A message from Mr. Sevan Muradian

Disclaimer: As a matter of fairness, I will publish articles and information from all credible parties when I receive them.

Registering to Vote Requirement
2011 USCF Executive Board Elections

You are receiving this email as you are an affiliate of the US Chess Federation and I am requesting from you a call to action to assist in a very important matter facing the USCF membership community.

This year in order for members to vote, members MUST register, or their voice will be lost in the election. This new rule was approved at the 2010 Delegates meeting. No Vote, No Voice!

I am requesting that you forward this email to your chess email lists, post the content on your websites, make Twitter and Facebook posts - anything to get the word out. Normally there are over 35,000 voting members that would receive ballots. So far only 1216 people have registered to vote!

Voters must be 16 years of age or older to register. Remember family memberships are entitled to vote for anyone that is 16 or older in that family membership!

To register to vote, members will need their USCF ID, Date of Birth, and their PIN number. Their PIN number can be found on their Chess Life mailing label or on their TLA Newsletter. Once this information is handy visit this website - https://secure2.uschess.org/voter-registration.php and they will be able to register to vote.

For those of you that do not know me, I am Sevan A. Muradian. I am a candidate in the 2011 USCF Executive Board Elections. You can follow my campaign at http://www.youruscf.com. The website is operational and there is a feature to sign-up to automatically be notified of new content.

I urge you to visit the website and communicate it out to your chess network.

No sunshine again

KARPOV FOR FIDE PRESIDENT
By the USCF Executive Board
April 12, 2010

Anatoly Karpov is one of the greatest players of all time, a chess celebrity who will greatly improve FIDE’s chances of attracting quality global sponsors. Mr. Karpov is a strong supporter of traditional chess played under consistent rules. He has been active in promoting the game in the United States, and offers hope for increasing the prestige and popularity of our great game everywhere.

We are pleased to endorse former World Champion Karpov for the office of President of FIDE. The world chess organization is in need of serious reform, and Karpov’s candidacy represents an unusual opportunity to vastly enhance FIDE’s reputation, and that of organized chess worldwide. USCF is looking forward to working closely with Karpov and his team to achieve a shared vision for chess excellence....

Anatoly Karpov has been a long time friend of mine. However, I take no position in this election so far. But many USCF members have raised legitimate questions:

- Did the USCF EB consult the USCF members about this endorsement?
- Why was there a closed door meeting to discuss this endorsement while this procedure is meant for legal or personnel issues only? This is against the rules and policies of the USCF.
- Why is there no transcript of this meeting? The USCF members have the right to know what goes on with a federation they paid dues to.
- Why so much secrecy?

Lev Alburt

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Someone once quipped that if Russian and American chess officials changed places, nobody would notice the difference. Have you ever wondered about how policy is made or what goes on behind closed doors of the United States Chess Federation?

Lev Alburt was the first grandmaster elected to the seven-member USCF board of directors and soon became the odd man out. In this exclusive interview he pierces the veil of secrecy and begins naming names.

After defecting from the USSR in 1979 he settled in Manhattan, married, and quickly became a fixture in American chess. After capturing our nation’s highest title three times, he retired from tournaments to write books and give lessons. Is what he had to say in 1989 after completing a three-year stint on a dysfunctional policy board still pertinent today?

INTERVIEW WITH GM LEV ALBURT

EVANS: You are the first grandmaster ever elected, yet on most major issues you were outvoted 6-1. How would you sum up the experience?

ALBURT: Disappointing. At the Delegates meeting I said I was leaving without any great sense of accomplishment but with a great sense of relief. This sentiment was probably shared by most of my colleagues on the board who joined in the general laughter.

EVANS: What were some of your objectives when you ran for office?

ALBURT: I wanted to reverse our FIDE policy and condemn such extravaganzas as the Soviet blacklist that our leadership accepted in the hope of launching a USA-USSR Summit Match in 1986. But my main goal was to work with the board to pursue what I thought was our common interest: to promote chess in this country, to help our federation grow towards the 100,000 mark. This certainly shouldn’t be a big task since all polls indicate that tens of millions of Americans know how to play chess.

Excerpt from THIS CRAzy WORLD OF CHESS by GM Larry Evans
Original post by former Chess Life Editor Larry Parr

Q & A from Chess Fans

Q & A from Chess Fans

Jackson (Denver, CO): I read on the USCF website about the revocation of your USCF memberships. Is it true and why?

PT: It is true. The Executive Board’s action is deplorable. Instead of doing what is best for chess and the USCF, these people appear to put their personal and political interests first. They are doing everything they can to hide their misconduct from the USCF members and delegates, even if this costs jobs for USCF employees and perhaps even cause the collapse of the entire federation. They used Chess Life and Chess Life Online to spread false information to hide the truth. But the facts will come out eventually.

JS (Los Angeles, CA): I have read only the USCF side of the story. Could you please summarize the cause of these lawsuits?

PT: Our position is that the USCF Executive Board and the USCF Executive Director continuously violated the USCF bylaws. I believe they abused their authority and used USCF members’ money for their own political agenda. I believe the legal cost so far exceeds $1 million for both sides, not counting what the USCF insurance has paid separately on behalf of the USCF. These people claim that the USCF has no money to support scholastic chess, college chess, women’s chess, professional chess, or chess promotion, etc. But they have no problem spending over $600,000 of members’ money for their own political agenda. It is inconceivable that these people are doing this in the middle of the worst economy in decades, and where countless USCF members have lost their jobs. These people could not care less about the welfare of chess or the USCF. They tried to blame this on us, while this has been their pattern of conduct for years.

