as Mr. Kronenberger, cost to redesign the website TWICE, and cost to maintain and update the website, etc.

In addition, did the USCF renew the Internet insurance and when will it be good until? Same goes with the deductibles. When will the next deductibles kick in? How much legal fees do you anticipate the USCF will spend in 2008? We can probably save at least $50,000 or more in these areas alone.

In a financial crisis like this, we must be fiscally responsible. We need to know where our money goes. I do not want to see the services for our members cut, especially scholastic and youth members (unless the scholastic council approves). All members should get what they paid for.

Susan Polgar

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President Goichberg stated that the financial questions I asked cannot be discussed without consulting the USCF attorney. Here are some of the responses by USCF President Bill Goichberg:

- These are legitimate subjects for discussion and I have no objection to you and Paul participating, so long as our attorneys say it is OK.

- We are facing financial problems because membership revenue is down, not because of "many past horrendous decisions."

Here are some of my statements:

- First of all, what does this have anything to do with the USCF attorney? These are not legal questions. Why are we continuing to waste money which this federation does not have for something so standard as this. These are standard USCF financial questions. Don't members have the right to know how much money the USCF spends and for what? Is this supposed to be a secret? I was under the impression that all expenses have to be accounted for and members are entitled to know.

- I am not asking to participate. I am asking for the numbers as any USCF member is entitled to know. We are facing financial problems because of many past horrendous decisions. I don't want to see the USCF fall apart. I am trying to protect the finances of the USCF. You can suggest ways to save 1.9 cents. I am suggesting for the USCF to save hundreds of thousands of dollars.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

President Goichberg also suggested to cut services from the members. Here is my response:

Members get so little for the membership dues they pay right now anyway. I am against cutting services to the members. All members should get what they paid for. The USCF should not be in the business of bait and switch. To save money and raise additional much needed revenues:

- We should stop giving large contracts to political allies or friends without fair and open biddings. This is not the first time this kind of mistake was made.

- The USCF spent over $50,000 to redesign the USCF website TWICE because the first one did not work and the second one is still not working properly way after the deadlines. We need to know who authorized this and who should be held accountable for wasting USCF members’ money. I asked about this for 4-5 months and still no answer.

- We should stop wasting at least $25,000 (approx) a year for insurance and deductibles for the USCF political forums which only a dozen members or two utilize on a regular basis. Joel Channing, Paul Truong and I are on the record opposing this kind of waste. $25,000 a year can benefit many other important chess initiatives.

- We should stop wasting tens and thousands of dollars and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars for legal fees for political purposes. After all the facts come out, all members will clearly see the whole picture.

- Now the board cannot even answer simple questions about finances which all members are entitled to know without paying for attorney’s advice. The board majority does not want the members to know what they are doing with the members’ money.

- We should have quarterly reports to show what each board member does to improve the USCF. All members are entitled to know this.

- We should focus on promoting USCF memberships through sensible, inexpensive, and effective grass roots marketing campaign. This will substantially increase the revenues that we badly need. Having ads in Chess Life is not good enough. What the USCF is doing right now is not effective and it is costly.

- We should severely penalize board members who leak confidential information to their friends and political allies. This can potentially put the USCF in serious legal problems as we have clearly seen.

These are just some of the things we need to do instead of cutting services and trying to save 1.9 cents.

USCF update

by SusanPolgar on Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:44 am

I was asked by a number of people about the latest development after I made this post http://chessdiscussion.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=673 last week. Not much has changed but here is my summary:

I expect the board to deny that they tried to destroy my personal and professional reputation, cause me to lose my job or use my children as “pawns” to get me off the board, etc. What else can they say? Unless everything is opened up, the members cannot see the clear picture.

I also expect them to say that their attorney(s) will not allow them to release all confidential information (starting with the NDAs, board correspondence, confidential BINFO and everything else relating to this matter, etc.) to the public until the Sloan lawsuit is resolved or at all. They will try to save face by picking and choosing one or two areas to allow us to open up. No thanks! Unless everything is allowed (by the board and their attorney(s) in a legally binding statement) to open up, the members cannot know what their elected officials are doing and how they are spending members’ money.

