The second longest running adult chess event in the state of Nebraska
will not be held this year. The reason given is apparently cost. The
annual Polar Bear which was run consecutively since 1973 will not be
held for the first time in 30 years.

Lincoln no longer has a free playing site available, and the director
cited costs as the primary factor in deciding to chuck it. This event
was one of Nebraska's most colorful, run by a man who wore shorts no
matter the time of year, he turned it into a fun event where anyone who
wore shorts in the late Fall throughout the tournament would be eligible
for special prizes and a partial refund on the entry fee. We had a very
nice free playing site in Lincoln until last year. Now we do not have a
nice free playing site in Lincoln. I will not elaborate on the reasons
why we no longer have a free playing site in Lincoln, as that has been
brought up before.

In 2001, the third longest running adult chess event in the state was
permanently cancelled in North Platte, Nebraska, due to declining
support of players, the costs of continuing to secure playing sites and
the jacking up of the TLA prices over 500% by George DeFeis and Tim
Redman.

On a related note, a tournament held this weekend in Lincoln lost the
principal organizer over $200.00 as the turnout was only 10. There were
more trophies than there were players. This person can ill afford to
lose $200.00 and I suspect this may be his last attempt to organize
adult chess events as well.

This coming weekend an unrated team tournament in Kearney, Nebraska is
expected to draw over 100 players. Let's see, USCF rated tournament
draws 10 and unrated team event in Kearney is expected to draw over
100. Is there a message here about the value of USCF membership? Forty
nine dollars is a killer in this part of the country. What the hell
though, no one gives a rat's anyhow.

Best Regards,

Bruce

Low turnout here too! Sixteen, expected at least thirty for Ghostbusters
2003.

Which way are the fish swimming?

Tom Klem

"Bruce Draney" wrote in message
...
The second longest running adult chess event in the state of Nebraska
will not be held this year. The reason given is apparently cost. The
annual Polar Bear which was run consecutively since 1973 will not be
held for the first time in 30 years.

Lincoln no longer has a free playing site available, and the director
cited costs as the primary factor in deciding to chuck it. This event
was one of Nebraska's most colorful, run by a man who wore shorts no
matter the time of year, he turned it into a fun event where anyone who
wore shorts in the late Fall throughout the tournament would be eligible
for special prizes and a partial refund on the entry fee. We had a very
nice free playing site in Lincoln until last year. Now we do not have a
nice free playing site in Lincoln. I will not elaborate on the reasons
why we no longer have a free playing site in Lincoln, as that has been
brought up before.

In 2001, the third longest running adult chess event in the state was
permanently cancelled in North Platte, Nebraska, due to declining
support of players, the costs of continuing to secure playing sites and
the jacking up of the TLA prices over 500% by George DeFeis and Tim
Redman.

On a related note, a tournament held this weekend in Lincoln lost the
principal organizer over $200.00 as the turnout was only 10. There were
more trophies than there were players. This person can ill afford to
lose $200.00 and I suspect this may be his last attempt to organize
adult chess events as well.

This coming weekend an unrated team tournament in Kearney, Nebraska is
expected to draw over 100 players. Let's see, USCF rated tournament
draws 10 and unrated team event in Kearney is expected to draw over
100. Is there a message here about the value of USCF membership? Forty
nine dollars is a killer in this part of the country. What the hell
though, no one gives a rat's anyhow.

Best Regards,

Bruce

"On a related note, a tournament held this weekend in Lincoln lost the
principal organizer over $200.00 as the turnout was only 10. There were more
trophies than there were players. This person can ill afford to lose $200.00
and I suspect this may be his last attempt to organize
adult chess events as well." (Bruce Draney)
=============
Bruce, Bruce, Bruce,.. don't worry about a thing, lad. Kevin Bachler
assures us the capitalist model is the way to promote chess.
Hey, what's 200 bucks to a chess capitalist, huh? I hear rumors that at
least 75 chess capitalists are gathered in western Iowa just waiting to rush
into Nebraska with fists full of money for chess. It's the 'Merican way. You
know, chess capitalists are really gonna drive adult OTB far in this country.
In a few years chess capitalist will have driven adult chess all the way to
within a 50 mile radius of New York City.

RSHaas

In article , HAASpittle says...


Bruce, Bruce, Bruce,.. don't worry about a thing, lad. Kevin Bachler
assures us the capitalist model is the way to promote chess.


1. You misquote.

2. The socialist model wouldn't have changed anything.

Kevin L. Bachler

Good post. Let's hope someone is listening.