These individuals can try to hide the facts, but the truth will come out in court. We have received tremendous support from countless USCF members encouraging us to stand tall and fight against these corrupt chess politicians.

The USCF has to cut their operating schedule to a four-day work week. The position of USCF Scholastic Director and FIDE Director had to be cut because of a serious financial meltdown. We offered to drop the lawsuit against the USCF for $1. The Executive Board rejected the offer because if the lawsuit against the USCF is dropped, they can not longer hide behind our federation to conceal their misconduct.

It also appears that they are also hiding from USCF members that Susan’s lawsuit against the USCF and its board members is covered by the insurance company. Mr. Jeff Jones is representing the USCF, and individual members of the Executive Board. These same people spent over $500,000 of members’ money to file frivolous lawsuits and to defend the misconduct of their political supporters from the lawsuit. They simply conveniently forgot to tell the USCF members this.

Chess Mom (Detroit, MI): Is it legal for the Executive Board to revoke your USCF Life Memberships and Executive Board status?

PT: We don’t think so. But it is up to the court to decide. But we do believe their actions directly violated the USCF bylaws.

Albert (Henderson, NV): What is your future plan with chess?

SP: We will continue to promote chess in multiple aspects. Nothing has changed. The SPICE Cup is the next big event on our calendar. You can follow our activities by checking out www.ChessDailyNews.com.

Jim (Des Moines, IA): Can you still compete in chess tournaments?

SP: No. The Executive Board revoked our USCF memberships. They claimed that we can still play. But there is no such thing as being able to play rated chess and not being a member. They are just making things up as they go along and this is clearly against the USCF rules. In addition, I cannot play in world championships or Olympiads unless I am a member of a national federation. So basically what the Executive Board did is to destroy what is left of my playing career.

RR: Paul, a few newspapers published some articles about problems with the chess federation. Can you explain? What does this mean? There are people out there writing things in papers and online that don’t do your good work justice.

PT: As the saying goes, you can either lead, follow, or get out of the way. We’re trying to lead, and they’re trying to make us get out of the way. Susan has worked very hard to get to where she is, and when you’re at the top of the game there will always be people who are jealous. The U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) is very political and extremely ineffective.

The bad PR we’ve received, yes, has been very unfortunate, and it came from people who want to see Susan and SPICE fail. It is a concerted effort on their part to try to stop our success. This is hurting our entire sport. Unfortunately, there is little we can do when people are not telling the truth. Things people claim are highly misleading and even slanderous. But, we’re doing good work, and it shows.

Source: http://www.chesscafe.com/polgar/polgar.htm

Bribery, dirty politics, and USCF corruption

Below are various emails which clearly show the involvement of USCF President Bill Goichberg, Chess Journalist of America President Jerry Hanken, and others in a bribery scheme for votes in July/August 2008. They also clearly show that USCF President Bill Goichberg clearly mislead me and the USCF members about his own involvement.

When I ran for the USCF Executive Board 2 years ago, this is one of the areas I said that I will do everything possible to clean up. This is just the surface of it. Because I am exposing these unethical individuals, they and their supporters have tried to trash my name and reputation.

In the past two years, instead of working with me and helping me promote chess to benefit our entire sport, some of these chess politicians have spread the most outrageous and vicious rumors and lies, trying to destroy my reputation, my employment at Texas Tech University, and my family. They even stooped so low as to use my children (who are only 8 and 10) as one of their targets.

Knowing that I am a one of the biggest advocates for scholastic chess in this country, especially for girls, some of these people spewed out the disgustingly offensive rumor that my husband and I were child abusers. They claimed that we abused my children and we even forced them to consume hot sauce. This sort of despicable thing made its way to the internet and even made its way to my employer Texas Tech University as well as to sponsors and potential sponsors. This outrageous lie was even tossed around within the USCF leadership as a way to pressure my husband and me to resign from the board even though they knew that it was false.

There were countless remarks and postings telling my husband and me to go “back to where we came from.” Some said this is the United States Chess Federation and not the United Nations Chess Federation, and a foreigner had no business running the USCF, while others were openly discussed ways to deport me back to my native Hungary although I have been an American citizen for a number of years and both my children were born in the U.S.But the facts are hidden from the USCF members and delegates. In the mean time, they are using Chess Life, the USCF forums, the USCF website, members' money and other means to mislead the USCF members, to cover up their incompetence and unethical conduct. I highlighted many of these facts here and here.

It is amazing that these people claim that the USCF has no money to promote chess, support chess players, chess clubs, and affiliates. But they have no problem spending over $500,000-$600,000 of USCF members money for lawsuits to go after and silence people who want to expose their misconduct.

These people crossed the ethical line and they clearly abused their political power. Their conduct directly and indirectly caused lawsuits / legal actions in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, Illinois, and Tennessee. The financial situation of the USCF is dire. If we do not stand up and fight against this kind of corruption, there soon will be no USCF.