I am not going to play their games. Their mistakes caused the federation to be in this position in the first place. Here is the summary of what I stated and I am also adding a few new items:

- We asked the board not to include Bill Goichberg in the sub-committee at the last board meeting in Crossville. Things would have gone a lot smoother and faster if Bill was not in the sub-committee. The reason is clear. Since there are a lot of potential legal issues involved in a number of possible cases, we consider it a direct conflict of interest for Bill to have privileged information. He should not be privy to them. We told this to the entire board. In fact, we feel that a full investigation should have been made about this matter which affected many USCF members. The board ignored our request and went ahead to form a committee of five members (including Bill Goichberg) AFTER we left the last board meeting in Crossville. We still ask Bill Goichberg to step down from the sub-committee.

- For the best interest of the USCF due to the legal situation, we now ask Randy Bauer to step down from the sub-committee as well due to his clearly documented recent mistake which caused severe problems for multiple parties, including the USCF.

- We 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. Our repeated request was ignored. We needed to examine the evidence at that time, not 5, 6 or 7 months later when the evidence can be compromised.

- We 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 also been ignored or denied.

- We now request to have a thorough independent review of how this federation spends money. We need to know why we wasted money to revamp the website TWICE and how the contracts came about. Were there fair and open biddings? I never saw any advertisement in Chess Life or other publications. I would like to know who approved this and who we can hold accountable for the financial blunders.

- There should also be an investigation regarding how non-board members can obtain confidential board information to spread out false rumors for various purposes.

- We asked the board to authorize ALL (not some or what they want to pick and choose) correspondence in the confidential BINFO from August 2007 to 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, we asked the board to 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 be 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.

I was also asked about the latest conclusion from an expert regarding the Internet report. I have no idea who he is but I have no doubt in his expertise. However, I gave the USCF evidence which clearly proves that the report has the wrong conclusion. Without the evidence from both sides and without having the opportunity to examine the USCF database, I would expect people without personal agenda to withhold judgment until the USCF decides to open everything up as I requested.

Here are the real issues: We cut the budget for college chess and we cannot afford to finance the US Championship or the Olympiad teams like we used to. We cannot even afford to help our top players like Kamsky for a shot at the World Championship. What happened to the money we were supposed to save? Where did it go? Why are we still financially weak?

Fiscal responsibility is a must if this federation wants to get back on track financially. We need to get back to the basics to find out the real problems and fix them immediately. Our members deserve better. Our members are entitled to know what the board is doing with their money and what direction this federation is heading in.

As I stated last week, as far as I am concerned, this matter ends unless EVERYTHING can be opened up for all members to examine. We have wasted enough time, money and energy on this.

If Mr. Goichberg and Bauer are willing to put the best interest of the USCF first by stepping down from the sub-committee so we can expedite this matter, we are willing to sit down face to face with Mr. Hough, Berry and Channing to finalize this investigation and take care of unresolved issues. Since there are a lot of potential legal issues involved in a number of possible cases, we consider it a direct conflict of interest for Mr. Goichberg and Bauer to have access to privileged information. While the board figures out their next move, we will continue to devote our time and energy to promoting the USCF and U.S. chess. That is why we were elected.

Yours for the USCF,
Susan Polgar

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Here is an official statement by the USCF sub-committee and it was posted by President Goichberg on the USCF forum:

by chessoffice on Thu Jan 24, 2008 6:44 pm #88083

The following statement was approved today by a vote of 4-1, with Channing opposed.Bill Goichberg

Following is a statement by the Executive Board Subcommittee formed to address allegations made by Brian Mottershead relating to "fake Sam Sloan" and other internet postings.

On January 15, four of the five members of our committee stated that while no conclusions were reached as to the veracity of Brian Mottershead’s allegations, Paul Truong failed to admit or deny in writing whether he was involved in the “fake Sam Sloan” postings; failed to consent to the subcommittee obtaining his prior IP addresses; and generally failed to cooperate in the USCF investigation of the allegations.