Marty

"On a related note, a tournament held this weekend in Lincoln lost the
principal organizer over $200.00 as the turnout was only 10." (Bruce Draney)
==============
10 players... is that a Frankenswiss in Nebraska?

RSHaas

"On a related note, a tournament held this weekend in Lincoln lost the
principal organizer over $200.00 as the turnout was only 10." (Bruce
Draney)
==============
10 players... is that a Frankenswiss in Nebraska?

RSHaas

You'll laugh but this was actually three tournaments that drew a
total of 10 players. One was the Lincoln City Championship which drew
4 players and the other was the Class and Amateur championships which
drew the other 6.

The organizer made some mistakes in anticipating the turnout. He's
a friend of mine, but unfortunately he's very generous and probably
didn't realize just how bad turnout would be. It didn't help that NU
was playing Texas on network TV on that day, I'm sure.

All of these things are just symptoms of dying adult chess in
Nebraska. Not all of this is USCF's fault, but USCF is mostly
responsible for starving the locals to feed its own insatiable greed
and wasteful spending.

Unrated chess is moving in the opposite direction. Unrated events
now draw over 100. No extra fees to send to New Windsor to waste.
Trophies primarily, low entry fees, no pressure to play for deflated
rating points.

USCF is now mostly irrelevant to all but the children around here.
Don't think of it as a bad thing though, just think of it as a new
business opportunity for Bill Goichberg.

Best Regards,

Bruce

Unrated chess is moving in the opposite direction. Unrated events
now draw over 100. No extra fees to send to New Windsor to waste.
Trophies primarily, low entry fees, no pressure to play for deflated
rating points.

seriously thinking about some non-rated adult events. I've been doing
non-rated kids events.

The events I just held had a complete collapse in attendance from last
year. I have canceled my remaining tournaments and I'm going to try
running some unrated cheap tournies with trophies. Can't do any
worse.
Only problem with this is that it's harder to get the word out without
the standard Ads in the State and National Magazines.


"Tom Klem" wrote in message news:I%opb.107869$Ms2.47729@fed1read03...
Low turnout here too! Sixteen, expected at least thirty for Ghostbusters
2003.

Which way are the fish swimming?

Tom Klem

"Bruce Draney" wrote

Unrated chess is moving in the opposite direction. Unrated events
now draw over 100. No extra fees to send to New Windsor to waste.

Bruce, the only thing I know about Nebraska is: it begins at sea level and
ends at 5000 feet, there's a sheep farm that smells for 10 miles, and the
worst coffee I've ever drunk in my life is made in North Platte. Of the
chess players I know in NJ -- granted most are USCF members -- I would be
amazed if 30 would show up for a nonrated event. If I thought the kinds of
numbers you're talking about were possible I'd travel around the northeast
holding such events for a $13 entry fee and quit my job. If you could get
100 in Nebraska I should get 400 at least in New Haven, Albany,
Philadelphia, etc. Our club holds events in the $10-$15 range and the most
we've ever had was 26.

USCF is now mostly irrelevant to all but the children around here.
Don't think of it as a bad thing though, just think of it as a new
business opportunity for Bill Goichberg.

Your sniping at "big chess" is disappointing on several levels. I've been to
all kinds of tournaments in the past 35 years, from $2 kids' events to
Foxwoods. I play about 50 games a year at a mom and pop club. You simply
can't compare the level of competition, the excitement, and the interest of
a small local tournament with what you find at a CCA event. To give you some
perspective of the difference, the US Amateur East, won by my buddy Steve
Hrop, had only a handful of experts. I've beaten Hrop twice -- ergo, in my
twisted way of thinking, it was a weak tournament.

Second, there is no way to know if anything would fill the void if CCA
ceased holding big tournaments. You'd certainly not draw many titled players
or near-titled players to events with no prizes, no title norms, and no
opportunity to play up. That may not mean anything to A players like us, but
2100-2300 types want to play FMs, IMs, and GMs if they're having a good
tournament. If the only players I ever had the opportunity to play were A
players and below, I'd probably quit. (Although having lost a rated game
tonight in 9 moves I should probably aim my sights lower.)

Finally, you ignore the many positive things Goichberg has done in
three-plus decades of organizing tournaments. For years his scholastic
events spawned most of the great US-born New York area players. He's brought
in thousands of new members. He's paid millions of dollars in prizes. He
runs professional, attractive events in great venues.

Like most people who criticize successful business people you only look at
one half of the equation -- how much they "make." You trivialize the fact
that if they're honest they're providing an equivalent value.

Very warmest regards,

Angelo