April 27, 1999
Dear USCF Voter,
I write to announce my
candidacy for the USCF Executive Board. In the fourteen years since my last
service on the Policy Board (1978-1985), many of you have encouraged me to run
again. Those suggestions have been very gratifying to me personally, but time
and again I have demurred, saying simply that I had no new ideas to contribute.
For that is how I see these elections: they provide an open forum for the
discussion of ideas that could benefit chess. Ideas, not personalities.
Why am I running?
About a year ago, over
lunch, another USCF Voter urged me to run for the Board, and once again I made
my usual response—I don’t have any new ideas. Mike Cavallo was with us at that
lunch and he responded quickly: "Actually, that’s not true. There’s
college chess." I had to admit that Mike was right. As many of you know,
over the past several years I have been working to promote the development of
college chess. I’ve had some success at my university, the University of Texas
at Dallas, in convincing the administration to provide academic and competitive
scholarships to chess players. I am fortunate to be teaching at a university
with an enlightened central administration. And USCF administration has been
very receptive to my suggestions of a college team discount and an Internet
National College Chess League. The current Board, particularly President Don
Schultz, college liaison Garrett Scott, and Treasurer Tom Dorsch, as well as
the New Windsor staff, particularly Executive Director Mike Cavallo, Assistant
Directors Beatriz Marinello and Ernie Schlich, and Chess Life Editor Glenn
Peterson, have all been supportive of my ideas for the promotion of college
chess. But I am enough of an old hand (a member of the "La Caissa
Nostra" as one wit has put it) to know that if these efforts are to
thrive, a Board advocate who is directly involved in their design and
implementation is needed. I think there are other areas where I can contribute
as well. So I’m running for the Board in ‘99.
My background and
experience in brief.
I have served chess as the
president of the Illinois Chess Association (twice) and the Ohio Chess
Association (once). I was USCF Vice-President (on the Sperling Board,
1978-1981), USCF President (1981-1984), and Immediate Past President (on the
Doyle Board, 1984-1985). I have chaired the Nominations Committee, the Rules
Committee, and the Ethics Committee, and I am currently chair of the College
Chess Committee. I have been a part of the Federation’s delegation at four
meetings of the FIDE General Assembly. With the help of Gerry Dullea, I edited
the 3rd edition of the Official Rules of Chess (1987). I am an
award-winning journalist and a member of the Chess Journalists of America. Thus
I will bring to the Executive Board expertise in the areas of publishing, FIDE,
USCF Rules, and an historical perspective that will help the Federation during
the current difficult period. I should add that there is another reason for my
running. At a difficult period in my life, chess provided a great refuge and
solace. Whatever service I can offer to chess comes from an ever lively sense
of gratitude for what it gave me then. I am also a player, and was briefly
among the top twenty-five junior players in the country. I still love
tournament chess though I don’t seem to do very well at it anymore.
Professionally, I am a
tenured full professor of literary studies at the University of Texas at
Dallas, a Category I Doctoral Institution that serves as the public honors
university of Texas. I have a second career as an author, and am currently
finishing a biography of the American poet Ezra Pound. The book is under
contract with Henry Holt, Inc. which has provided a $50,000 advance. I have a
New York agent, I am an active member of PEN (the international association of
professional writers), and I occasionally review biography for The Dallas
Morning News. I have been able to use my professional skills and background for
the promotion of chess and in the area of chess and education.
The current USCF financial
crisis.
Late last Fall, USCF
Treasurer Tom Dorsch called the attention of Board colleagues to an alarming
operational deficit. Several of them refused to heed the warning, but Tom
continued to insist that his figures were correct. Last February in New Jersey
at the U.S. Amateur Team East three members of the current Executive Board
(Dorsch, Eade, Lieberman) convened an emergency meeting to address the current
USCF financial crisis. I was scheduled to attend, but a sickout by the American
Airlines Pilots’ Union forced me to change plans: more than one thousand
flights, including my own, were canceled. Many Federation leaders, including
Mike Cavallo, attended the financial workshop that weekend. The Board meeting
never materialized due to a lack of a quorum. The USCF President, though at the
hotel, would not attend, and two other Board Members, Vice President Bill
Goichberg and Member-at-Large Garrett Scott did not come in for the meeting. A
workshop was held instead.
