"Old Haasie" wrote in message
ps.com...

And what is the effect of this strategy for Mensa, compared with other
things they have tried? How does it relate to chess playing?
Phil
=================
Phil, what is the effect, you ask? The effect for Mensa is the
financial support of the local chapters, effectuating, if I may, the
many social activities of the typical Mensa chapter. And you ask how
it relates to chess playing?

Well, I meant from the playing point of view... [and I take from this
message this is no effect] but I think you address a structural aspect which
underpins playing

In your mind, you have to imagine a
local Mensa chapter converted into a metro sized USCF umbrella that
receives a proportional share of the annual dues generated in the
given metro area. I call the metro umbrellas "Districts," i.e. the
Philadelphia USCF District, the Pittsburgh USCF District. The metro
scale would be preferred over the state scale, but in some locations
perhaps the state chess association would be the only choice. This
would happen when there were so few members as to make a metro
umbrella unworkable.

Here are two examples: (1) this town has about 15 active adults at the chess
club and a dozen others who are not active. It also has about 6 to 10
players from the high school. What effect would this have here [pop 11,000]
?

(2) Secondly, abt 2 months ago I made 3 calls to Hastings, Nebraska, to see
if I could link them to Hastings UK and Hastings NZ, to play some chess! The
Chamber of C didn't know of a chess club, neither did the Museum, neither
could they remember there ever being one. The HS said there was a small
chess club, but the teacher who ran it was away. [pop 50,000]

It seems to me that your plan is to benefit organisers in areas already
playing chess by suggesting more efficient distribution of funds to attract
new players to existing clubs - is that true?

The only things about Mensa that interest me (for chess) are 1)
national dues shared with local chapters, which saves the locals the
agony of local fund raising and guarantees 100% local participation,

Hastings Ne, obviously doesn't need that since there is no club, and ours
doesn't fundraise since the guy who owns the restaurant lets us use it for
free. Would your plan still have anything in it for us?

I ask because perhaps these two illustrations are typical of the majority of
US outside Metropolitan or Conurbation areas.

and 2) the focus on the metro scale, not the state scale.

Again, my Mensa Model scheme for chess is designed to captialize
organized chess at the basic market level for organized chess --- the
metro area in most cases. It spreads the risk of chess promotion
rather lightly among all paying members to the tune of about $10 per
year.

Seems to me this could be a viable model for USCF for existing players near
cities, on the theme, 'better maintenance model'.

In this fashion the risk of chess promotion would no longer be
concentrated solely on the shoulders of one or a few so-called chess
promoters. Of course, individual chess promotion would be welcomed,
but the District umbrella would function as the promoter (in the
associative form) of first and/or last resort in its operational
area.

Has USCF ever, to your knowledge, ever studied such a system? If so, what
didn't they like about it?

Cordially, Phil Innes

Old Haasie