What About the Adults?

Marshall Chess Divan

Today, I was reading a Facebook post about a study on the educational benefits of music  After "liking" the post, I saw that it was from USCF Past President, Ruth Haring.  She added that there should more studies like that on chess.  Somehow that got my dander up, and I want to explain why.  No disrespect to Past President Haring or anyone else is intended.

I've heard talk in some adult chess circles about how the Internet is killing OTB (in person) chess.  I don't believe it!    If anything, the Internet should be helping us get together more!

Fabiano Caruana vs Yury Lapshun

What is really happening is that some of the top organizations that used to be leaders in chess for all ages have made adults second-class citizens.

Its not hard to see why.  The general assumption is that there are more kids, and you can extract more cash from a chess parent than you can extract from a chessplaying adult.



Some of you who have read my other posts have heard about the shenanigans at the Marshall election.  Hopefully the new president will sort it out.  What happened was that some chess teachers and some chess parents conspired with certain board members to control the election.

Pres. Rachlin vs WC Carlsen

Before you jump to any conclusions about me, three of my best friends are fulltime chess teachers.   I would also point out that some of the most that historically some of the most knowledgeable people in chess organizing, such as Carol Jarecki and and Alan Benjamin, are and were chess parents.  The difference is that they took the trouble to master the chess organizing environment instead of coming in, without any knowledge, and trying to tell people what to do.

WC Carlsen vs IM Sturt

I hope the Marshall and the other organizations get things sorted out, but right now, I want to ask a different question:  What were these people who were trying to take over the Marshall thinking?  What does chess mean to them? What justifies their trying to take away something that others need very much and that they don't need at all??  What does chess mean to them?  What does it mean to them?  Is there a logical motive for their actions, or are too many people getting carried away with the hype?

Song of the day:  Teach the Gifted Children (Lou Reed)

Election Speech

Me

For what it is worth, this is my election speech based on the notes I had prepared beforehand.  After a long and difficult meeting, the speech I actually gave was somewhat shorter and less pointed:

My name is Jerry Graham.  If you're new here, and you love to play chess, you've definitely come to the right place.  But I am going to say some things about people who are relatively new running for the board.

We should have a very active board, and we are not a generic organization.  What someone learned in some other field generally will not help you on the board.  What we do is not unimportant.  What we do here is important to many people.

Past President Chagrin

Running the club correctly is not simple.  If you're running it and it seems simple, its either because you're not doing it correctly, or because its actually someone else who is doing it.

The Marshall Chess Club is a community, a local club and an international club.  These functions are interrelated.  Let me give you an example:  When GM Fabiano Caruana and GM Hikaru Nakamura first walked these floors that you walked today, they walked them not as grandmasters, but as children.

GM Hikaru Nakamura vs NM Nagib Gebran

Today our club is at a crossroads.  If I was in charge we would discuss this before voting.  But I am not in charge, so I suggest all interested members meet to discuss this at a later date.


There are always bad results when leaders try to hammer the Marshall Chess Club into something it is not:

River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves

• The Marshall Chess Club is not a business.
• It is not a community service organization.
• It is not an educational organization.
• We are not poor.
• We are not looking for a sugar daddy.
• We are not standing on the corner selling ourselves.
• The members are owners, not customers.
• The board members are our trustees, our fiduciaries, our representatives.
• They are not our bosses.
• The board is not a supposed to be a secret society.
• The board is not supposed to be a gossip club.

My name is Jerry Graham. Thank you and have a great evening!

As Matters Stand at the Marshall

Past President Chagrin

At the end of a very hectic annual meeting, I played some games of chess with Past President Stuart Chagrin.  I also shook hands with Gus, another person I've had disagreements with.  During my match with Stuart, Gus joked that the winner of the match could impose their ideology on the club for the next three years.  Though I won the match, I don't expect to impose my ideology on the club.  No one should.  The club should be run democratically as mandated by law.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about what me and my friends have been trying to do.  What we are demanding is that the club be run in a lawful manner.  I think new president, Mr. Paul Rachlin, understands many of our concerns, and he understands that words are not enough.  He needs to take some action.

President Paul Rachlin vs WCGM Magnus Carlsen

Shortly before the annual meeting we sent a list of allegations to the board and the past president.   As we see it, we have made many previous efforts, of the informal and political kind to get the club back into compliance.  We have never made this list of allegations public, because it is unfortunately not part of an informal or political process, and unfortunately a step in a legal process.


