The $64,000 question!

I have been asked so many times about why I created this blog and why I take it so seriously. I actually have to spend around 2-3 hours a day to do this blog. And yes, at no pay since I do not allow banner ads or paid advertising here. This is my gift to the chess community. There are a number of reasons for this but here are 4 important ones.

1. Interaction with the fans – I feel that too many chess professionals are not doing enough to reach out to the chess fans and enthusiasts. I have always done this with my countless appearances. But not everyone can attend these events and I cannot be in every city. Therefore, this is the perfect way for me to do that. How many World Champions would take the time every day do this?

2. Promoting chess – We are under promoting chess as an industry. There are so many events that are not properly publicized, so many interesting stories that are not being told and important news that are not getting out. I want to change that. I want to set the standard and trend. I feel this is so important for chess. So this blog is to promote everything good about chess every single day. It is like a daily chess newspaper. You miss one day and you can miss so much. I want to do it faster and more efficiently. We live in 2007. We should not have to wait for days or weeks to learn about an important event. Get it to me and if I am in front of the computer, I will post them within minutes. If I am not home, I will post them as soon as I have access to the Internet.

3. Fighting for the players’ rights – There used to be a time when chess politicians can silence the players on their black list. Remember when FIDE gave every woman 100 extra points but me? There was no Internet like it is today. The power can keep many things silent. Not anymore. No one can silence the rights of chess players. I will do my best to give equal coverage. I fight for the players’ rights and I fight for fairness. I will not allow chess politicians to manipulate the news, blacklist the players or organizers.

4. Taking everything very seriously – My name and reputation is on the line in everything I do. That is why I take this blog very seriously. I try to improve everyday. I do not want to do an incompetent job. This is why I will not allow a few rotten people to come and vandalize this blog with their vicious agenda. I will do everything in my power to protect the integrity of this blog. I am hoping to do the same with the US Chess Federation. We all should be responsible for our actions.

As I stated before, this blog is being maintained by 2 people: Me and Paul Truong. He scans the news, weeds them out and then sends me the most interesting stuff. He also handles all graphics and other technical stuff. I am responsible for the final content, the writing and the actual posting. When I am unable to post due to lack of the Internet, he would post under the handle Admin. This way the readers would know who is posting and who is commenting.

We are approaching our 2nd anniversary. I have learned a lot from this process and I have come in contact with so many news of you. There are chess players from 89 countries following this blog. I did not expect this when I started but I am very pleased with how things turned out in less than 2 short years. Thank you so much for all your support! It would not be fun without so many of you! So thank you and this blog is for you!