FYI Here is the formula for determining your USCF rating floor: (1) Take your highest published rating. (2) Subtract 100 points (3) Round down to the nearest whole thousandth. e.g. If your highest rating was 1999, your rating floor is 1800. If your highest rating was 2001, your rating floor is 1900.

In article , Sam Sloan says... SNIP Articles have been appearing all over the Internet asserting that Albert Einstein was a hoax. I have always been troubled by the thought that any one man, regardless of how brilliant or exceptional, could be head and shoulders above all of the other men of his time. Like Aristotle? Newton? Galileo?

I've been trying to contact the USCF to volunteer my time to help with any computer projects. I normally have been billed out at $100-$250 an hour when I did this back as a consultant, and I'm offering to help for free. Unfortunately I can't seem to get any response. So I've been thinking -- how can I work on a project that helps USCF without any communication back from USCF? I think I've...

Finally, the demise of that most hyped, grandiose, and annoying of chess streaks: Hanken's endless puffery was not enough to keep his trivial "Streak Minor" going, as despite his 2200 (Floored) rating, he failed to finish this US Open with a Plus Score. (He only got 6.0 points from the 12 games he played.) Maybe now he can start a new streak: ending the bombastic and turgid Hanken's Corner, and...

Will anybody who voted for Tim Hanke please speak up? We would like to know why you voted for him, so that we can understand the significance of this election. The chess world has been shocked by the election of Tim Hanke. Nobody, not one person, supported his election campaign. So far, not one person has come forward to say that he voted for Hanke. There have even been suggestions that the...

The listing of the USCF Executive Board on its website is outdated. The new EB members have yet to be posted, including the new president, Beatriz Marinello. The site still shows the old board. George Mirijanian P.S. Yet to be posted is a news release on the U.S. Open, won by GM Shabalov.

I bought this book and like it a lot. The only thing that I don't like is that that there are no photos/pictures of the players. I think having photos would really add to the quality of the book. It would be nice to see what Stenitz, Lasker, Capablanca, and Alekhine looked like as well as their closest rivals such as Nimzovitch and Pillsbury. The book is great historical, reference, and for...

Mike Vick broke his fibula in the 1st qtr against the Ravens. My team is in deep ... uhhh, ..StanBooz, help me out heah, bo.' RSHaas

George Mirijanian mentioned this possibility back on the 7th, but pairings are posted now, giving Kaidanov a 1/2 pt. bye in rd. 12. A draw on board 1 will give him a guaranteed portion of 1st place. On the plus side, Minasian-Shabalov has the possiblity of giving a clear first if it is decisive. David

Dear Chessfriends ! I would like to advert , on the interested chess-tournament for the Malbork Castle Cup. The tournament played is in 20-21 of September 2003 in Malbork in Poland. Malbork then the city , wherein is found greatest in Europe the Gothic Castle, written to UNESCO books, and in these beautiful castle apartments played are games. In the yesteryear in the tournament took off near...

The 2003 U.S. Open in Los Angeles, sponsored by the Southern California Chess Federation, had the following delegates/alternate delegates support the event by either playing or directing. The individuals who participated included DELEGATES Joseph Wagner (Executive Board member) Jerry Hanken (delegate at large) Randy Hough (chief TD) Mike Nagaran

"Matt Nemmers" wrote ... Just out of curiosity and not that I'd like to see them go..... Did Tim Hanke and Beatriz Marinello have to give up their spots on the EB to take over as VP of Finance and President respectively? If so, who took over for them? If not, why? Isn't that a little too much responsibility? Matt,

I didn't think the article poked fun. It was OK...

Heil Dubya! I wonder if a visit to the following website will change the minds of any of our U. S. A. super patriots. http://www.takebackthemedia.com/onearmy.html Heute Uhmuhrikkka, Afghanistan und Irak. Heute Uhmuhrikkka, Afghanistan und Irak. Morgen die ganze Welt!

I have appointed Stan Booz as Chair of both the Finance Committee and the Audit Committee. Stan will pick his own committee members. I have confidence Stan will provide the toughness, common sense, and financial savvy we need in the USCF during these hard times. Tim Hanke USCF Vice President of Finance

I'm assuming that the age old question about accurate and timely reporting of what goes on at USCF Board meetings was tabled due to our annual financial crisis. While the question of whether Board transcripts or tape recordings were better was not resolved, the main point is probably that where there is a genuine willingness to openly communicate, the means will be found to do so. I am greatly...

Perhaps one of the most frequently misused terms at USCF and on this forum is the word, "crisis". Every year it seems that someone points out that we are once again in a financial "crisis". Use of this term dates back to at least 1996 when Dorsch and Eade claimed there was a financial "crisis". At the time this was denied vehemently by their opponents. Then when Redman took over, his...

Of course, despite this- they have invented a rule (using a house-rule end around), that all games must be minimum 15 moves and minimum 1 hour playing. The two GMs who violated this rule were fined the cost of their entry fee. Great Rule and Bravo for sticking to their guns!

In the August 15 edition of Hanken's Corner from the 2003 U.S. Open games bulletins, Jerry Hanken reminisces about his first U.S. Open in Cleveland (Ohio), when he was a "fresh 22-year-old kid from Cincinnati," scoring 6-6. GM Arthur Bisguier, who played in the '57 Open, also remembers the event, referring to it in his remarks in "A brief History of the U.S. Open," found in the 2003 Delegates...

The number of players who competed in the 2003 U.S. Open in Los Angeles should be listed officially as 455 and not 458, as has been posted in several places on the newsgroup. Three players are listed twice in the final standings: GM Edhi Handoko (2529), Neil Regan (1926) and Robert Hughes (1603). All three were re-entries - the only ones in the 12-round tournament. Thus, the official player count...