I have received several
different accounts of that workshop, including useful reports by Jim Pechac and
Leroy Dubeck. Although predictions about how the Federation will finish this
fiscal year vary, the consensus among many of our financial experts (Mike Carr,
Tony Cottell, Steve Doyle, Dubeck, Dorsch, and Pechac) is that our situation is
difficult. Dorsch’s predictions have proven correct. At this point, based on
the most recent (March) figures, it appears that we are heading for
approximately a $160,000-170,000 operational loss this year. After adjustments
needed for a bad debt are made by our accountants, the loss may total as much
as $200,000.
A single bad year like that
can be absorbed by an operation the size of the Federation. What is more
disturbing to me is the marked increase in USCF indebtedness that has occurred
in the past two years. We borrowed $175,000 last fiscal year to replenish
inventory and cover operational losses. This year we have a $450,000 note
coming due to cover a greater operational loss. The note must be paid down
entirely to retain the favorable rate of interest, which would mean taking
money temporarily out of Life Member Assets or negotiating a higher rate of
interest with the bank. There is an additional $75,000 due to the bank on a
note that covered the upgrade of our computer system as well as another $15,000
still owed to the system vendor. There is evidence to suggest that some vendor
payments are being delayed by the USCF due to cash flow concerns. This
trend—increasing indebtedness to cover operational losses—must be stopped
immediately.
On the Positive Side
There is an old saying in
economics, "genius is a rising market." A rising market and hefty
profits create the impression of great capability and insight on the part of
management. They also underwrite and conceal a lot of mistakes and transaction
costs. The corollary to that old saying might be "folly is a falling
market." When economic times are tough, an illusion is created of
mismanagement and error while positive operational accomplishments are often
overlooked. In the heat of the current political campaign, it is important not
to fall into the blame game. We need to adopt a more nuanced approach not only
as we assess what problems exist and how we can fix them, but also as we
recognize the positive accomplishments of the current administration.
I have a friend in Italy,
Paolo Ameglio, who owns a seventeenth-century villa in the hills overlooking
the ancient port of Genova. I have stayed with his family many times over the
past thirty years. Every hundred years or so the terra cotta roof needs to be
replaced (they are very durable). A few years ago Paolo was bemoaning the fact
that it was his bad luck to own the family property at a time when the roof
needed fixing. It cost him $250,000 since according to Italian law historic
buildings must be restored using historically accurate materials and
techniques.
The current administration
took over at a time when the roof needed fixing, both literally and
metaphorically. Inventory and infrastructure badly needed upgrading. The roof,
phone system, and computer system were all showing their age. USCF catalog
inventory (books and equipment) was overvalued, outdated, and not selling. To
give just a single, personal example: at the U.S. Open in Alexandria, Virginia
in 1996 I couldn’t find a single thing I wanted to buy in the USCF concession
room. For the first time in my life I left a chess store without buying a
thing. Last month at the National Open in Las Vegas, I spent more than $150:
inventory has definitely been upgraded and chess expertise has been brought to
bear on our merchandise selections. During a time of low interest rates,
inventory improvement was a wise management choice.
I am not terribly worried
by the money spent on the new computer system and other infrastructure upgrades
or repairs. That money represents a necessary investment in operational
efficiency. Further, we need to replenish and update inventory to maintain a
competitive operation. In the days of amazon.com if an item is not available we
may permanently lose a customer. But we simply cannot continue to borrow money
to fund operations.
Immediate needs.