Hopefully Mr. Rachlin will solve many of the problems in the upcoming weeks.  Hopefully my role is winding down, and I will be able to return to the club just to play chess.  There are an infinite number of ways of running the club legally.  While I may throw out suggestions from time to time, I fully understand that the club is run by the board, not by me.

If the problems at the club become a matter for the authorities, they presumably will not be interested in the personalities or philosophies, but in whether the club is doing everything in a legal manner.

The motto of FIDE is Gens una sumus "We are one people".  So the ideas of having a chess community, and of chess bringing different people together are not new.  But to have a community there must be trust.  Only leaders who are fair, honest, and law abiding can maintain an environment of trust.  So let's hope for the best, and let's play chess.

Who should the Ideal Marshall Board Member Be and Why?

Former President Leon Haft

  (opinion)

 

I just wrote this up quickly.  I hope its good.

 

Necessary qualities:

Debt:  There is no reward for joining or serving on the board.  Anyone who seeks anything other than to service the club is self-dealing.  Therefore board service is most appropriate for long-standing members who already owe a debt to the club.  Never put someone on the board because they want to be on the board.  That's always a bad sign.  Put people there who are willing and do not have inappropriate motivations.

 

Archie Waters

Loyalty:  A person demonstrates loyalty by joining the club, paying their dues, playing at the club, and waiting for several years before running for the board.  A loyal person does not disobey or ask for or make exceptions to the dues policies, bylaws, or compliance with government laws.  Loyalty may be demonstrated by serving on committees and other volunteer work before joining the board.  While times change and the most long-standing members are not always correct, it would reasonable to consider the input of longstanding members before making a decision.

Dr. Milton Hanauer

 Enthusiasm:  The person show be enthusiastic not just about chess in general, but about the specific organization.  They should be people who have a reason for being enthusiastic about the organization.  They should see the club as more than a symbol.  They should see it as a working organization which must operate within certain parameters. 

 Respect:  The person should respect the organization not just because of our outward successes, but because we have an operational model that has worked well for over 100 years.  This includes our structure as a membership club for chess and social purposes, our committee structure, and our tradition of mentoring new volunteers until they are experience board members.

Available:  The person does not just need to be available for board meetings.  The must be well informed with respect to all happenings at the club.  They need to have time to research the legal and social environments that the club operates in.

NM John Collins

 Experience:  Experience with the particular organization is important.  That is why long-standing members are better.  Experience in other fields or with other organizations is not as important.


Contact:  Contact with the club is important is as discussed above.  That is the reason for the rules regarding residence (living in the area) prior years members are required for board service.  A board member should really exceed these requirements.

GM William Lombardy

 Representative:  It is incredibly important that board members represent all of the voting members as opposed to unduly representing themselves, each other, and outside organizations.  Ideally each voting member should be represented by exactly one board member.

 Fiduciary:  While other board activities are optional, it is essential for each board member to function as a good fiduciary.  This means being inquisitive:  Finding facts and laws for themselves rather than trusting other board members.

Not Necessary:

 

Howard Stern

Donations:  Donations are generally good things unless there are too many strings are attached.  A good donor will not require a seat on the board.  A good donor loves the organization the way it is, and doesn't see the need to change it.  Of course a good board attracts more donors than a bad one.

Expertise in Other Fields:   Of course we need expertise in other fields, but we can always find expertise among the members.  A good expert doesn't need to be on the board and in general doesn't want to be on the board.

Cooperativeness:  If you have two people who always say the same thing, you only need one of them.  Boards that are too friendly among themselves are often colluding against the members.   Its better to have people who don't like each other and keep each other honest.

Conclusion: 

Martin Shkreli

You might ask how you can get 15 people who meet all of these qualities.  I've always said that you can't, and that a 15 person board is far too large.   In the olden days some would say that a large board helps prevent unfriendly takeovers.  This assumes that all board members are loyal, astute, and upright.  I think its better to have a small number of solid people than a large number of uninterested or corrupt people.  Whether people are nice or not has nothing to do with it.

Justin Beiber and Christian Beadles

I should also add that all members should
participate in governance.   If the club turns into a business, it will no longer be an affordable place for adults to play chess.  Non-profits also have a tendency to drift to where the money is.  That's whats going to happen if long-standing members don't participate in governance.

My Campaign Letter

I have decided to post my Marshall campaign letter publicly. There has been too much secrecy already, and also there are a number of Marshall members I was not able to reach by email.

