Many people complained that there is a lack of sponsorship in chess. Therefore, when we have good sponsors or supporters, we must do everything we can to conduct business in the most professional way and show them the highest level of respect.
Things are getting as bad as can be with the #1 sponsor of chess for the USCF. As I mentioned before, the AF4C spent more than a million dollars to help save the USCF and the US Championship. Instead of getting our sincere appreciation, board member(s) continue(s) to attack the AF4C.
The AF4C spent over $500,000 last year to organize the 2006 US Championship with more than $250,000 in prize funds. No other sponsor came even close to this amount. And yet some chess politicians have no problem destroying the livelihoods of professional players to promote their personal agenda.
The same board member(s) want(s) to get rid of the AF4C to put the US Championship for open bidding. This suggestion was made when the USCF has shown minimal (if any) ability to attract serious sponsors in recent years. The USCF also has no competent Marketing and PR department (if at all) and the USCF has no one who can do this on a professional level.
The USCF has many national events with overdue bids because of lack of interests. How can the USCF even come close to attracting another sponsor for more than $100,000 in such a short time with this current board make up? Impossible!
This kind of unprofessionalism must end or we will risk losing our biggest sponsor! Some of these people have no business serving on the board. They lack integrity, honesty, professionalism, business experience, track of success and even common sense.
The same goes with the professional players. If they do not behave professionally, how can they expect to have sponsors?
We can always disagree and we are all entitled to our own opinions. But demeaning and attacking good people and sponsors and harming the USCF is not an option. The world of chess is watching us! I hope the USCF members will send a strong message to these destructive chess politicians in the next election!
I thought you said you were not going to make personal attacks.
Go Susan! Someone finally has the guts to speak out!
I agree with you Susan! This is the pure truth! Excellent! We’re with you all the way! Time to get rid of the trash!
Susan, please tell us who those worthless board members are. They will get my vote again.
Michael Langer
Austin, Texas
Michael, you want to vote for Sam Sloan again?
Don’t forget that Leroy Dubeck was the one who helped Sam Sloan get elected. Never forget!
But back to the AF4C and the US Championship. Is it true that AF4C is making the championship online instead of in-person? If so, this does seem like a serious concern to me.
This was sent by Mr. John Henderson:
There will be a maximum of four regional centers where ALL play will take place. These will all be controlled conditions with ICC tech staff and a TD – there will be NO possibility of cheating.
Another factor is that ALL players will be using the same DGT sets and boards they have used in the past at US Championships – whether they play face-to-face or online. The ICC software works with the DGT boards – anyone who plays an opponent online will use the DGT boards.
Incidentally, some teams playing in the US Chess League have used exclusively this system of the DGT sets and ICC software with great success.
JOHN B. HENDERSON
Well with Sam Sloan’s proposal, I don’t see how we could let anybody else organize the event.
After all he’s got:
1. A bid from somebody on a totally different event that he’s going to use instead on the US Championship.
2. A TD that wouldn’t be allowed to direct the event.
3. A famous player that hasn’t qualified for the event.
4. A city that hasn’t said it’s interested in the event.
5. A “publicist” that wouldn’t work with Sam Sloan if he were the last TO on the earth because he thinks Mr. Sloan is a child molestor.
6. NO MONEY for prizes.
Do we really need Sam Sloan’s input on the US Championship? With “helpful” suggestions like his, we’d never get the event off the ground. Maybe that’s what Sam Sloan wants — if he can kill the tournament and blame somebody else for it’s failure, maybe it’ll take some of the attention away from HIS misdeeds.
Word
Susan, what about the US Championship being changed to a knock-out instead of a round robin?
Wasn’t the traditional round robin format better?
It depends. If it is a RR with a total prize funds of $15,000 or $25,000 for 10-12 players, no. In addition, the USCF cannot even afford to to spend this little each year.
In the proposed format, the winner gets at least $25,000 and the runner up at least $15,000. I doubt that the top pros will want to lose this.
I have no personal or financial interest in this as I have no plan to play. The point is even if you and I disagree, we must do it respectfully and professionally, especially if we are board members.
I am not arguing for or against it. I am just saying that the USCF has no alternative in front of them at the moment. If this is the case, why try to get rid of our biggest sponsor?