We need to get an accurate
reading of our current situation. At the May Executive Board meeting in New
Windsor, which I will attend, the budget for the next fiscal year will be
presented. In the past few years, budgets have been overly optimistic. Helen
Warren recently told of a Policy Board meeting at which revenue figures were
increased irresponsibly. I was present at that same meeting with Helen
(Somerset, New Jersey, May 1995) where the revenue side of the budget was
unabashedly and openly overestimated. We must stop indulging in wishful
thinking. Mike Cavallo has done a good job at keeping expenses down, but
revenues are also down, due in part to market factors, as Myron Lieberman has
shown in a recent, influential memo. The Internet Chess Club is now the venue
of choice for many players, and people can find attractive prices for books and
equipment at such locations as the World Wide Web Chess Superstore. We will
need to adopt an austerity budget for ‘99-‘00. The fairest way to achieve this
goal is not by singling out one or two programs to cut entirely, but by sharing
the pain by percentage reductions across the board. Candidates in the current
election who do not admit the need for expense reduction are either naive or
disingenuous. Pie-in-the-sky thinking must stop now.
Herman Drenth proposed the
creation of a USCF Finance Task Force at the workshop in New Jersey. The Board
appointed Leroy Dubeck as Chair, with members Mike Carr, Lee LaFrese, and Fred
Townsend. Responding to the urgency of the current situation, the Dubeck Task
Force has completed its work in record time and submitted its recommendations
to the Board. Its suggestions have focused on enhancing revenues and will take
time to implement. Among other things the report stresses the need for an
in-house web site and web master both for play and sales, an online rating
system, an online membership option, and online catalogs and publications. It
also suggests that the Federation take advantage of our competitive
advantage—expertise—and publish its own line of chess books. These ideas are
welcome and I will discuss them in more detail below and in forthcoming
mailings. But in addition to adjusting to the new market climate and new
technology, I wish to consider the larger question of promoting chess, what has
worked for us and what hasn’t.
Promoting chess: an
historical overview.
Unlike Signore Ameglio in
Genova, we do not have to fix things using old methods and materials. We can
innovate. At the same time we can learn from what has worked in the past as we
plan for our future. What follows is a summary of proven ideas for the
promotion of chess.
Phase one: ratings and
regulation.
In my lifetime, the U.S.
Chess Federation has passed through four major phases of growth and
development. The first phase after our founding (in 1939) saw the invention by
Kenneth Harkness of the USCF rating system (later made mathematically rigorous
by Arpad Elo). The Harkness list was first published in 1950. Players in the
early ‘fifties were eager to join the USCF just to get a rating. For the first
time, valid and reliable comparisons of playing strength were made possible
among players across the country without the need for time-consuming regional
and national round robins. The concomitant introduction of the Swiss system
tournament, championed by George Koltanowski (the most successful chess
promoter of the century), allowed larger numbers of players than before to
compete in weekend tournaments. The Swiss system led to an aggressive American
style of play, needed for success in the new tournaments. The cautious European
style bred in round robins, though still necessary in international tournaments,
produced too many draws, fatal in the fast-paced weekend Swiss.
Of course every strength
can create a concomitant weakness. The rating system has been corrupted by the
increase of class prizes to almost ridiculous dimensions. Human nature being
what it is, sandbagging has become so common as to be almost an accepted
practice within the chess community. Does anyone seriously believe any longer
that a player who wins a multi-thousand dollar prize in a B section is really a
B player? At the National Open last month in Las Vegas Mike Cavallo told me
that the Unrated section was being called by some the "foreign
expert" section. In an attempt to curb these abuses, the Federation has
evolved an ever more elaborate system of rules and regulations to prevent them.
I think that by and large this approach, meant to keep the great tournaments
profitable for large organizers, has failed. Competitors no longer believe in
the fairness of class prizes and legitimate class players are discouraged and
no longer compete. No system of rules and regulations will ever keep up with
the human ingenuity employed in circumventing them, so it is time to start
deregulating USCF chess. Of course I do not want to prevent any organizer from
offering large class prizes and developing rules to keep up at least the
appearance of fairness. But an organizer who was willing to limit large class
prizes only to players who had maintained a rating in that class for a period
for three years or more after continuous play might be pleasantly surprised at
how many class players returned to play at the prospect of honest competition.