I've heard that the Inner board wants to make "Marshall Chess Club" a trademark so that I can't use it in the name of my Facebook groups.  This is kind of fuzzy thinking as usual for 3 reasons:

Trademarks are intended for companies that engage in trade.  Due to the Marshall's particular tax-exempt status, it is not permitted to engage in trade.  Technically speaking, "selling" memberships is not trade.  The Marshall is supposed to be a pass-through entity, not a merchant.

Secondly, making a trademark does not prevent others from using the name, as long as they don't misrepresent their goods or services as coming from the trademark owner.   Think store brand over-the-counter medicines.

Once you get away from the dubious ethics of Madison Avenue public relations, there is always some criticism and some praise.  The way to decrease the criticism and increase the praise is to act fairly and ethically.



Here is my letter:

May 11, 2016

Dear fellow Marshall Chess Club member,

I have been a member of the Marshall for the greater part of 45 years.  I first joined as a teenager.   Generally, I paid my dues even when too busy to attend.  I first joined the Board of Governors at the age of 21, being the youngest person to ever be elected.  I have served as treasurer and vice-president. Somewhat more recently, I co-sponsored a round-robin
international and a lecture series at the Marshall.

Until recent years, I enjoyed the club’s family-like atmosphere.  By family-like, I do not mean small. What  I mean is the matter of trust.  Just in the last few years, some feel that our trust is being violated. For example:  

1. Steve’s tournaments were thrown out after many years of his generous and masterful service;  2.  Sophia, who is one of the most experienced tournament directors and arbiters in the US was almost not allowed to join.  3. The prizes in the Thursday Night tournament were raised in order to compete with Steve’s tournaments at the New Yorker, to put him out of business. Now that he is out of business, the prizes have been lowered to an all-time low.


The Marshall is a membership club.  That is not just an opinion.  It is the legal status under which every donation and every instance of volunteer work has occurred, including the original donation of the building by GM Marshall’s patrons. Membership club status is also the tax-exempt status the club’s leaders agree to every time they file the club’s annual IRS return.

 

By law, a tax-exempt membership club is not a business or a public service organization.  It is not owned by the public.  It is owned by the members. That would good for most of us, if it was respected.  The club is NOT the property of the Board. to the exclusion of other members.

 

I have filed a petition to run for the Board of Governors in the upcoming election on June 14th.  I have been endorsed by three past presidents: Marianna and Douglas Bellizzi, and Howard Prince.   If you disagree with me, or see things differently, I will not ask for your vote.

If you are willing to vote for me, that is unfortunately not enough. Members must play an ongoing role in the club’s governance.   If you support my candidacy, please let me know right away.  If I do not have sufficient support in advance, I will withdraw and bow out.

Sincerely yours, Jeremy Graham, MS, MSEd

Website: www.jchess.nyc

Thinking Ahead to the Election (added to 4/27)

My platform consists entirely of operating the Marshall as a non-commercial membership club.

Clubs are formed by people with a common interest, other than running a businesses, in our case chess.  When the club became large enough to have bank accounts and own property, it filed with the State of New York and the federal government to become tax exempt.  The conditions of the tax exemption is that it is not a business.  It cannot be a business or operate a business.  It also must exist solely to serve the members.  It is not a public service organization.

A common problem in many non-profit organizations is mission drift.  The organizations change their mission in order to increase revenue.  In the case of the Marshall, that means a trend towards serving the booming children's market and ignoring adults.  This defeats the purpose for which the club was formed and endowed, and was maintained for a hundred years.  The problem is not children learning chess.  Chessplayers of all ages have always been mentioned at the Marshall.   The problem is the new commercial focus.

The idea of a private club is not to unduly exclude people.  Anyone with a love of chess, who is peaceful and law abiding should be welcome to join.  A private club does not have to be small or poor or boring. The goal is to achieve a family-like atmosphere, which also requires fair and transparent governance.

Maybe its too late for the Marshall. Let us consider whether there is a lesson that pertains to the larger world.  Money is important, but it isn't all important.  As for superficial image, it is worth nothing.  People who think too much in terms of money and/or image aren't going to change and they aren't going to give you a break.  If you don't oppose them wholeheartedly from the very beginning, you will end up with nothing.  