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
Ben Finegold just made this post on the uscf forum:
I received an e-mail from John Donaldson (which he sent to many players) regarding thoughts on the US Championship. Then I see my reply was posted here by Sam Sloan without my permission.
I do not know why a response to an e-mail I was sent by someone is being posted here on this forum. I did not post this here, and I would ask anything I wrote in private e-mails regarding my opinions on the US Championship be deleted by the moderator unless I specifically post them here.
I have no interest in sponsoring or organizing any US Championship, and never said I was. This makes it seem like I posted something here or wanted it posted here, when I was simply responding to an e-mail sent to me by John Donaldson.
Ben Finegold
Sam Sloan had no right to publish this letter.
The AF4C has been a most incredible group of people. They are so wonderful. We need to really make sure they know how much we appreciate them.
Susan this is a most serious problem. If there were no other problems, we would have to protect this wonderful sponsor from stupid attacks by ingnorant people.
I can guarantee to everyone that Susan will help keep AF4C as a sponsor as long as possible.
As I remember it, the USCF had decided to not hold a US Chess Championship. They just were not capable of doing it. They also said they had no money for prize money.
The AF4C came along with Yassar’s help and offered to help hold the Championship. They would provide the prize money. and all expenses. The USCF would have to do nothing and since they were dropping it anyway. Why not let them run the tournament. Well it took them time to agree. But they did agree eventually. And everything has gotten so much better every year. All at no cost to USCF.
The AF4C is not a commercial company. They are a group of people who donate all the money to help chess. They basically get nothing in return. Well they should get some praise in return. These are people who simply donate their own money to help chess.
Just imagine a big company sponsoring the Championships. Say it was Coca Cola. well they would want advertisements everywhere to help them do the sponsorship. But with AF4C we do not have that kind of thing. No one advertises all over the championship. We get to concentrate on the chess. We could never get a better sponsor than AF4C. And if we lose them, no one else will step up to put money into chess.
I would suggest that USCF go out and get 10 more sponsors before even thinking of losing the one and only one we have today. And the USCF did not find AF4C. No, the AF4C came to the USCF with the idea. They handed the USCF the best sponsorhip for free.
Susan you must do everything to keep the AF4C. They are truely great people and they are truely great for chess.
I would like to see a Championship Match for the US title.
For example, Onischuck would have played a match against the current champion Nakamura. I do not think it was proper to just dump Nakamura into a huge group of players.
To get more prestige into the US Championship, it should be a Match. Any previous tournament needs to be to find the challenger.
I also would limit the participants to only the top players. 16 maximum or top 8. they play to pick the challenger who then plays Nakamura. Well now the winner will play Onischuk in a Champions Match.
That is along the lines of what I think would make a great Championship. When the original US Championship was organized, this was the way it was done. To become US Champion, you had to beat the previous champ in a match.
Same idea needs to be done at the world level.
Last year the championship started with 64 people. that is rediculous. I say no more than the top 8 to 16 players is more than enough.
Disband the USCF! Disband the USCF!
The chess professionals in this country should all look at this prize checks from this past year and see who’s signed them. Let’s work with those sponsors, those organizers of big tournaments, etc.
USCF has done little if anything to help chess professionals in this country.
I posted before:
“Susan, please tell us who those worthless board members are. They will get my vote again.”
Sorry, forgot to include the word “never” between “will” and “get”.
Michael Langer
Austin, Texas
While there are many legitimate concerns (and I would prefer a more traditional approach, myself) with the proposed format, the rhetoric has gotten out of hand.
As Susan said “Professionalism is a must”. We can let the sponsor know we don’t like the format without attacking them or insulting them.
While I don’t like the proposed format, I don’t see what the big deal is about playing on-line WITH A TD AT BOTH LOCATIONS. I don’t like the idea, especially in a US Championship, but it doesn’t deserve the level of comments we’re seeing.
Perhaps I have missed something, but what has caused the AF4C to turn away from the type of Championship that has been held the past 4 or so years under their sponsorship?
If they have less money for the prize fund, why not restrict the number of players invited to say the top 8, thereby having a reasonable prize amount for each player. Also shorten the tournament duration to a week or 10 days.
Sam Sloan must go!