As a result, the committee called on Mr. Truong to resign from the Executive Board for neglecting his fiduciary duties to USCF. Mr. Truong has neither resigned nor cooperated with the investigation since then, and our committee again requests that he voluntarily resign from the Executive Board.Susan Polgar has responded to the January 15 statement with a variety of unfortunate public charges which are both inaccurate and irrelevant to Mr. Truong’s continued failure to cooperate fully with the investigation.

Specifically, on January 17 Ms. Polgar accused "some of my fellow board members and their friends" of trying to destroy her personal and professional reputation. This charge is false. No board member has suggested that Ms. Polgar is or may be responsible for the fake internet postings in question. Further, no board member has stated or intimated that Ms. Polgar is anything but a consummate professional and a person of high moral integrity.

Additionally, no board member has in any manner tried to cause Ms. Polgar to lose her job. To the contrary, the board fully supports Ms. Polgar as an accomplished professional and leader in the chess community, who deservedly enjoys a good reputation.

Additionally, no board member has suggested in any manner that she quit the board.

The board also denies most vigorously any contention that any member of the board threatened Ms. Polgar’s family at any time.

Attorneys for the USCF have directed the organization not to release any confidential information during the pendency of the Sam Sloan litigation. And for that reason alone we cannot permit the publication of confidential exchanges as suggested by Ms. Polgar.


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by SusanPolgar on Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:45 pm

This is exactly what I expected and this was what I posted this morning at 7:44 AM:

"I expect the board to deny that they tried to destroy my personal and professional reputation, cause me to lose my job or use my children as “pawns” to get me off the board, etc. What else can they say? Unless everything is opened up, the members cannot see the clear picture.

I also expect them to say that their attorney(s) will not allow them to release all confidential information (starting with the NDAs, board correspondence, confidential BINFO and everything else relating to this matter, etc.) to the public until the Sloan lawsuit is resolved or at all. They will try to save face by picking and choosing one or two areas to allow us to open up. No thanks! Unless everything is allowed (by the board and their attorney(s) in a legally binding statement) to open up, the members cannot know what their elected officials are doing and how they are spending members’ money."

So the question is after the Sloan lawsuit is dismissed or resolved, will the board open everything up (correspondence from all seven board members, the ED and related parties including the attorneys and USCF contractors, all items in the confidential BINFO from August 2007 relating to this matter, NDAs, and all items I requested here http://chessdiscussion.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=697#p4175)?

As a federation with constant financial problems, we need to have a thorough independent review of how this federation spends money. We need to know why we wasted money to revamp the website TWICE and how the big contracts came about. Were there fair and open biddings? Did the contractors meet all deadlines and requirements? We need to know who approved this and who we can hold accountable for the financial blunders. We need to know how non-board members can obtain confidential board information to spread out false rumors for various purposes. We need to hold board members who leaked out confidential information responsible.

How about the sub-committee? Did Mr. Goichberg and Mr. Bauer officially agree to voluntarily remove themselves from this sub-committee to avoid conflict of interest and other potential legal issues so things can move forward swiftly?

Here is one of the most important questions which I think many USCF members would be interested to know: Were there phone calls to Sam Sloan to negotiate a settlement for the USCF? Who made these calls and who authorized these calls? Who gave this "agent" confidential board information for negotiation? Which board members were aware of this situation? Did the board consult their attorney(s) before these calls took place? There are many other questions which I asked and the board refused to answer.

I am very confident that once everything is opened up, all USCF members can then determine who did what and what games were played. I stand by my earlier statements about complete transparency from all seven board members, the ED, USCF contractors, attorneys and related parties. Until then, we will continue to devote our time and energy to promote the USCF and U.S. chess. That is why we were elected.

Yours for the USCF,
Susan Polgar

Updates on the USCF problems

Ron Suarez on Sun Jan 20, 2008 1:41 pm

I am personally very happy for the opportunity to present something that favors Paul Truong and Susan Polgar in this whole issue. I am aware that Gregory, presently snowshoeing, says that I am against Paul and Susan no matter what. I am happy to prove Gregory wrong in this.Susan posted this on chessdiscussion.com in response to Bill's posting here. I must say that Susan's points do apparently have merit.