RIP Canadian Open Championship by GM Kevin Spraggett (reposted by permission)

The following is from the blog of GM Kevin Spraggett and is reposted by permission.  Apparently the Canadian Chess Federation is changing its mission away from serving adult players, the same as the USCF and the Marshall Chess Club are.  The yellow highlights were added by me, all else is from GM Spraggett:

RIP: Canadian Open Championship (1956-2014)

CFC  KILLS CHESS TRADITION 

For my readers (Canadian and international) who were wondering about the 2015 edition of Canada’s most PRESTIGIOUS tournament, I have sad news.  Not only has the 2015 Canadian Open been cancelled, but it is unlikely to be resurrected in coming years.  The present mind-set of the CFC executive is to concentrate on junior chess and slowly (quickly!) phase out adult chess.

CFC president Vladimir Drkulec

The writing was on the wall for some time now, but few wanted to believe it. Despite a well documented decline in adult membership in the CFC since 2007, and calls to organize a membership drive to remedy the situation, the CFC refused to act. Adult membership levels are now 50% of normal levels.  All funding of adult-programs have been eliminated.

 

In the past year, the CFC executive has NOT organized the Women’s Championship, which would have qualified a Canadian women to participate in the FIDE world championship knock-out tournament.  Nor has there been a Canadian Men’s Championship in 3 years.  

Nor did the CFC send any representative to the 2014 World Junior. Nor did the CFC send any representative to the 2014 American Continental in Brazil last year.  INSTEAD, only under-18 junior events are planned and scheduled.

 

The problem facing the CFC is NOT financial. In the words of the CFC president, Vlad Druklec, the CFC has ‘lots’ of money.  In his opinion the CFC has just come off of an ‘excellent’ year!  This contrasts to the reality that the Canadian chess community is experiencing: in recent years almost all of the skilled volunteers of the CFC have left.  The Federal government has revoked the CFC’s tax status. The province of Saskatchewan has withdrawn its chess association from the CFC. Virtually all of Canada’s top players have withdrawn from playing in Canada.

 

INSTEAD, the CFC is today run by bitter middle-aged club amateurs and junior-chess  organizers. The downward spiral seems to have gone beyond the point of no return.  At last week’s online meeting of the CFC, the only topic discussed was the passing of a new resolution to double the number of tournaments that Canada’s top players must play in before being considered for the National Team.

 

Given that most of Canada’s top players DO NOT even meet the old number of tournaments, it is thought that the CFC is trying to eliminate adults from the National Team.  If so, soon we can expect Canada to field the WEAKEST National Team in the world.

More On 501(c)(7)

You're a chessplayer, so I know you can deal with something technical.

The Marshall Chess Club is a 501(c)(7) organization.  That means a membership club.  The legal theory is that the member have pooled their resources for a purpose other than conducting a business.  I believe that the club being established as a membership club establishes a contract, not only with the IRS, but with all donors, volunteers and members.  Funds and work provided for one purpose should not be appropriated for a different purpose.

The Marshall was not always a 501(c)(7), but that is only because there was a prior code of laws that said the same thing.  This classification was used for exclusive clubs, such as "gentleman's clubs" and country clubs.

Unlike other such clubs, the Marshall, has had women members, and even a women leader (Carolyn Marshall) from the very beginning.  It had gay members since the very beginning.  I don't know whether it had African American members from the very beginning, but it certainly had them long before I first joined.  When I joined Archie Waters was a member and Roy Barker was on the board.

Teaching chess was not a major purpose of the original Marshall Chess Club, but of course its a very important part of the chess world today.  So the chess teaching should continue, but having the commercial element govern our club is incorrect.

There always have been national and international tournaments at the Marshall, and now that there is a great concentration of  master and above players in the NYC area, there should be even more of them.  But they should be more oriented towards members.  Members should have the right to play in them based on their qualifications, not whether they are political favorites.

If we asked hypothetically whether the Marshall could do more as a business or public service organization, we should not underestimate the tremendous benefit that Marshall has provided over the years as a place to play chess and to socialize.  We are quite unique in this role, while there are other organizations for other purposes.  "Going where the money is" is a typical problem with npn-profit organizations known as "mission drift".

There was one governor in the old days who used to say that a mission statement is a "yuppie thing".  Actually its not.  For a non-profit, aside from it being a moral obligation, it is a required part of the documents that exist in order for us to own property and have bank accounts.

One difference between a business and a non-profit is that a business should do what makes money.  A non-profit is meant to fill in gaps in terms of providing services that people want, but are not profitable.   The knee-jerk interpretation of economic theory, saying there is no such thing,  flies in the face of a hundred years of history.

The question has been raised as to whether a 501(c)(7) can be transformed into a 501(c)(3).  That actually happened with the Manhattan Chess Club, but it wasn't a major issue because the Manhattan had very little property.