The Federation has a
legitimate, neutral function that works to our advantage: certifying and
credentialing accurate ratings. A relatively disinterested group such as the
USCF is necessary for chess competition, and we can take advantage of our
historical position as that group. Chess expertise, unbiased oversight of
competitions, and the maintenance of a valid and reliable rating system remain
key strengths of our national organization.
Phase two: the local or
national hero.
The second phase, the one
that most of us remember, was the Fischer phenomenon. Careful international
cultivation and support by USCF leaders such as Dubeck, Edmondson, and Skoff
led to the historic 1972 world championship match and the Fischer boom. The
Federation took calculated advantage of cold war tensions and individual genius
to achieve the greatest membership expansion in its history. Fischer’s triumph
also led to international acceptance of the Elo system which had mathematically
predicted his astonishing victories despite widespread disbelief. The
ratings-driven Swiss system was easily able to accommodate the huge influx of
members.
Alas, this phase had its
weakness too. Genius cannot be replicated and the kind of character that drives
an individual to spectacular intellectual achievement through an obsessive
focus on one activity can also drive the same individual away from that
activity—the psychological investment in success is so great that the
psychological risks of failure become unacceptable to the ego. So the Fischer
boom led to the Fischer bust and USCF spending on the expectation of another
Fischer match led to financial catastrophe. The principle behind the Fischer
phenomenon is still valid—the promotion of chess through a local or national
hero—but the other attractions of our society and the material rewards offered
by other activities (such as becoming a physician, the career path chosen by
Gatta Kamsky), lure many talented players away from the game. I still remember
GM Jim Tarjan’s eloquent speech to the USCF Delegates in Phoenix in 1978. He
described how he had been attracted to chess on the promise that one might make
a decent living from the game during the Fischer boom years, only to find
during the bust years that such was not the case. Jim is now a librarian. The
USCF had not yet found a way to sufficiently reward chess artistry and
excellence, though such a way was to come in the third phase.
Phase three: chess as a
social good.
I place the beginning of
the third phase in 1986 with the foundation of the chess- in-the-schools
program in New York by Fan Adams and Bruce Pandolfini. Certainly there were
scholastic tournaments before then, most notably Bill Goichberg’s important
national program of USCF-rated scholastic events during the ‘sixties and
‘seventies. But the change that came in 1986 represented a different approach
in this country—the systematic cultivation of chess as a social good— that has
gradually gained acceptance, notably in New York, but also in other areas (I am
most familiar with the innovative Warren program in Illinois and the
Dallas-Area-Chess-In-Schools program—a now-independent outgrowth of the New
York Program—for which I serve as board member and educational advisor.).
Of course the educational
benefits of chess have been recognized internationally for some time. I gave a
paper ("Chess as Education:
Character Assassination or
Life of the Mind?") summarizing some of those studies back in the
‘seventies at the Lincoln, Nebraska National Endowment for the Humanities
Conference on Chess. Dr. Robert Ferguson has contributed a great deal to
disseminating these positive results by keeping an up-to-date chess and
education research summary available to anyone interested. The explosion of
anecdotal evidence and rigorous research (most notably the Margolies study) has
convinced many people that chess can provide help for what ails us in this
country, a solution as true for inner-city schools as it is for suburban talented
and gifted programs. We are still in the midst of this exciting new
popularization of chess which has benefited many USCF members by providing
chess teaching jobs for masters and experts paid for by public entities and
private foundations. This new approach offers potentially great benefit to the
USCF. In this regard Rachel Lieberman’s seemingly quixotic efforts to promote
chess as a means of combating teen pregnancy prove to be right on track with a
growing national trend. Phil Inness on the rec.games.chess.politics discussion
group on the Internet eloquently called for the need for chess as a positive
alternative to harmful activities. "It is not enough to ‘just say
no,’" Phil posted. "We have to provide our youth with something they
can say yes to. Chess does that." Chess offers the dual advantage of
promoting intellectual growth, similar to but more durable than the so-called
"Mozart effect," as well as developing increased self-esteem. I am
proud to be a part of a most remarkable group of business people and educators,
Dallas- Area-Chess-In-Schools, that is working to make chess happen in
inner-city Dallas.