A lot more information can be downloaded here.

Here are just some of the evidence of the bribery scheme:

From:
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2008 1:54 AM
To: Polgar, Susan

Hi Susan,

I wanted to forward this to you to prove that I originally had no plans, whatsoever, to attend the 2008 U.S. Open. I was simply going to visit my husband in San Jose, where the two of us intended to spend a week together before I returned to where I am currently living, in San Diego. Only after being convinced to attend, by Jerry, did I change my plans. I will include that proof as well, and you will also be receiving some other forwarded emails corroborating the rest of what I have told you already.

My husband and I are also seriously considering resigning as delegates, considering the fact that we were not otherwise interested in becoming such, except to help please Jerry, and go along with what he felt was right, because it would show loyalty and solidarity to someone who has, to this point, been a good friend. I hope this serves to do at least some good.

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

From: JerryHanken@aol.com
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:58:06 -0400
Subject: (no subject)

You have a free entry to the US Open (and some possible money for a blog for Jennifer.) You can't transfer the entry to a CCA. event. If I can get your airfare paid and I agree to pick up a few meals for you and Hero, couldn't you handle the room? I think Hero would go for it if I can swing airfare. Don't say "no" quite yet.

Jerry

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

From: JerryHanken@aol.com
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:11:49 -0400
Subject: Re: (no subject)

If Bill (Goichberg) says "yes", you wouldn't owe anything to him. I asked for a sponsorship gift, not a loan. At the Open, you could still spend lots of time with Hero. Also you may have some pay for the blog you will do for Jennifer. You will win games like that at 40 in two. You ARE improving-- don't let anyone tell you different. Notice that I am willing to provide some food for you and Hero. I will have a fridge which will help. As to changeing, aren't you on Southwest? They .don't charge to change or cancel a trip.

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

From: JerryHanken@aol.com
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:21:03 -0400
Subject: Re: (no subject)
To: Chessoffice@aol.com (Bill Goichberg)

Come on Bill (Goichberg), I will go half on the airfare. There are so many good reasons to do this. Give it some thought. Just think what going half means to me and what it means to you. If we lose a critical vote, you will think of this. All the money you have given the USFCF will be in the toilet if we ultimately lose this fight.

Jerry

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

From: Chessoffice@aol.com (Bill Goichberg)
To: JerryHanken@aol.com
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:01:45 -0500
Subject: Re: (no subject)

The affiliate needs to go to the TD/Affiliate area and purchase a 6 month membership.

Bill

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

From: JerryHanken@aol.com
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:35:28 -0400
Subject: (no subject)

Dear Jess and Hero,

If Hero is willing to serve as a Delegate, it is important that you go on line today (when it is still July) and purchase a six month membership in USCF. It is $25 and I will personally reimburse you this money. I hope to talk with you later today, Jess.

Jerry

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

7/30/2008 8:53:32 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time (11:53:32 A.M. EST), Chessoffice writes:

As I said, the $25 rate is only available to affiliates.

Bill

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

From: JerryHanken@aol.com
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:30:53 -0400
Subject: Fwd: (no subject)
To: randallhough@yahoo.com

Could you get this done today so we have the option of having Hero as a delegate I will pay.

Jerry

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

From:
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2008 2:12 AM
To: Polgar, Susan
Subject: Summing things up

Hi Susan,

By now, I've already sent you several emails, each one forwarded directly from my personal account, and numbered 1 to 9. Included are copies of both my hotel and flight reservations, whose dates exactly match those immediately following the forwarded emails from Jerry, in which he convinced us to come, just so we would be there to vote. That fact is quite clear here, and should be easily demonstrated.

Additionally, I should point out that since my real interest was in playing chess, and NOT getting politically involved, this is proven by the fact that Jerry, on more than one occasion leading up to the delegates' meeting, begged me to forego the Blitz, offering to pay for not ONE future event in speed, but THREE, if only I would be there to vote.

Now, my husband and I will also write the letters you requested, but I thought this data would prove useful in the meantime, considering the fact that it verifies my story for all those critics online. By the way, I still have not been able to locate any posts which specifically claim I am a liar, but I'm sure they are not all that far behind, since I have now pissed off quite a few people on Jerry's side, and all for voting what I could gather, based on fact, and not merely conjecture.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

Take care,

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

In a message dated 8/17/2008 8:02:17 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, SusanPolgar writes:

Bill,

Are you saying that you are absolutely not aware of any attempt to offer incentives / pay ordinary chess players and even non-USCF members to join the USCF, come to Dallas, get certified to be delegates, to vote against Paul?

I am not aware that anyone was paid, offered incentives or given free entry in order to vote a certain way.

If board members/ delegates are caught bribing / paying for votes, should you or the USCF report them to the Illinois Attorney General or other appropriate authority? I strongly believe that this is highly unethical and illegal and I certainly hope that you feel the same way.
In addition, should board members / delegates who do such thing resign from the executive board / delegates immediately?

Susan Polgar

Bribes are unethical and illegal, and charges of same should be dealt with as recommended by our attorneys.

Bill Goichberg

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

In a message dated 8/17/2008 8:31:06 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, SusanPolgar writes:

Thank you for your response. Just to clarify, did anyone approach you about the idea of paying / providing incentives in exchange for votes against Paul at the delegates meeting on Saturday, August 9, 2008?

