Please try to invite Ben Finegold, who was unfairly excluded from the
2007 US Championship.

Sam Sloan



How about just using the invitational formula and sticking to it...rather
than trying to play favorites?

ECJ


For a change I agree with Eric. In fact, so does A. Adorjan - several GMs
have contributed questions to a current interview of Mickey Adams, and
Adorjan asked very directly and succinctly [I paraphrase] if the top 100
players by rating in the world were all thrown together in a 13 round Swiss,
do you think the top ratings would win? With an additional note that maybe
the top 50 players in the world earn 95% of all prize money. It will be
interesting to read Adams' reply.

I wonder what would happen if a similar tournament was held in the USA? In
terms of interest, there would be so many underdogs with good performances,
it would make for good press. I do not agree with Eric that chess
sponsorship is a philanthropic activity, only that it is usually so - and
that is because, albeit USCF has a paid staff, money comes from media, and
media savvy sux!

Done right, just 1 hour of TV programming could fund the whole shebang.

This is not a fling at USCF, but it is a notice that it is a sinking pool
for ideas relating to sponsorship. If it could keep its [political] hands
out of the till, no reason why it couldn't still affiliate itself with such
a venture.

Phil Innes
Vermont