I don’t see a downside to
this phase, though chess purists might argue that it will alter the nature of
the game. Perhaps if there is a downside it is that some chess instructors are
fine players but aren’t sufficiently prepared as teachers. Already the teaching
approach to chess that is gaining acceptance de-emphasizes the competitive
nature of the game and emphasizes its problem-solving aspect. Teachers will
tell you that some children are put off by being forced into a win-lose contest
though they can become very engaged with chess intellectually and benefit from
it. I know that my godson (age six) likes to play chess but doesn’t like the
game to proceed to a victory or loss because he isn’t comfortable with that
aspect of the game. I think that chess in the future will be evolving in the
multiple directions called for in Milan Vukcevic’s brilliant keynote speech at
the Hawaii U.S. Open and will embrace problemists, multi- dimensional chess,
bughouse and other new forms of chess, and many other creative activities using
chess as a base.
Wired versus tired.
The fourth phase of chess
development in this country has been the introduction and growth of Internet
chess. Unfortunately, despite frequent admonitions over the years from Myron
Lieberman, despite the Barry board’s direction to the New Windsor staff to
implement an Internet chess presence, despite Bob Holliman’s attempt to include
a $100,000 item for the development of Internet chess at the 1996 Delegates’
meeting (recently reiterated in a campaign mailing), the USCF has lagged behind
both such cutting-edge software such as provided by the Internet Chess Club
(ICC) and even such trailing-edge software provided by the Free Internet Chess
Server (FICS). Just as the Swiss system drove out the round robin and the
weekend Swiss drove out the club chess tournament, so now Internet play is
driving out the weekend Swiss, the current foundation of USCF activity and
success.
I should preface the
following discussion with a disavowal. Although I started computer programming
at my high school in the middle ‘sixties (remember the bad old days of Fortran
IV and punch cards anyone?), I am not a programmer or computer scientist. On
the other hand, within my own field, I have published on the implications of
hypertext and hypermedia, and I address these issues as a post-McCluhan scholar
and critic who is very aware of the impact of various media upon human
activity.
The Federation is making
limited progress in adapting to the new technology. The new National Collegiate
Chess League just finished its first season of Internet matches between
universities and colleges using the ICC. The use of the Internet as a medium for
play seems firmly in the hands of the ICC at this time, but with the near
prospect of increasing speed and bandwidth, the Internet is about to make a
quantum leap and we must be ready for the next jump. A recent issue of
Scientific American (May 1999) called my attention to the development of a
second-generation web language, extensible markup language (XML), completed
early last year by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Although it’s too early
to predict that XML will replace the currently standard HTML (Hypertext Markup
Language), it is clear that something will, and that a necessary investment of
USCF resources, as called for by the Dubeck Task Force, will put us back into
the Internet game. Although I am reluctant to criticize the current administration,
in this particular regard I believe that Tom Dorsch and Bob Holliman, as well
as the Dubeck Task Force, are correct in pointing us again in the direction of
a web presence.
