USCF Correspondence Workshop Report

Bob Rizzo of the USCF Correspondence Chess Committee relayed several points about the Correspondence Committee workshop at the recent US Open in Cherry Hill.

• Mike Nolan's report on the USCF CC rating system
  
  -The new system is now running. The changes primarily involved smoother input by USCF CC Director Alex Dunne and allowing quicker results. Mike Nolan requested that any quirks found with the new system by USCF CC players be reported.
  
  -The ICCF web server was discussed during Nolan's report. Nolan and others expressed some dissatisfaction with the recent changes to the server interface.
  

  
  My personal opinion is that the ICCF server is the best on the web. I did have a bit of discombobulation when the changes were first implemented, but they must have been very minor effects on my usage as I can't remember what I found less desirable than before.
  
  However, there are complaints from others as seen at the ICCF Forums here.
  -sdo

  
  
  -The upshot is that Mike Nolan will soon have a proposal ready for a USCF Correspondence web server. Hurrah!
  
  
• Fund to be used for web server events
  
  -Bob Rizzo also handed out a proposal to establish a fund to enable primarily invitational events, such as the Absolute, to be held on the ICCF server. If the USCF develops a web server this would be unnecessary. Several interested members have donated monies to seed the fund.
  
  
• ICCF Olympiad XVII Preliminary
  
  -The USA team has advanced to a spot in the finals.
  Team members are:
  SIM Jason Bokar, SIM-elect Ken Reinhart, IM Keith Rodriguez, IM Robert Rizzo, SIM Michael Millstone and IM Corky Schakel.
  
  -The web site maintained by Team Captain J. Franklin Campbell is at here.
  
  
• ICCF-US Federation Office
  
  -The problems presented by the looming lack of representation in the ICCF for America was discussed. Everyone agreed that the ICCF-US office must be maintained, but no solutions were proposed. Bob Rizzo explained the ramifications of this (on Olympiad representation, no one to apply to ICCF for those who qualify for titles, etc...)
  
  -Brennan T. Price offered to join the Correspondence Committee and committee chair Hal Stenzel accepted the offer.
  

I've asked Joan DuBois at the USCF office for permission to post the related documents and will do so as soon as I receive it. In the meantime, the documents may be seen on J. Franklin Campbell's The Campbell Report.