August 17, 2009
The ballots have been counted for election of four members of the US Chess Federation (USCF), and the result is a very strong vote of confidence for Bill Goichberg’s management of the organization. Goichberg has long been a levelheaded promoter of chess tournaments, and it is apparent that USCF members regard him as a businessman with excellent credentials for managing the affairs of the organization. Chess players are themselves specialists at their game and experience has shown that Grandmasters are not necessarily good business executives.
The election of course was held against a background of severe and expensive disputation in the courts. The battle is a tripartite one, among Sam Sloan, Susan Polgar, and Paul Truong (Polgar’s husband) and the USCF executive board, revolving around alleged identity and e-mail theft. Whatever the result in the courts, the Goichberg ticket, consisting of himself, Jim Berry, Ruth Haring, and Mike Atkins carried the day convincingly. A total of 4,379 ballots were received. Berry, a banker from Oklahoma (originally from Massachusetts), who has sponsored many tourneys, led the field with 3,030 votes, 16 more that Goichberg’s 3,014. Haring, an IWM and business woman from California, received 2,952, and Atkins, an active tournament director from Virginia, 2,672. The next closest was Michael Korenman, a chess promoter from Kansas and Chicago, with 822 votes.
It appears that under the Goichberg tutelage, the USCF has managed to avoid falling off the cliff of bankruptcy, though it has often traversed the very edge. The USCF has recently been blessed with legacies of over a half million dollars, but nearly all of it has been spent under Goichberg’s management of litigation costs. As of now, the USCF seems to have ample cash to keep going and probably will save substantial sums by shifting many of its magazine subscriptions to the Internet.
It may also seek a Section 501(c)(3) charitable exemption from the US, which, if granted, will enable it to save some postal charges and permit donors to deduct donations. Many years ago, the USCF was denied this exemption, and the US Chess Trust was created to aid it with respect to chess activities. If the USCF receives a new favorable ruling, the USCF and the trust (which has more than a half million dollars of assets) will be in competition for donations. The USCF will be able to use donations for all of its activities (including litigation), whereas the trust confines its functions to chess charitable donations, most of which are historically sponsored by the USCF.