Small community chess clubs have been over looked with organizers and the federation for years. The federation has been for years talked about the problem with internet chess, in how internet chess has been stealing could be USCF memebers or current USCF members from the ranks of the federation membership. Even in time and with the right conduct of a president, any chess club can and will become alive in a large city. The enjoyment of a large city would have the density of people that can support in time large tournaments; the density that can support the tournaments that senior directors are needed to be the director: with tournaments that meet once per-year with a total population of 70 - 150 players. Large cities like New York City: could support these tournaments once a month if and only if they are organized.
Is it myself or the tournaments are only starting to become only popular, only if the director can find a market that has a population desity to have a tournament that draw in 30 to 100 players. Even with the USCF having around 90,000 members, only a few are active in over-the-board tournaments. With the United States of America having 3,537,441 square miles and a federation population of 90,000 (90,000 / 3,537,441 = 39.3) would be one federation member per 39.3 square miles. That is not taking into the factor of the federation members that do not have or un-able to play over-the-board tournaments. The federation has and only able to keep and hold membership that do play over-the-board chess in the urban areas of the United States.
Anyone that does organize or a director, needs to understand who is in the general area. In a large city a organizer and director can in time build a area chess club. The place to build a club that would have the worst time building one would be in the small cities or small pockets of populations in the nation. With chess players in the nation, with the amount that play chess on the internet has given the empirical evidence. The question is how can or is it willing to start helping build chess not in the urban markets, but the pockets of the nation that even without a major urban city have a small and social chess club.
Knowing chess players that talked and talked and talked till they are blue in their face, over the subject of having a chess tournament close to home. Talking about three or even ten with the same goal of having one. Do know what Mr. Winchester and Mr. Smythe, they will say they are ‘fake tournaments.’ If and only if myself and Mr. Winchester and Mr. Smythe were on the Attu island in the aleution islands, question how long before one of them would say you want to play in a tournament. Just for a small club, if you know members that are looking for a tournament why not become a tournament director and get promission to use someones affiliate to send in the tournament report.
The federation can not change the population density, and knowing that the most depopulated areas of the nation have little chance of having a large tournament. Making it as a joke about the three of us on Attu island, even if we did Anchorage would be one long boat ride to be in a weekend tournament. If you are out there in the middle of sky and ground find some friends and have a tournament.
By “fake tournament” I meant one that was set up for the express purpose of gaining some of the technical requirements for becoming a TD. A tournament would be especially “fake” if it were in format not likely to be seen naturally – such as some guy playing his brother-in-law 10 times. “Fake” has nothing to do with size.
Did give a general interpertation of these stats of the whole population density for the entire country. If and only if the federation does give information dealing with this, making a claim with density and size of each state would not have the data to make a claim.
Would say that New York City have more tournaments then all of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming during a calender year. Even Mr. Karpov understands that the next American to become the next World Champion might not come from the urban city. What would have happen if Robert James Fisher was born and grew up in Little America, Wyoming. It is there, trust me as making a stop at the city in 1992 from my trip out west.
Only had one tournament that was in the TLA. The reason is having most or all the the players will be from the state of Michigan. Going to have a tournament this September 18, 2004 the Jackson Action V and the Jackson Quick Championship on the same day; if you want going to have the Greater Grand Rapids Chess Congress on November 13, 2004, the format is almost finnished for posting in the Michigan Chess Association michess.org Only looking for 15 to 30 players for the tournaments, would be shocked finding someone drive more then 2 hours to my tournaments so if you want please come up. As they are not in the TLA they must be ‘fake tournaments’ as nobody in Alaska or Hawaii would ever read then in the TLA.
The next match with a friend will be called the ‘Winchester - Symthe fake match’.
If having a tournament not in the large urban city, or even in a city that has a large college population: the chance of having a category C tournament are slim. With the population density of the rockey mountain states and Alaska are slim of having in a given year a category C tournament. Even with these states, the tournaments are small and very local in nature. With the small percentage of active USCF members that are tournament directors, with the small population of USCF members these states: would only lead to very few active USCF directors making very few tournaments that only produce very small memberships.
Even if someone from these states did become a tournament director, would take them longer to even meet the experience requirements of a local tournament director; with the small density and the need to have category C tournaments: would make anyone in these states become almost impossible to become a senior tournament director. Even if the data is correct, some of the western states and Alaska have not even had the limited experience requirements just to make one full requirement for one player during a four year period.
Is there a answer to this problem, the capital to spend and the time and engery not even the federation has the capital to answer this question. The only answer is finding that someone, that person that is willing to start a chess club and become a club tournament director and do something.
Very happy in what Mr Karpov has done. Hope that he opens more chess schools in parts of the nation that have very small population.
What the federation needs are more active tournament directors, as there are areas of the nation that do not have any active tournament directors. Leaving Washtenaw County, at this present time there are three senior tournament directors and three local tournament directors.
Moving to Grand Rapids and starting the chess club, with plans of tournaments once a month. The affiliate application has been sent in, talked with a friend (my vice-president) and found a short term place for the chess club. With Grand Rapids with a population of one million people, it is a little strange that tournaments have never been common. The past number of years there has not been any active tournament directors in the area.
The only way the federation can have more growth are having more tournaments. The federation needs to build a tournament directors pool, without this pool of directors, over-the-board chess will start to die out in small populations of the nation, and have pockets of urban areas without any active directors.
The claim that a large cash prize will only bring the stronger chess players: it is a strong argument that stronger players are looking at the first place prize money. With a small local group, with tournaments that bring in between 10 to 15 players: having a tournament with a total prize fund of $500 – could not always bring the players to cover the cost. It looks to be clear, that players are looking for a stronger rating as the means to make money at the tournament; the director looking to get the stronger players, has to give a large cash prize for the players to show up. The weaker players like to come to a tournament to see the stronger players play chess; making the weaker players being the ones that are covering the cost of the prize funding for the stronger players.
The way that chess tournaments are heading: having larger tournaments with larger prize funding. The theory that the larger the prize funding, would draw the players into a tournament. In a case in point, the “Chicago Open” and the “US Amateur North” have in the past been on the same weekend. The “Chicago Open” most of the stronger players and the few of the Class B to Class D players are going. The “US Amateur North” being in Detroit, a city that can draw a large turn out if the prize funding is right.
The federation does not lose any direct money from the event – as the federation is given their name with the awards. The tournament in Detroit has lost money for the organizers for a number of years. Even that it is a national event as it is sponsored by the federation, for the director requirments are waivered so a ‘local tournament director’ is the chief tournament director. The top players for the ‘US Amateur North’ has never been that large: as everyone is after that money in Chicago.
If players are demanding large cash prizes, then the days of a one day weekend event could be in danger. For some reason a player around 1200 to 1800, spending day and weekends over chess: the amount of money for tournament supplies, books and information over the game – just being able to be in one or two large events to chase after the money. Small cities, small states have little chance to bring these large tournaments if the players only show up to chase the huge prize funding. When looking at tournaments with huge entry fees, with huge prize funding, only makes the tournament more of a gambling den then a chess tournament.
If having the capital like Bill Gates, what would happen if having a tournament the same time as the US Open, even in the same city with the same formating. If my total prize fund was one-million-dollars, wounder how many people would show up at the US Open. The chasing of money at tournaments have turned a number of people off, then again tournaments are turing into a gambling den.
