There is no doubt that computer chess created a lot of competition for the
USCF. It also hopefully brought more people to the game, who might not
otherwise have played.

I think there is a financial model under which the USCF can survive and be
stable, but I think it is somewhat scaled down from what we currently think
of as the USCF. Mike Nolan seems to be doing a great job of helping guide
USCF down that path that makes that future possible - incrementally through
technology automation.

There will always be people who like to meet and play chess in person.

---
Douglas Stewart

President, Mississippi Chess Association

"ray doetsch" wrote in message
om...
The USCF has had a chronic illness for years. Now it will soon die.
The ultimate cause of its demise, other than extremely poor and
inefficient management, is something over which it had no
control,namely,the COMPUTER.This invention has eliminated the main
reason for the USCF in that no longer is it necessary to attend
tournaments to play. Furthermore, internet servers like FICS
and ICC(if you want to pay a membership fee) have removed the long,
often boring,onerous, and often costly week-end Swiss tournaments. I
have played more people from more countries than on internet chess
than I ever did as a USCF member. True, the play is not quite like
OTB, and there may be some cheating, but all in all this is the coupe
de gras for the USCF. Comments ?