When a 501(c)(7) is dissolved, its assets must be distributed to the members, because that's who owns it.  When a 501(c)(3) dissolves, its assets must go to another 501(c)(3) because it is owned by the public.  Therefore converting a 501(c)(7) to a 501(c)(3) is a form of theft, and is therefore immoral and illegal.   I don't even think it would be legal for the majority to vote to change it to a 501(c)(3) without distributing the shares of equity to those members who desired it.

It is also a form of theft to ban a member from the club without a legitimate purpose.  The board is empowered to remove someone who is adverse to the interests of the club.  But conveniently the board interprets the club and the present board as one and the same.  I don't even consider the board as an institution to be one and the same with the present board.  I was on the Marshall Chess Club Board of Governors before ANY of them were.

This is a rogue board.  The need to show some respect to the law, which corresponds with conditions under which the club first received its property.  They also need to refrain from making patently false statements about members and prospective members at their meetings and in their official communications.

The truth will win out.

Update On Building

President Stuart Chagrin

I have withdrawn the earlier post to avoid unnecessary confusion.

There has been a veil of secrecy over all of the board's actions, and of the actions that have come to light, some are quite bizarre.  But fortunately the worst threat has not come to pass.
 
President Chagrin says there is no plan to sell the building, but there was a proposal involving Mr. Morden.  It may have happened a long time ago, and due to the board's lack of disclosure, rumors are only starting to surface now.  However,  I applaud President Chagrin and his colleagues on their good decision rejecting Mr. Morden's proposal. 

Stuart Morden

At the same time, the board has refused to put any safeguards into place.  I urge that at this time a safeguard should be put into place so that the building cannot be sold or substantially mortgaged without the expressed consent of say 2/3 of the voting members.  I also call upon the board to keep interested members informed. Its our club too!   The club is not the boards private property, so  many of the things they are trying to keep secret they shouldn't be doing in the first place.  Voting members are interested parties.  We shouldn't need espionage to try to find out what is happening with our jointly owned club.

Jon Jacobs on Scholastic Chess (reposted with permission)

I have had time to go through this with a fine tooth comb, but clearly Jon is saying some of the things that I've been thinking in a less organized fashion.  The legalese is that except where noted, Jon does not endorse my various comments, and I don't necessarily endorse all of his.  As he says, he goes a little beyond where I would go:

Jon Jacobs A thousand likes, as the saying goes. I've been warning for years about the withering away of any nurturing of or interest in adult chess -- especially by the USCF (which in abandoning chess promotion on behalf of anyone but kids, has abdicated its primary reason for existing), but also by the news media and many other institutions of muggle (non-chess) society.

I go beyond Graham Ari Jeremy in that I maintain that kids' chess constitutes a fraud in an economic sense. Maybe 1/2 of it is real in a chessboard sense - meaning, that's how many entrants in kids' chess tournaments play legal moves 100% of the time, as required by USCF rules and bylaws governing TD certifications. In an economic sense, however, even the minority of scholastic chess players who actually learn how to play chess, are more like an accounting fraud than a real asset of the USCF. That's because USCF regularly reports "membership" numbers that count real paying members (aka adults) and scholastic "members" as 1 person each... But the scholastic "members", who comprise more than 80% of total reported USCF membership, don't actually "belong" to the USCF, or to the chess community, in any real sense. Rather, all those kids are a captive audience: required to take chess classes by their public (or private) elementary schools, they become USCF members (probably paid for by their schools, in many cases) only so long as they remain in that school chess program. After they age out of it, they cease all involvement in chess.

In the course of restructuring its activities over the past 20 years or so to cater almost exclusively to children's' chess, the USCF has gradually withdrawn most of the attention and support it once provided to real chess, at both the professional and amateur levels. Support for professional chess now comes primarily from private donors and for-profit organizers; while amateur adult chess has been left with no backing at all, beyond occasional coverage in Chess Life.

Why did they go this route? Because it's where the money is. Even though neither the USCF nor individual tournaments get financial support from the US or local governments, taxpayer funding nevertheless now supports the careers of perhaps thousands of chess teachers, via public school chess programs. Some time in the late 1980s, a turning point was reached in convincing school authorities that all kids should be taught to play chess. A great many people in the chess community who seek to earn a living from chess found this to be the answer to their long-deferred dreams. And those people, although a minority of adult chess players, tend to be more active than most, in the USCF and other chess organizations. So that is how it went down.

