Hi, I don't quite understand why the USCF is giving up on selling equipment and giving the service to another company. In 1998, I had looked at a budget financial report saying that the USCF earned over 2 million dollars in revenues from sales. Not quite sure why it is letting another organization take it. well thanks for any info you can give.

From June 1st there will be new rules for draws in FIDE tournaments. When the opponent offers you a draw you will be allowed then : a) accept the offer b) reject the offer c) continue the play with colors-reversed (!) This regulation is against so-called short grandmaster`s draws. Regards, Jerzy

I am seeking information on Alois Fink, the Austrian who published analysis of the so-called Graz Variation of the Ruy Lopez Opening (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Bc5) in the Oesterreichische Schachzeitung, 1956, and in the Wiener Schach-Nachrichten, 1979. Is this man dead or alive? He was born in 1910. George Mirijanian

Nice april fools joke by chessbase on it's site, kimo "a new type of program" good one guys, not great but good

I am willing to trade for the Shredder 8 chess engine, email me:

Hi, I have been trying to figure out how many chess players there are in the world, but searching on the net has given me nothing. I've been to the FIDE web site and found nothing. And what about games such as Go and Bridge? Just for comparison. There ought to be some numbers out there.

As I recall, in 'The Inner Game' ('End Game' in the US edition), his book about the Kasparov-Short match, Dominic Lawson mentioned that Lubomir Kavalek once invited Nigel Short and his wife to have dinner with Milos Forman (one of Kavalek's friends) and Peter Ustinov, who apparently was following the chess match. Nigel Short declined the invitation. Would anyone like to share any chess...

The USCF is in bad shape. I have never said this before. We have lost more than one million dollars in the past few years. We have lost money eight years in a row. The new board, acting with the best of intentions, is in the process of making matters worse. What is the solution? We should remember the reason we are still in existence. We should go back to basics. I am opposed to plans by...

I think that some readers know that Mr. Kingston persistently attacked Yugoslav GM Matulovic, so I had to send Mr. Kingston the comment some time ago (and to Chess Base web site). Here is the mail from 15.08.2002 which I sent to Mr. Kingston (and Chess Base): --------------------------------- Dear Mr. Kingston, I have read your articles with Mr. Averbach (on ChessCafe.com), and the article The...

Nice to see that old-timers Oscar Panno and Bent Larsen have just played in tournaments in South America. Neither has Korchnoi's degree of longevity --- they've both slipped back into the 2400s. But in Larsen's case it is heartening to see that his health permits tournament play. At Pinamar, Larsen finished with 5/9, with no draws! http://www.utopiasdepinamar.com.ar/magistral/index_en.htm

Bonus Codes at PartyPoker or Pokerroom for $100 Hi Guys, Do any of you like to play poker? Well Check out the great deals below. $100 Bonus at Party Poker. 30,000 Players nightly BONUS CODES: "FUNTIME" & "THEBIG20"

What is Zwickmühle?

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 21:28:48 EDT, (Sam Sloan) wrote: If the movie could be obtained, do you think that the chess master-star could successfully block its distribution? Although the United States Chess Federation might not agree to sell it, this could be the way out of their financial difficulties. It would certainly solve the problem of the scholastic memberships.

Check out www.academicchess.com for a picture of Jerry Hanken getting wallopped by 20 year old Liina Vark in Vegas. She just moved to San Francisco from Estonia! Another hot female chess player in the scene! Chess is going the way of woman's tennis! ..

Here are some puzzles taken from the chess games of strong players of the early 20th century. Except where noted, it's "White to Move and Win". a) http://wtharvey.com/apr1a.png White Mates in 4, Anthony Santasiere vs E Adams, New York, 1926 r2q2rk/ppp2p1p/3b1pn1/5R1Q/3P4/2P4N/PP4PP/R1B3K1 w - - 0 1 b) http://wtharvey.com/apr1b.png Richard Reti vs Ernst Gruenfeld, Semmering, 1926...

Sam's Comeback Fails I played in an action tournament at the Marshall Chess Club Thursday night, hoping to make my big comeback. (Actually, I am running for election, but do not tell anybody yet.) Anyway, I played three interesting games. I managed to sacrifice something each game. Too bad I lost two of them. I would like somebody to check these games with Fritz, because I think my sacrifices...

I am a player with Elo about 2050 who started to play tournament chess after a break of appr. 15 years. What can you recommend to become better (I need something like a training plan)? MfG Andreas Lenz

Two years ago USCF was promoting the Excalibur Game Time clock -- the "Official Clock of the USCF" -- the low slung black clock with the mushroom buttons. They were pushing them to the point of writing the rules around them. Not that they were a bad clock. For the price (I pick them up on the net for about $30) they are flexible, durable, and easy for my high school students to set. We have a...

I am looking for programs (either pay- or shareware) for retrograde analysis, i.e. where you start from a given position and try to work out the previous moves. Where can I find such a program? Thanks, Marco --

On 24 Mar 2004 16:06:26 GMT, (John Fernandez) wrote: Please explain why holding a 2004 US Woman's Championship is an attempt "to flip the coin". Anna Hahn would be invited. Since she would be by far the lowest rated player she would have almost no chance to win, but that is not a flip of the coin. Sam Sloan