Thank you.
Susan Polgar

NO!

Bill Goichberg

Interview with GM Lev Alburt

Tune-in for Chess Talk with IM John Watson on ICC Chess.FM. John's weekly 60+ minute show will feature an interview with leading chess personalities. All shows run on demand for members after airing.

This week (Tue., May 12), making a welcome return to join IM John Watson on Chess Talk is three-time US champion, GM Lev Alburt.

Lev, born in 1945 in Orenburg, Russia, was a product of the famed Soviet school of chess. He lived for many years in Odessa, Ukraine, and won the highly competitive Ukraine championship three-times, from 1972-1974.

In 1979, whilst playing in a tournament in West Germany, he opted to defect and turned to the US where he has since forged an impressive career as player, coach and author of a series of highly praised and best selling chess books.

Here is GM Lev Alburt's take on the USCF when he served on the Executive Board:

THIS CRAZY WORLD OF CHESS
by GM Larry Evans (page 129)

Lev Alburt was the first grandmaster elected to the seven member USCF board of directors and soon became the odd man out. In this exclusive interview he pierces the veil of secrecy and begins naming names.

After defecting from the USSR in 1979 he settled in Manhattan, married, and quickly became a fixture in American chess. After capturing our nation’s highest title three times, he retired from tournaments to write books and give lessons.

INTERVIEW WITH GM LEV ALBURT

EVANS: Lev, it’s hard to believe that people who are supposed to promote chess in America are actually holding back its growth.

ALBURT: I couldn’t believe it myself. But I learned that everyone in the business office and above all members of the board were interested primarily in doing almost nothing. Nothing real. Nothing to promote chess. When I get together with Allen Kaufman or Jimmy Sherwin of the American Chess Foundation we usually discuss ways to promote growth and emulate the success of England, which sprang from nowhere to one of the top nations.

EVANS: Didn’t the board discuss these things?

ALBURT: No. I was extremely surprised that such topics were never addressed. Never, ever.

EVANS: What was their goal?

ALBURT: Let me continue. Even when we went to a restaurant I always expected them to bring up the subject of what can be done to make chess grow. But always the topics during our sessions was who should run for the board next year, who should be awarded national tournaments, or how to avoid being attacked by critics.

EVANS: Well, what did they get out of serving on the board?

ALBURT: Perks, of course. Free trips, and so forth. Some old timers look upon the federation as their toy, their plaything. They hang around people they chummed with for years. They love to give each other awards. When I left they offered me a Certificate of Service, but I said I wasn’t interested in such things.

EVANS: The board voted to ban tape recorders from open sessions but had to back down when Friends of the USCF blasted them in its newsletter. Isn’t the board spending more and more time in closed session anyway?

ALBURT: They discuss a lot of things in private which to my mind don’t belong in closed session. They often use these sessions as an excuse to say nasty things they would not dare to repeat in public. Sometimes they knock people I respect and I challenge them to produce evidence or shut up.

EVANS: So didn’t they become more careful around you?

ALBURT: To some extent I think I spoiled the good feeling they shared together—the feeling that the less anyone outside knows, the better. When someone new was elected to the board, they immediately closed ranks and developed a bond. Even reform candidates wanted to become one of the boys as soon as they were elected.

Doctoring Court Evidence?

The doctored version of the evidence which was submitted to the court by the USCF with the initial of the person who placed that black box.



The actual doctored version which was submitted to the court by the USCF.



What's underneath the true evidence which was purposely hidden from the court.



Notarized affidavit from the third party.

Back in August 2008, the USCF received crucial evidence which showed that I had NOTHING to do with the hacking they claimed. Unbeknown to me, the USCF requested and obtained this information. Even after receiving the notarized affidavit from a third party which completely cleared me, the USCF decided to file a lawsuit anyway claiming that I hacked another board member's email account 111 times. They also did not disclose this evidence to me or my team of attorneys.

No credible evidence was ever shown that I had anything to do with it. The IP did not match and I did not even have an account with this company. In fact, the USCF could not provide any IP matching mine. This doctored USCF evidence was submitted to the court instead. A computer expert was able to discover what was really underneath it. This is a very serious legal matter.

You can now see for yourself step by step. If you click on the images, they will enlarge to make it easier to see.

The USCF spent $180,000 so far this fiscal year (about 6-7 months) on legal fees. They also spent an incredible amount of money last year. There is a strong likelihood that the insurance company will not renew the USCF D&O insurance policy.

Once some of these legal cases in 4 different states get to court, the legal fees may escalate to well over $500,000. I offered the USCF and the board majority a way out to save this federation. They refused and instead went to court with doctored evidence while continuing to defame and libel me.

Holding back the growth of chess

THIS CRAZY WORLD OF CHESS
by GM Larry Evans (page 129)

Lev Alburt was the first grandmaster elected to the seven member USCF board of directors and soon became the odd man out. In this exclusive interview he pierces the veil of secrecy and begins naming names.

After defecting from the USSR in 1979 he settled in Manhattan, married, and quickly became a fixture in American chess. After capturing our nation’s highest title three times, he retired from tournaments to write books and give lessons.

INTERVIEW WITH GM LEV ALBURT

EVANS: Lev, it’s hard to believe that people who are supposed to promote chess in America are actually holding back its growth.

