Problems with Payment of Prizes at the US Championships

Phil Innes, who is notoriously anti-USCF and wants to put us out of
business, has scooped the board by posting on rgcp that the prizes
still have not been paid for the US Woman's Championship, even though
the event finished and the players went home a week ago. Also there
was a problem with the payment of the top prizes for the US Overall
Championship.

Here is what Innes posted this morning on rgcp

She didn't receive her money. Period.

Neither in fact did the US woman's team! The USCF checks were
promised to be there Friday, but didn't show up.

So Jim Berry dug out his wallet again and covered the amount, not
$300, but $25,000.

I further understand that this has caused a little tension down at
the office, especially since e-mails asking what the *@(_@! is going
on, are not being answered.

While future plans and the faults of others are the constant topic of
USCF politicos and 'spinsters', it remains to be seen if the
organisation can perform simply tasks at a national championship and
produce other people's money that they themselves received weeks
ago....

Phil Innes

This is really outrageous. The prize money checks are supposed to be
paid at the conclusion of the tournament, not mailed weeks or months
later. Many players come on a shoestring and need the money to get
home.

More importantly, checks to cover the prizes were mailed to the USCF
office months before these events were even scheduled. Bill Hall
bragged to us at the meeting in Stillwater that the USCF had $400,000
in the bank. He was there. Why could he not just write out a check to
Shabalov to pay him his first prize?

Saying that the players will get their money eventually is not good
enough. Players who win big money at chess tournaments expect to be
paid on the spot. By the way, Grandmaster Samuel Reshevsky is still
waiting to be paid his prize money for winning the US Open in Tulsa,
Oklahoma.

I demand an explanation for this, and it had better be good.

Sam Sloan