As to #1 my response is that there is evidence that Paul has denied the charges and as I read Susan's point on this, I must ask if the attorneys asked formally or explained to them exactly what and how they wanted?

On #2, if Susan and Paul did ask for Bill Goichberg to not be on the subcommittee due to possible conflict of interest, I see nothing wrong with that request. I also see no reason why Bill Goichberg's absence on the committee would lessen the quality of the proceedings.

Finally, Susan is asking for complete disclosure of all the facts. Wow, that is great. I do believe that all facts do need to be made public as Susan requested. This argument of Susan's does seem quite a good one to me.

I guess it is now time for the rest of the Executive Board to cough up the facts.I also must say here that these points Susan brings up in no way distracts or obfuscates the situation, in fact quite the opposite. Good job Susan.

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

Ron,

Thanks for your input. Unfortunately, there is no winner in this case and the members stand to lose the most, again!

The bottom line is I hope this board will agree to open everything up (starting with the NDAs, correspondence, confidential BINFO and everything else relating to this matter, etc.) or get back on track to do what we were all elected to do. We have wasted enough time and money already.

In the mean time, we will continue to promote chess, organize events to benefit our game, support scholastic, college, military and correspondence chess as well as our professionals and talented juniors.

In the upcoming months, I will propose to have a thorough independent review of how this federation spends money. We need to know why we wasted money to revamp the website TWICE and how the contracts came about. Were there fair and open biddings? I would like to know who approved this and who we can hold accountable for the finances.

We cut the budget for college chess and we cannot afford to finance the US Championship or the Olympiad teams like we used to. We cannot even afford to help our top players like Kamsky for a shot at the World Championship. What happened to the money we were supposed to save? Where did it go? Why are we still financially weak?

Fiscal responsibility is a must if this federation wants to get back on track financially. We need to get back to the basics to find out the real problems and fix them immediately. Our members deserve better. Our members are entitled to know what the board is doing with their money and what direction is this federation heading to.

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar

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Ron Suarez on Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:59 pm

I have said this before and more than once, the USCF needs to make this issue go away so that we can get on with the business of chess and all its activities.

Looking at this whole thing from a distance, we see it is nothing more than people getting upset by someone anonymously posting negative and vulgar statements on the rgcp usenet, where vulgarities and anonymous postings abound.

Even if they prove that ANY one individual was this false poster, what real damages have occurred? The only damages have come from people reading this specific "forum". The Sam Sloan lawsuit appears to have no real life because there is no jurisdiction and because of other legalities. So, what is everyone getting all upset about?

I really like Susan's latest suggestion regarding the total opening of all "confidential" things so that the evidence will show what matters and what doesn't.

So, I guess there is and has been a lot of arguing and debate going on, while the chess wheels have either slowed extremely or even stopped in a lot of areas.

I am going to post these exact comments on both the USCF and ChessDiscussion.com Forums. It is time we get on with things.

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Ron,

Thanks again for your comment. I would like to point out some facts:

Paul and I did not stop doing what we were elected to do. We still promote chess on a daily basis since August 2007. We organized major chess events which brought a lot of attention to chess and the USCF. We visited Seattle, Roanoke, DC, Brownsville, Chicago, Aberdeen and Mexico City, etc. for the same purpose.

We had meetings with representatives from more than 90 schools and ran a number of free chess workshops to help teachers incorporate or bring chess into the schools. We offered to raise money to help Gata Kamsky and we are raising money to help our Olympiad teams this fall in Dresden, Germany. We sponsored prizes for various college chess, military chess and scholastic chess events.

All of our activities did not cost the USCF a penny. I know that Joel Channing contacted a lot of schools and organizations to partner up with the USCF to promote this federation. He also donated money to help our players. Jim Berry and his brother are involved in the US championships and other events in Oklahoma.

If the other board members would like to point out what they have done for chess and the USCF since August 2007, they are welcome to do so. Shouldn’t the members know what all board members and the ED are doing to benefit chess and this federation? And how much did this board majority and ED authorize to spend since that time? And how much more are they willing to go?