ALBURT: I couldn’t believe it myself. But I learned that everyone in the business office and above all members of the board were interested primarily in doing almost nothing. Nothing real. Nothing to promote chess. When I get together with Allen Kaufman or Jimmy Sherwin of the American Chess Foundation we usually discuss ways to promote growth and emulate the success of England, which sprang from nowhere to one of the top nations.

EVANS: Didn’t the board discuss these things?

ALBURT: No. I was extremely surprised that such topics were never addressed. Never, ever.

EVANS: What was their goal?

ALBURT: Let me continue. Even when we went to a restaurant I always expected them to bring up the subject of what can be done to make chess grow. But always the topics during our sessions was who should run for the board next year, who should be awarded national tournaments, or how to avoid being attacked by critics.

EVANS: Well, what did they get out of serving on the board?

ALBURT: Perks, of course. Free trips, and so forth. Some old timers look upon the federation as their toy, their plaything. They hang around people they chummed with for years. They love to give each other awards. When I left they offered me a Certificate of Service, but I said I wasn’t interested in such things.

EVANS: The board voted to ban tape recorders from open sessions but had to back down when Friends of the USCF blasted them in its newsletter. Isn’t the board spending more and more time in closed session anyway?

ALBURT: They discuss a lot of things in private which to my mind don’t belong in closed session. They often use these sessions as an excuse to say nasty things they would not dare to repeat in public. Sometimes they knock people I respect and I challenge them to produce evidence or shut up.

EVANS: So didn’t they become more careful around you?

ALBURT: To some extent I think I spoiled the good feeling they shared together—the feeling that the less anyone outside knows, the better. When someone new was elected to the board, they immediately closed ranks and developed a bond. Even reform candidates wanted to become one of the boys as soon as they were elected.

Additional comments by Paul Truong, current USCF Board Member

This is exactly how things work today. It has not changed much since GM Alburt was on the board. And it will never change as long as the same people and their political allies are on the board. Many of the votes will go straight party line regardless of the merit of the motion. Is it a coincidence that the same Bill Goichberg, Randy Hough and Jerry Hanken launched a baseless political investigation against GM Larry Evans some years back using members’ money? You decide.

We asked Bill Goichberg point blank if he was aware of bribe offers (hotel room, airline tickets, free entry fees, etc.) by his friends to bring various people to Dallas to be certified as delegates to skew the votes. He flat out said no when he WAS copied on many of these correspondences. He and Randy Hough also certified these individuals as delegates from their perspective states. In one correspondence, it was stressed specifically that they MUST sign up this non-USCF member before August. Otherwise this person could not become a delegate.

Instead of focusing on how to sustain the membership or how to make chess so much larger with new members, benefits and revenues, the board majority abuses members' fund for their own political motive. It is especially irresponsible in this economy. They will do everything in their power, legal or not, to oust their political opponents. The same board members are using members’ money to defend the wrong doing of non-board members.

I believe the USCF is losing more than $330,000 this year so far. This number will escalate dramatically by the time this fiscal year ends. The same people are doing everything they can to hide the facts from the members. The USCF just received $400,000 bequests. How much of it will be left by the time they are done playing politics?

Susan and I have repeatedly offered to open up all confidential BINFO and closed session recordings. We requested to have our experts examine the USCF database. The same board majority rejected these ideas. They also purposely hide critical evidence from everyone, including the court.

A lot of the facts will come out shortly in the proper venue. I do not believe they can continue withholding information.

http://www.chessville.com/Editorials/AlekhinesParrot/Index.htm

No direction, no vision, no success

Zarathustra wrote:

"After reading your postings a number of times it begs the question why so many people that volunteer they leave within a short period of time. Just think of the high turnover rated with just the United States Chess Federation Forum Oversight Committee. After reading your comments it is very clear that being a volunteer you place your personal life up for judgment and your volunteer work is taken for granted."

Volunteers leave. Supporters leave. Sponsors leave. Members leave. Many of them go on and form their own organizations and groups and they continue to thrive. Some are so fed up with the garbage within the USCF and they quit.

But the same people who dragged this federation down for decades continue to hold on to their pseudo power and they will do everything possible to maintain the status quo. They have no idea what to do to make the federation better. However, they will stand in the way of the people who have proven that they can help make things better.

Some of these people told me the following back in 2003:

- The USCF cannot get girls to be interested to stay in chess.
- The U.S. women’s teams cannot win Olympiad medals. They have never done it.
- It is not possible to get large sponsorship.
- Chess cannot be promoted or marketed.
- College chess can never be big.

Prior to 2004, there was virtually no all-girls event. Today, many states run all-girls championships to send top players to the annual SP National Invitational for Girls. Some of our all-girls events draw a few hundred girls. We won not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 Olympiad medals in 2004 (2 Gold and 2 Silver) because of a program I created. Once I left the program thanks to Bill Goichberg, it went back to the no direction and no leadership mode. I came to Lubbock, Texas less than one year ago. Within this time, Paul and I are able to raise nearly $3 million in sponsorship and organized some of the most prestigious tournaments in U.S. history. I get more publicity and coverage for events and programs I am involved with / attend than the USCF. Last but not least, SPICE was created with multi-million dollar budget with long term commitment from TTU.