Another approach to the use
of the Internet in providing and promoting chess requires our immediate
attention. That approach involves the use of the Internet as a broadcast
medium. While still in its early stages, the new technology suggests a number
of possibilities for Federation participation and growth. Let’s call it the new
connectivity. You don’t need to be an engineer to see how the new compression
technology, MP3, is changing the music industry, nor do you need to be a
soothsayer to see where the new partnership between AT&T (telephone) and
TCI (cable) will lead. With T-1 connections now increasingly common in
universities and businesses, with "Internet 2" being subscribed to by
most major research universities (including UT-Dallas), and with cable Internet
connections already or soon available in such trial markets as my home city of
Plano, we will soon inhabit a wired world. The fact that this world will be
available only to the economically advantaged gives us an added incentive to
make it also available in inner-city areas through chess-in-the-schools
programs acting with corporate partners. A new commercial consortium headed by
Bill Church is currently working to set up Internet matches between schools and
to broadcast grandmaster competitions around the world via the Internet.
The Synergy Solution
Let’s recap the four phases
of successful chess promotion since 1950. First was the success of the rating
system. The Federation acted to provide an accurate assessment of playing
ability, acting as a guarantor of players’ ratings as a true indicator of their
strength. The success of the Swiss-system tournament led to another kind of
certification, that of tournament directors. Before long I think we will be
certifying chess coaches and chess teachers as well. Thus a legitimate task of
the USCF is to act as a kind of accreditation agency, certifying the legitimacy
of ratings, the fairness and knowledge of tournament directors, and the skill
and preparation of teachers and coaches.
The second phase
dramatically demonstrated the promotional potential in the success of a local
or national hero. The USCF rating system predicted Fischer’s success; Fischer’s
success validated the Elo system now used internationally. The same rating
system can first identify local talent as players move up the competitive
ranks; it can be used to legitimate claims of previous unknowns and allow them
quicker entry into tournaments where they can prove their mettle. The winning
home team or hometown hero will always attract the favorable media attention
that helps promote chess.
The third phase of
successful chess promotion involves the use of chess to promote a social good.
Chess in prisons, chess for talented and gifted students, chess for
economically disadvantaged children in inner cities, and the use of chess to
combat teenage pregnancies, drug use, and after-school crime, all of these
represent promising or proven uses of chess to address the many ills of
contemporary society. These programs are starting to attract widespread
attention and support while at the same time they allow many players to pursue their
love of the game and its beauty while making a living at a chess-related
activity.
The fourth phase will
require that we adopt the new Internet medium.
Inner-city schools can play
Internet matches with suburban schools. The U.S. championship can be broadcast
with commentary over the Internet. USCF-rated play through the adoption of an
Internet membership or enhancement can give instant feedback through a
constantly updated rating. The Internet can provide automatic tournament
sections generated through an electronic organizer/tournament director, and
even helpful automated advice when things go wrong tailored to the players’
rating and linked to a purchase suggestion and automatic shipping. The hardware
cost of an in-house server is not high. The software costs will be more
extensive (I think Bob Holliman’s estimate for both of $100,000 the first year
is correct) but they can no longer be avoided.
All of these four methods
for the promotion of chess have proven their worth and they will continue to be
successful. For our future success, the Federation must focus on activities
that combine two, three, or four of the above proven approaches. This is the
synergy solution.
Other issues, other
programs.
In future mailings I will
expand upon these ideas. I will discuss some pressing issues facing the
Federation at this time, in particular our role in FIDE, and USCF governance
reform—the issue of direct versus indirect election of the Executive Board. I
will update you on the chess program at the University of Texas at Dallas and
its partnership with Dallas-Area-Chess-In-Schools as well as on the increasing
international attention given to chess and education and its future impact upon
the Federation. I will also discuss the USCF’s going into the publishing business
(an idea proposed many years ago by erstwhile Chess Life Editor Burt Hochberg)
and other revenue-enhancing ideas.
I am eager to hear from you
about your concerns. I am most reliably reached by e-mail <redman@utdallas.edu> though I can be reached by telephone between 6:00am and 9:00pm
Central Daylight Time. If you call, leave a message since I screen my calls (I
live in a prosperous area of Dallas and am constantly bombarded by telephone
sales people.). If I am there I will pick up, otherwise I will get back to you.