When we questioned how questionable contracts were awarded and how to improve the efficiency within the USCF in all facets, an "investigation" suddenly took place. I believed then and I still believe now that my colleagues have made many errors. These errors have caused many problems for the USCF and it will continue to cause problems for the USCF for many years to come unless they change their course of actions. Many chess organizations continue to thrive, why not the USCF?

Things took a turn for the worse once my fellow board members crossed the line and made inaccurate public statements. I had no choice but to ask for full transparency and corrected their misstatements. The last straw was when people want to use my children as pawns in this vicious political witch hunt. Is this what people are willing to do for political power?

As I said earlier, either end this nonsense and get back to what everyone was elected to do for the benefit of chess and the USCF or open everything up for the members to see. We proposed 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.

The members should know the severe conflict of interest in various decisions made by the board and they deserve to know how contractors can get their big contracts without fair and open biddings and how non-board members can obtain confidential information to spread out false rumors for political purposes. After all, it is their money and their federation.

Horrible decisions have cost the USCF year after year. Once everything is opened up, everyone can clearly see why the USCF has failed for so long. I have fought the system and won since I was 4 years old. I ran for the board to clean up the problems and I will continue to do so. The USCF cannot continue to survive if we continue to same path of failure. How can we expect different results when we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again?

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar

Source: Chess Discussion Forum

My vision for a better USCF

My vision for a better USCF

Here are the 12 most critical areas which I think must be improved in order for the USCF to grow and prosper.

1. Building a strong membership base via grassroots marketing, promotion and strong structural support for the local clubs, affiliates, organizers, volunteers and supporters. We need to develop a high level or mutual respect and cooperation among these groups.

2. Building a strong membership recruiting plan with excellent incentives for organizations to partner up with us. There are a lot more active players who are NOT members of the USCF than there are USCF members. Many of these players are disgruntled with the USCF. Most do not see the benefits for joining the USCF. This has to change. We must get our message out much better. We must also work with our partners to offer our members and potential members more values and benefits for their money.

3. Building a strong support system for scholastic, college, adult, tournament, correspondence, internet, military and professional players. If there is no strong support and plans to retain scholastic players, it will harm college chess and obviously adult chess will also suffer as we have seen in the past many years. We must also recognize that there are a lot more internet players than we have ever had in the past. But we cannot forget or ignore our correspondence or professional players. Communications and joint efforts are needed with the leaders of all of these membership groups. It is vital to the health of this federation.

4. Building a strong and respectable image and reputation for the USCF. Without this, we cannot get support from state, federal or local government as well as the private sectors. Any of these agencies and organizations can do a background check on the USCF and this is the #1 reason why we keep losing one sponsor after another. We cannot have incompetent and unprofessional people leading this federation. We need to bring in people with proper experience, expertise, energy and passion for chess along with strong records of success.

5. Building a strong, sensible, and cost sensitive marketing, promotion and PR project. It does not have to cost tens and thousands of dollars to be effective. I have proven that with the Susan Polgar Foundation. We get more positive publicity than the USCF with a zero budget. It can be done if we know how. We cannot continue to milk money from scholastic parents or tournament players. It is not working. Too many people are fighting and bickering about dollars and cents while throwing away opportunity to increase substantial revenues through sponsorships, grants and other avenues.

6. Building a sound and fiscally responsible budget with minimal waste. The savings from the inefficiency alone can fund many additional projects to help the USCF. We must build the USCF into a viable organization. This federation is not running at an optimal level right now.

7. Building a strong relationship and partnership with countless other chess organizations nationwide and worldwide. We need to unite to win. Constant political wars and internal feud will only harm chess and the USCF. As a leading federation in the world of chess, we should lead by examples and work with everyone to better our sport.

8. Building a strong relationship and partnership with countless volunteers and supporters to help improve many current weaknesses of this federation. There are plenty of people who are willing, ready and able to help but they are not being utilized properly due to chess politics.