These are the facts. And instead of allowing us to turn around the USCF with our experience, connection, and expertise, Bill Goichberg and his entourage started to play political games from day one. They tried to block what I do and smear my name and reputation, even if it ended up costing the USCF money and sponsorship.

And where is the USCF today? Membership is down and we are losing money again for the 10th time in the last 12 years. But the USCF continues the pattern of under the table dealings, unethical business practices, and hiding the truth from USCF members. USCF insiders continue to get jobs, contracts, and other perks without an open bidding process.

It is absolutely ridiculous that the USCF only has 80,000 members when it is the official national chess federation in the United States. And this number continues to go down and there would be no USCF it it was not for the scholastic chess boom.

If these chess politicians would spend the same amount of time doing something productive for chess instead of wasting so much time on the stupid chess politics, the USCF would not be in this mess today.

Paul and I conducted a training course today for teachers in region 17 in Texas. Region 17 has 59 school districts in West Texas. Lubbock is one of the 59 districts and Lubbock ISD has around 55 schools alone! We did not have enough room to accommodate all the teachers who want to come and learn. Some even came from a thousand miles away just to learn.

In the years to come, there is a potential for thousands of new members in this one area alone. There are countless areas like this one across the USCF. But not even one single board member is focused on promoting chess or building the future membership other than Paul and me.

They cannot lead. They cannot do the job. They continue to fail. But they will not get out of the way to let others fix the USCF. This is where we are at.

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar

Strange USCF Business Practice

Paul and I have repeatedly asked to see the financial report and we were told that it will come soon... This was a while back. We still do not have it.

Today, we received the report from Ms. Alarie and the following note:

Since they were leaked to me and not sent to me by USCF's Finance Chair or the USCF office, I see no reason not to continue the leak and send them to Executive Board members who are entitled to see them. These reports are the way I received them except I've added yellow highlight to show the $144k loss in the first preliminary report and the $82k loss in the second preliminary report.

The names on these two reports are changed from what they were when they were sent to me. I changed them just so I could set up different spreadsheets and not have them become confused. #1 was the first one created and #2 was the second. I don't think I changed anything on these spreadsheets other than the yellow highlights because I created a third spreadsheet for my own analysis.

Why am I doing this? Because it's the right thing to do. USCF has a major financial crisis and cannot afford the political games if it wants to survive it. It will be crucial for everyone on the EB and the delegates to understand the differences between the auditeds and the office's reports. If USCF office management is producing reports with $100k revenue swings in them, it is impossible for EB members to be able to make informed decisions based on reality.

It is also my understanding that a request went from the office to the LMA to borrow $50k from the LMA. I don't honestly understand that since USCF has a credit line of $150k - unless USCF has already tapped that line or expects to have it tapped before the delegates meeting - something which I have no knowledge of one way or the other at present.

Donna Alarie
Massachusetts Delegate

I am against the new proposal by Bill Goichberg. I do not think it will bring in new members. However, the "business as usual politics" by the USCF will cause the membership to go down, especially with the current national economy.

I am against borrowing money from the LMA. I have stated this back in last September. If our management cannot run the USCF with the current budget and revenues then it is time to bring in new people to do the right job. We cannot continue to dip into Life Members' money.

I have also proposed to have a "quality control" system so we can pinpoint the problems. There are way too many backroom and under the table deals now and everything has to be out in the open. After all, if no one knows where the problems are, how can we fix them? The board and the USCF have no interest to implement such a system.

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar

What board members do behind the scene

This was a post I made about the state of the USCF:

I believe the legal fees so far is $35,000 not counting representation provided by the insurance company. This is not counting additional legal fees (and potential financial damages) for 2-3 other serious legal matters which USCF board members publicly challenged the other side to: "put up or shut up" and "go ahead and sue". How professional!

In a few months, the USCF has to put up $35,000 minimum for the Olympiad. If Mr. Frank K. Berry does not sponsor the US and US Women's Championship in 2009, the USCF would have to come up with the money for that as well.

I am very busy now but I will post a few items (of dozens and dozens) of leaks by the board to Jerry Hanken (now that I have a written consent by the other side) and others as soon as I have a chance. Then all USCF members will see the pattern of conduct by the board majority.

This is just a sample:

The board knows full well that I have been promoting and sponsoring military chess for over 2 years. I am in constant contact with many people in military chess. In fact, I was asked by members of the military chess committee to be their liaison and no other board member is involved in military chess at all since Mr. Channing step down.

A few weeks ago, Bill Goichberg brought up the issue about finding a new liaison to the military chess committee. I said I would be happy to do it because I am currently working with them anyway while no one else really cares about it. This should be a no brainer.

Unfortunately, it is not as simple as it seems. This is what took place behind the scene. The item below will show the conduct of Bill Goichberg and other board members (this was copied / sent / forwarded to other USCF insiders and it floated around and even landed on one of the public forums and finally it got back to me). There was no discussion or debate, just an under the table deal instigated by the President himself:

"What should we do about military liaison? ...I see no evidence that she has done any work for USCF as a board member; she seems motivated entirely by self interest....

...Probably just as well, as if she did speak to him it's not likely she would have been working in the interests of USCF.