I also have a fax machine in my home office (972) 596-7517.
The Federation has reached
a crucial point in its history. We must position ourselves now for the new
millennium. I believe this election to be the most important since 1978. You
have and will receive mailings from many candidates. I am sure you will
consider them carefully before you choose our future.
Cordially,
Tim Redman
----------------------------------------------------------
Chess (mostly) curriculum
vitae for Tim Redman
1965
joined the U.S. Chess Federation.
1966
directed my first chess tournament.
1967 interim Executive
Director, Chicago Chess Club. interim Editor, Illinois Chess Bulletin.
1968 Illinois Junior Champion.
1969 Greater Chicago Junior Champion.
Among the top 25 players in the U.S. under
the age of 21.
1970 Lived in Rome, Italy.
1971 Rome.
1972 Became a National Tournament Director.
Co-produced the TV show on the Fischer-Spassky match for WTTW Channel 11 PBS
station in Chicago. Guest host.
Elected Regional
Vice-President, USCF (Midwest).
1973 Co-directed the
record-breaking U.S. Open in Chicago. Member, Pan-American Intercollegiate
Championship University of Chicago team, Atlanta.
1974 Named an International Arbiter of FIDE
1975 Directed the U.S. Open and the U.S.
Closed Championship.
Chair, USCF nominations committee.
1976 Lived in Rome.
1977 Rome.
1978 Elected Vice-President, USCF (three-year
term).
Columnist ("Ask The Masters") Chess
Life.
Columnist ("USCF Commentary")
Illinois Chess Bulletin.
1979 Contributing Editor, Chess Life.
1980 President, Illinois Chess Association.
1981 Elected USCF President (three-year
term).
1984 Chair, USCF Rules Committee.
President, Illinois Chess Association.
[1984-1998: Lecturer, University of
Wisconsin-Parkside (‘84-85).
Instructor, Ohio State
University-Lima Campus (‘85-‘87), Ph.D. in
Comparative Literature, The University of Chicago (‘87), Assistant Professor,
Ohio State-Lima (‘87-‘89)]
1985 Served on Policy Board
as immediate past president.
Received USCF Distinguished
Service Award. 1986 Represented the USCF at the FIDE Congress in Seville to
revise the rules of chess.
1987 Editor, The Rules of
Chess, 3rd edition (New York: David McKay, 1987).
1988 President, Ohio Chess
Association.
1989 Moved to Dallas,
Texas.
[Assistant Professor,
School of Arts and Humanities, The University of Texas at Dallas (‘89-‘91),
Ezra Pound and Italian Fascism (New York:
Cambridge University Press,
1991), Associate Professor (tenured) (91-‘98), Associate Dean and College
Master, School of Arts and Humanities (‘91-‘92), full Professor (‘98).]
1995 Suggested chess
program at UTD.
1996 First chess
scholarships awarded at UTD. Since then we have awarded academic scholarships
that take chess into account, chess teaching chess assistantships, and
scholarships as prizes for the Texas High School Champion, the Texas Grade 12
Champion, the Dallas-Area-Chess-In-Schools Grade 6 Champion, and the top 11th
grade student in the Denker Tournament of High School Champions. Chair, USCF
Ethics Committee.
1997 UTD placed second in Pan American
Intercollegiate.
Elected Chair, USCF College Committee.
Appointed to the Board of the USCF Charitable
Trust. Founding Director, Dallas-Area-Chess-In-Schools (John Jacobs,
President).
Proposed discounted dues
structure for college team members and formation of first National College
Chess League over the Internet.
1998 Chair, ad hoc
Committee to recommend the Executive Director’s compensation to the Executive
Board. Peter Dyson was the other committee member.
Re-elected Chair, USCF
College Committee.
1999 UTD places first in
the first-ever National College Chess League, played over the Internet on ICC.
Chair, ad hoc Committee for
Executive Director compensation (with Peter Dyson).
Candidate for the USCF
Executive Board.