9. Building a strong relationship and partnership with kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools, as well as colleges and universities across the country to promote chess and education. We also have to work with parents of homeschooled students in addition to organizations which represent these homeschoolers.

10. Building a strong relationship and partnership with countless companies across the country and around the world to promote chess and all its benefits. They want to promote their companies, products or services and we want their sponsorships. It is a win win situation for both sides.

11. Building a strong communication channel with all members, volunteers, supporters and sponsors, etc. We need to get our strong and positive messages out to our people. We cannot continue to hide things behind closed doors and have under the table deals. There have been too much mistrust and animosity because of dubious decisions and actions by various chess leaders in the past. At the same time, we cannot allow reckless and irresponsible behavior by our leaders and/or members without consequence. There should be rules set to protect the USCF and all its members, volunteers, supporters and sponsors.

12. Building a strong business vision and plan. We need to run this federation like any successful and reputable company. All business decisions must make sense financially or it must help this federation in one way or another. We cannot make business decisions as a way to reward our political supporters as being done in the past. This is the formula for failures.

We have the numbers and strength to be a competitive and viable organization. All we need is to take advantage of the opportunities and change our approach to running this federation. Instead of saying why it cannot be done, we have to be willing to sit down and figure out what it would take to make things happen for the best interest of chess and the USCF. It is like a chess game, we must be able to maximize every single advantage and improve every weakness.

We have people who can help and they are running in this Executive Board election. The 4 candidates who can best help the USCF with the 12 points above are:

- Dr. Mikhail Korenman
- Mr. Paul Truong
- Mr. Randy Bauer
- Susan Polgar

I ask you to vote for this team because of our expertise, experience, energy, and record of success. Other candidates who can also help in various ways are:

- Mr. Jim Berry
- Mr. Stephen Jones
- Mr. Don Schultz

But the most important thing is to vote! Let your voice be heard! Together, we can turn around this federation and build it into a strong and viable organization!

Thank you for your support!

Important Election Question

I was asked this question in January 2007. It was published in my January 2007 ChessCafe.com column.

Why did you decide to run in the next USCF Executive Board election?

I love chess and I cannot stand by while US Chess and the USCF suffer from the unprofessional conduct of some of its officers. We have to do better and gain back lost sponsors and supporters. Drastic changes are in order for this federation to move in the right direction.

With four open seats, the future of the USCF depends on the upcoming Executive Board election. The USCF is one of the most important chess organizations in the United States. It is supposed to be a role model for other groups. For positive change to happen, the members must vote in the most qualified candidates with the highest level of professionalism.

We need strong leadership to rally the entire membership. That is why I decided to run and that is also why I asked some of the most qualified people to help. I cannot do it alone. It takes a team of people in order to be successful.I searched for people with specific talents and a passion for chess, who have the integrity, professionalism, and experience to do what is right for US Chess and the USCF.

Paul Truong: He is a very unique individual, with an incredibly inspiring life story. His ethics, integrity and passion for chess is second to none. He is also one of the most knowledgeable people in chess marketing and PR. Paul has been the mastermind behind many of the incredible projects for the Susan Polgar Foundation and he is my most trusted advisor. Without proper and professional marketing and PR, chess will go nowhere and no sponsorship will come. He will be instrumental in restoring the good reputation of the USCF in order to increase revenues through additional memberships, sponsorships and advertising, etc.

Dr. Mikhail Korenman: He is well-respected by many and he has certainly proven himself in many areas. He was the mastermind behind the Chess for Peace project and is a member of the USCF Scholastic Council. He has the experience, talent and passion to help the USCF. We need strong cooperation between adult, college and scholastic chess, and Dr. Korenman has the perfect personality and demeanor to succeed in this area.

NM Randy Bauer: He has been actively involved as a chess player, coach, director, writer, editor, and elected state and national representative for over thirty years. He is a life member of the USCF, a national master, former Iowa state champion and Minnesota junior, junior high and senior high champion. As a competitor, he has won over thirty Grand Prix tournaments. Randy has over twenty years professional experience in budget and finance, including nearly seven years as budget director for the State of Iowa. During that time, the State received multiple national awards for innovation and excellence in its budget processes and financial reporting.