...I wish we could remove her as Scholastic liaison, but don't know who could replace her. At least, one of you should become military liaison. If you could discuss this with each other and one of you make a motion that the other be the liaison, that would be very good."

The next day, Randy Hough made a motion to have Jim Berry take over the military chess liaison just as stated / suggested by Bill Goichberg. Then Jim Berry accepted the nomination and others voted yes immediately. I have no problem if Jim Berry takes over this committee. He is a veteran and he is loves chess. I would be happy if he wants to help military chess.

The problem is how it was done behind the scene. This was the same way how things work for the Presidency back in last August. There was no discussion. There was no thinking about the best interest of chess, USCF members, or the USCF. Instead of doing what is good for our members, one person wanted to fulfill he personal dream and he convinced his friends to go along with it. How much money has the USCF lost since last August?

I wonder how Mr. Goichberg will justify his conduct and behavior. I personally asked him to step down from subcommittees or recuse himself due to conflict of interest. He refused. Perhaps he would like to publicly deny this the same way his friend Jerry Hanken did of wrong doing knowing that the evidence is there and I can prove it. Tons of it are located within the confidential binfo which the board wants to hide it from all the members. They do not want the members to know the truth. I would challenge Mr. Goichberg and the board majority to open everything up for all USCF members to see. But of course there is no chance they would accept.

I also wonder how Mr. Goichberg will explain to 84,000 members about other unethical behind the scene / under the table conduct and agreements to get what he wants. I said that I would run for the board to clean up the dirty and destructive politics. I will not back off to these people. They have gone too far to harm me and my family on many levels and everything will come out.

I asked for have peace and harmony among board members for the best interest of the USCF. Of course the other side would reject that. It is not enough that Mr. Goichberg got his life long dream of becoming the USCF President. He wants more. He wants others who oppose him out of the USCF.

If Bill Goichberg truly believes that I have done nothing for chess or the USCF and all I want to do is to promote myself then back it up. I would challenge Bill Goichberg to have a poll on the USCF website so ALL 84,000 USCF members can vote to see which board member has done the most to benefit chess in this country. I offered to help many times but the USCF is basically a one man show to control the federation. Even when the USCF is losing over $100,000 and desperately needs help, my offer was rejected. The idea is to block others to maintain power.

For something as silly as a committee liaison, board members behave like this behind the scene. What would they do with issues far more important, including serious legal issues? This is the same pattern as countless other issues.

As I said, dozens and dozens of confidential and legal documents and info were leaked out to Jerry Hanken and other USCF insiders the same way. Then these people go out and use this confidential info to attack and harm people who are against them. I told Mr. Goichberg and other board members that I know what took place and I have full proof to present in court.

My lawyer asked for three things to save the USCF from further legal problems for what they have done to me on a personal and professionally level. The other side basically insulted my lawyer and told me to go ahead and sue. Welcome to the USCF. More will come out soon.

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar

Something is just the same

The part below was written by GM Larry Evans about an interview with GM Lev Alburt, one of the nicest GMs you can ever meet. GM Alburt ran for the board and won many years ago. He wanted to help the USCF. He told me it was the biggest mistake of his life and he would never do it again. GM Alburt and many others collaborated with what I said. This is not the USCF Executive Board. This is a small group of people doing unethical things under the table to harm anyone who stands in their way to protect the status quo. This is why so many supporters, members, and sponsors have walked away from the USCF.

With the written consent by Jerry Hanken, I will soon publish some of the facts regarding confidential information that some of the current board members leaked to him. I told the board numerous times that I have the absolute proof that they leaked the confidential information to Jerry Hanken to publicly attack and harm me and my family. I am confident that I can prove this in court. They also leaked information to other USCF insiders.

I sent numerous emails to the board about this issue. I told the board that I know for a fact that board members forwarded confidential information from me to the board and their attorney, my attorney's letter to the EB and ED, their lawyer's response, and much more to Jerry Hanken and others. The way it works is some board members forward the confidential info to him and he then forwarded to other USCF insiders. The problem is he does not remember who he forwarded the info to and cannot control what others will do with that information.

This is the pattern of conduct by some of the chess politicians for the last 30-40-50 years. When I brought this up, they basically laughed at my face and took what I said as a joke, including the letter from one of my attorneys. Instead of apologizing for what they have done, the USCF President and other board members challenged me to take them and the USCF to court because they do not believe that I can prove their misconduct. Some even insulted me.

They rather spend tens and thousands of dollars of members' money and perhaps even into the hundreds of thousands to defend in court something which they are caught red handed instead of apologizing and stopping this kind of unethical behavior.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

ALBURT: I felt a great temptation to be more conciliatory. You see, after all, they are not evil people. Personally many of them are very nice. When you’re in the same room and spend a lot of time together, exchange jokes and try to solve problems, you develop a sort of camaraderie. It’s natural. But I had to remind myself that although we were friendly, the things they were doing in secret were plainly wrong. The system which existed, a system of secrecy, could be easily abused. It certainly invited corruption.

EVANS: Board member Harry Sabine said all that the reformers would accomplish by trying to open things up is to force the board into doing more things behind closed doors.

ALBURT: Okay. It just shows their type of mentality. A siege mentality.

EVANS: I was under the impression that the board only had the right to go into closed session to discuss things like sealed bids or legal and personnel matters.

