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.

If You Play USCF and/or ICCF Correspondence Chess...

It is time for action!

Read the blog entries HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Then please email your delegates, the old Executive Board members, the new Executive Board members, the Correspondence Committee Chair Harold G. Stenzel, Correspondence Director FM Alex Dunne, and anyone else you can think of that can bring pressure to bear on USCF governance to take care of the problems Franklin Campbell has written about.

Threads about the issue may be found at the ICCF Forums HERE and on the USCF Forums HERE.

Email addresses for most USCF governance may be found in the 2007 USCF Delegates' Call.

The 2007 US Open Correspondence Committee workshop will be at 2pm on Friday, August 3rd. If you will be at the Open, please attend, and please give the rest of us an update if you can on what transpires.

It is my opinion that the USCF should immediately:
- Respond to the crisis facing American representation in ICCF in co-ordination with the CCLA, should that organization be willing able to participate, and Ruth Ann Fay to make sure the USCF and America are represented at ICCF Congress this Fall by a person who will take over the responsibilities borne by Ruth Ann Fay and Max Zavanelli;
- Make most, if not all, correspondence events available for play via web server;
- Return correspondence chess to the magazine, or at least Chess Life Online, as a monthly feature or column.

More Info About ICCF-US (Zone 3) | Funds Available

A week or so before the Franklin Campbell warning about the coming correspondence chess crisis, USCF Executive Board member Don Schultz wrote the following BINFO:

BINFO 200701362
Date 2007-06-12
From Chessdon
Status Standard Release
Release Date 2007-06-20
Subject Fide Delegates Metting Turkey NOT

Bill Kelleher has confirmed to me that there will be no FIDE Delegates meeting in Turkey in Nov 2007.

Therefore, the $4,000 allocated for FIDE Delegate and Zonal President in the 2007-08 budget can be reduced to zero.

Don Schultz

The assets are available. Now to see if USCF governance steps up and does the right thing...