As I mentioned last month, the new candidates must be able to:

* 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.

It is up to us to take back control of the USCF. The members have the power to elect the best people to fix the problems.

My June Election Statement

The current state of our federation is not healthy! The USCF lost money again! Many sponsors do not want to deal with us. Many supporters are tired of our internal political destruction. Some board members have repeatedly violated the code of ethics, standards of conduct, as well as the members’ trust. There is no end to this destruction in sight unless we demand big positive changes by putting the most capable people in place.

I would like to rebuild the USCF into a strong, successful and respectable organization. This is why I decided to run in this election. Here are some of the past major problems that need to be corrected in order for the USCF to prosper:

• Too many bad financial and business decisions
• Too many decisions made for political reasons instead of the best interests of US chess and the USCF
• Too much frivolous spending without long-term vision
• Too little effort to raise much-needed revenues to ensure the good health of this federation
• Too little focus on positive chess marketing and promotion
• Too little focus on many membership categories such as adult, scholastic, collegiate, correspondence, and military chess
• Too little effort to retain our memberships, especially the scholastic members
• Too little integrity, honesty, credibility and professionalism by some board members
• Too little accountability of our board members
• Too little respect for our members, affiliates, partners, supporters and sponsors
• Too little willingness to keep the USCF up with the times

Here are some of my areas of focus for the USCF if I’m elected:

• Restore respectability, integrity, credibility and professionalism to the USCF
• Reestablish a sound and balanced budget
• Develop strong cooperation and support for adult, scholastic, collegiate, correspondence, military and internet chess
• Establish a strong professional marketing and PR system
• End the petty and destructive politics

I highly recommend three other candidates who can work with me to help turn the USCF into a strong and viable organization:

• Paul Truong: He’s by far the most successful person in chess marketing, promotion, public relations, and management. Paul can bring something to this federation that no one could in the past. We badly need his expertise.

• Mikhail Korenman: He has a strong record in promoting and organizing chess events. He’s a member of the USCF Scholastic Council. He’s well respected by many people, including former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev and many others.

• Randy Bauer: He has had tremendous success as the budget director of the state of Iowa, dealing with a multibillion dollar budget. We need his financial expertise.

I cannot fix the USCF alone. Please join Paul, Mikhail, Randy and me in this mission to reform the USCF. The future of the USCF is in our hands. We cannot continue the status quo. It is not working. It is sinking this federation. I will continue to discuss many more important issues in detail at www.susanpolgar.blogspot.com.

Thanks for your support!

Chess Life Candidate Statement

I will do more!

Painting by my sister Sofia

To the many of you who constantly give me words of encouragement to fight the destructive chess politicians who held US Chess and the USCF back for years:

Thank you! I can assure you that some of these people have picked the wrong battle with the wrong person. I remember when I was a little girl playing chess. People used to be just as mean and vicious. Many did what they could to discourage me from playing chess. Not only I did not quit, it motivated even more to work hard in my game every single day and I ended up breaking one barrier after another.

When I decided to help US Chess and the USCF back in 2001-2002, I faced a similar thing. Their questionable actions and detrimental conducts motivated me to do more and more and I did not quit. When I decided to run for this upcoming USCF Executive Board election, I knew it would be difficult. But seeing what I have seen in the past few months, it is worse than what I could have imagined.

Now I understand the many problems within the USCF for decades. Some of these people would sink to any level for their own agenda. The best interest of the US Chess and the USCF is the last thing on their minds. They constantly try to chase the best talents that want to help this federation instead of embracing them.

I am not going anywhere. I intend to stay and fight all the way. Chess is my life and I love what I do. Chess and politics do not mix for me. I am willing, ready and able to continue putting 150% of my energy and efforts for chess. One way or another, things will be fixed and these destructive people will just be a distant memory.

President Kennedy once said: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country!"

I can do more for US Chess and the USCF. I will do more for US Chess and the USCF. And yes, I will do everything in my power to unite everyone for the benefits of chess.