ALBURT: They do many other things that should be discussed openly. For instance, they went into closed session to discuss candidates to replace Don Schultz as FIDE delegate. They argued it was necessary because otherwise they could not say nasty things about other candidates in public, like so-and-so is a drunk. My position was that if someone wanted to say something derogatory, they could stop briefly to go into closed session.

EVANS: But doesn’t much of this information get out anyway?

ALBURT: Of course. They leak information all the time to their friends. For instance, when executive director Gerard Dullea was given authority to fire Larry Parr as editor in closed session, it was supposed to be a deep dark secret. But when I came out of the meeting I was met by Jerry Hanken who told me how sorry he was, that if only he had been elected instead of Sabine such a dreadful thing never would have happened. Probably some board member broke the news to him on the way to the bathroom.

EVANS: Why should there be such a need to classify information? Chess is not the Pentagon.

ALBURT: The board is playing with its power. I can hardly ever recall when any justification was given for going into closed session. Often they just wanted to bad-mouth people not being considered for jobs. Especially people who were my friends, but even some I didn’t know. When I challenged them and asked for proof, they said they were merely speaking their piece and giving their opinion.

EVANS: But, Lev, you say these are decent people. Decent people don’t do these things.

ALBURT: I agree. But people are not all black and white. I think the problem is they created an artificial environment. It creates a bankrupt mentality. It creates a sense of belonging to an exclusive club. They feel they can do almost anything, and that others are beneath them—even grandmasters.

But when Ed Labate sued them, they immediately retreated. So what I am saying is that they are not evil people, they are not bad people. But the system is so bad that even normal people are encouraged to act wrongly.

THIS CRAZY WORLD OF CHESS (page 132) by GM Larry Evans

Another sad day for the USCF

The resignation by Mr. Joel Channing from the USCF Executive Board is now official. He is probably one of the most successful business people who were ever elected to the USCF Executive Board.

This is from the NYT: '...Channing, who was in the third year of a four-year term, said that he had been become increasingly frustrated by the workings of the federation. Channing, who owns a real estate development company (it put up PGA Commons West, above, among other developments), said, “My original reason for running for office was to try to bring business experience to the board, which I found sorely lacking, and to run a professional organization and that was a lot more difficult than I thought. There is something about business, it is more like a team sport. You want to have a win-win situation. That is the way to get things done effectively. The way that things work with chess, it is a zero-sum game and that is not a good environment for getting things done.”'

I fully agree with Mr. Channing. This is a man who has built companies and worked on projects far bigger than the USCF. I have been to his home. I have visited him at his office. He is well respected in his industry and community.

But when it comes to this federation, it is nearly impossible to succeed. Instead of allowing or asking the most qualified and most experienced people to help the USCF, the opposite happens.

And this is why the USCF continues to fail miserably, losing money year after year. The losses this year may exceed $100,000 and the USCF is expected to lose even a lot more next year. How many good volunteers, sponsors, organizers and members has this organization lost? How many more good people will we have to lose before we can turn the USCF into a professional and viable organization?

In the mean time, I will continue to work hard to positively promote chess, chess and education and chess in the schools, as well as obtaining and awarding chess scholarships for young players, organizing world class tournaments for our professional players, and much more.

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

More political games by the USCF

The latest nonsense by the subcommittee
by SusanPolgar on Fri Feb 01, 2008 6:07 pm

This email was just sent to the board by VP of Finance Randy Bauer:

Committee members,

Given the current legal issues surrounding Paul and the USCF, I make the following Committee motion and vote yes:

I move that the Committee recommend that Paul Truong's title as Vice President Marketing and Communications be removed.

I further move that the Committee recommend that Paul Truong be removed as liaison to any and all board or delegate appointed USCF committees.

Randy Bauer


This was my response:

You have no sufficient evidence for any of these charges. After more than four months of investigation and wasting tens and thousands dollars of USCF money, you still have nothing. The evidence which was sent to Mr. Kronenberger was more than enough to show that the report had the wrong conclusion.

- The board majority refused to allow our experts to examine the data for more than 4 months.
- The board majority refused to investigate wrong doings by the USCF contractors and members of the board majority.
- The board majority refused to investigate leaks of confidential information as well as the "unauthorized secret negotiation" between Jerry Hanken and Sam Sloan using confidential board information in the middle of a lawsuit.
- The board majority refused to open up all records for independent investigation.

The USCF is losing money and we have financial problems. Instead of focusing on promoting the USCF positively to gain more members and raise much needed revenues, you want to focus on this complete garbage.

But if this is the game you want to play, you may as well vote to remove my title as Chairman as well. If this board passes this motion to remove Paul and not me, I will also step down as Chairman since I am involved in this legal situation just like all seven members of the board including you.

I will help you publicize your votes since I am sure you want all members to know about your plans. While you are at it, do you want to vote to exclude us from the board meeting tomorrow and Sunday? What is next? You cannot have a double standard unless you know something I do not.

Susan Polgar

The USCF members will clearly see how the board operates and why so many members are disgusted with the USCF.

Randy Bauer voted yes.
Randy Hough voted yes.
Bill Goichberg voted yes.
Jim Berry voted yes.
Joel Channing voted no.

Can this really be a surprise to anyone?