Thank you for your kind words and support!
Susan Polgar

My Candidate Statement

I love chess and it pains me to see so many problems with the USCF in recent years. I would like to change that.

The current state of our federation is not healthy! Sponsors do not want to deal with us. Supporters are tired of our internal political destruction. Some board members have violated the USCF code of ethics as well as the members' trust.

Here are some of my areas of focus for the USCF:

- Restore respectability, integrity, credibility and professionalism to the USCF.
- Re-establish a sound and balanced budget.
- Develop strong cooperation and support for adult, scholastic, collegiate, correspondence and military chess.
- Establish a strong professional marketing and PR system.
- End the petty and destructive politics.

In the upcoming months, I will discuss many important issues at www.susanpolgar.blogspot.com. Please join me in this mission to reform the USCF.

Thanks for your support!

My Candidate Statement for Chess Life

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

My personal and professional recommendation

There are some good candidates and there are a few unqualified candidates in the upcoming USCF Executive Board Election.

I asked these 3 top notch people to join me in reforming US Chess and the USCF! Here are my reasons:

Paul Truong: One of the most important pieces of the puzzle for a new USCF! The USCF has never had anyone who understands Chess Marketing & PR and who has the knowledge, proven experience, desire, passion and determination to promote chess positively. In my opinion, Paul is by far the #1 Chess Marketing & PR guy in the United States and perhaps one of the best in the world. By promoting the image of chess and the USCF properly, it will open many doors to new opportunities including more needed revenues and recognition for our sport. Without this vital aspect, chess will go nowhere. We will just be bickering about how to save money and cut services to our members as usual.

In addition to these skills, Paul is also an individual with the highest level of integrity and professionalism. Paul is a proven winner and he has succeeded in every project that he was involved with, including the historic 2004 US Women's Olympiad Training Program and the 2004 US Women's Olympiad Team that brought home the first 4 ever medals (2 Gold and 2 Silver). He is also a USCF Life Member, Life Master and FIDE Master with multiple National Championships under his belt.

Mikhail Korenman: A very important piece of the puzzle for a new USCF! For a long time, there has been too much bickering and animosity among various membership groups such as Scholastic, Adult, Internet, College, etc. Mikhail is a person that can help bridge that gap. He has successful organized big events that involved all these groups. Without unity, the USCF cannot survive.

Some of his major events include Chess for Peace with former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, Anatoly Karpov and me, the US Junior Open, the US Junior Invitational, Lindsborg Open, Lindsborg Invitational and Pan American Intercollegiate, etc.

Mikhail is also another individual with strong morals, integrity and honesty. He is another proven winner! We need someone like Mikhail on board.

Randy Bauer: Another very important piece of the puzzle for a new USCF. Finance is his expertise. While Randy was on the Executive Board a few years ago, the USCF achieved a balanced budget. Randy is committed to honest finances and improved services for USCF members and will provide seasoned, sensible leadership on the Executive Board.

Randy has over 20 years professional experience in budget and finance, including nearly 7 years as budget director for the State of Iowa. During that time, the State received multiple national awards for innovation and excellence in its budget processes and financial reporting.

He has been actively involved as a chess player, coach, director, writer, editor, and elected state and national representative for over 30 years. He is a life member of the USCF, a national master, former Iowa state champion and Minnesota junior, junior high and senior high champion. As a competitor, he has won over 30 Grand Prix tournaments.

We need someone like Randy to work with Mr. Joel Channing, the current VP of Finance to make sure that we have a sound budget. I am confident that we can do it with their incredible experience and expertise in this area.

Summary: I strongly recommend the 3 people who can promote chess and the USCF properly to maintain and enhance our visibility and revenues, unite the memberships to keep our current members and bring in new ones and to keep our finances sound and strong.

These are all critical areas that the USCF desperately needs NOW. We cannot afford destructive chess politics as usual. This is why we need the right team to make the right things happen for US Chess and the USCF!

Thank you for your support!

In an unofficial poll created by a USCF member, here are the results:

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

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

9. Goodall 10. Sloan