Four Eras and 501(c)(3)

The Goldwater era often denigrated, I think by those who were not real chessplayers.  Goldwater's vision for the club was that chessplayers would come in, play chess, and leave.  There was also alot of socializing.  No one thought of chess as an educational activity in those days.   So what more could a chessplayer want?

A big blow to the club was how Goichberg was invited in to sponsor tournaments and then later he was thrown out.   As much as I liked Goichberg's tournaments, I don't think this was the correct move.  The Marshall had one style and Goichberg had another.  So I think these mistakes dealt a severe blow to the Marshall.

If I had known then what I know now, I would have suggested that board disclose the financial situation and underscore how all existing members should bring in new members to keep the club solid financially.

During the Haft era the club was very lively and there were many internationals, thanks in part to Eric Schiller, Erik Moskow, and Richard Gross.  GM Maurice Ashley and IM Josh Waitzskin were among the participants.   One question I don't think was ever answered was whether Leon borrowed money against the building to fund the internationals.

 It seems that sometimes when a new regime takes over, all the records from past regimes disappear.  It is really important for each regime to disclose what they are doing so that later regimes can learn from there experiences.  It is extremely important to do things by the book, so that you can disclose what you are doing.  One great thing that Leon did which isn't widely remembered is that he joined two of the apartments in the building into one, thus ending rent stabilization.

During the Prince era there started to be major discussion about 501(c)(3), tax deductible public service status.  I'm trying to think of the motivations at the time.  This was still well before the big chess teaching boom.  I think alot of it was due to a misunderstanding of how great the club already was and what an important role it was already playing in many people lives.

There was a bit of financial pressure, due to a poorly timed dues increase, but I still think the best solution would have been do more of what we were already doing.  I think there was a certain amount of scheming going on.  One or too people wanted to "sell" the club in the same manner that the Manhattan was sold to Adams and Kossak.

Now the club has gone full throttle on the 501(c)(3).  You know there was talk about how 501(c)(3) would bring us more internationals.  How many round robin internationals has the club had in the last six years? Is it two or is it three?  One of the tournaments had the unusual advent of a norm being denied because of a pre-arranged draw.   The most recent Swiss international was not superswiss (meaning fewer norms possible) probably due to organizational considerations rather than lack of funds.  Not enough foreign players.

The club is increasingly become a place for elitist rich people (and I am not saying all rich people are elitist), wannabees, and their hangers on to pat eachother on the back.    While there is still some chess going on, political games have fully replaced sound management.  Behind the scenes there are problems which are going to be detrimental.

Recently some people, including some who are supposed to be my friends have accused me of lying because I want to be president.  Actually I offered to be president, and I still don't think I would be one of the worst choices.  No one in their right mind would *want* to be president at stage of the game.  Someone would have to be pretty crazy or pretty stupid.  The best you can hope for is someone with a strong sense of obligations,  and I quite happy that there is extremely little chance it will be me.

The Women of the Marshall Chess Club

Karff -  Rivero

Heh, if you thought there were going to be pictures of young women with their breasts hanging out, I am sorry to disappoint you.  You should know me better than that.  Actually I can't do justice to all of the strong women chessplayers who frequented the Marshall Chess Club.  I know next to nothing about chess.  I can just tell you that the Marshall was long a major centre of women's chess.  As usual I mostly know about the administrators.  Even there I could use some more information.


I know that Mona Karff provided an endowment which lasts until today, to fund the Edward Lasker Memorial Tournament (Marshall Club Championship).

Caroline Marshall

As much as I can determine, Caroline Marshall was the first female administrator.   Frank seemed to be more into playing than administering.  The minutes of the board meetings suggest to me that Mrs. Marshall was actually the most powerful leader in the club, but there was a kind of give and take in those days.  Of course, in those days some of the board members still owned shares of the building.  Now the shares in the building are owned by the club.

Unfortunately only a few stories about her remain.  It was she who conferred special full member status on GMs Lombardy and Mednis.  She brought Peter Sepulveda on to the board.  He was the youngest board member at that time, and probably is the longest serving one.  One other very prominent club member, I won't say who, remembers Mrs. Marshall yelling at him to pick up the pieces.  Is that all we can remember about one of our founders?

Mary Bain who tied with Kathryn Slater

During most of the Goldwater years, the operations of the club were really run by Kathryn and Bill Slater.   Kathryn was one of the top women's players of her day, and Bill was also pretty strong.  She was the club's Secretary and Treasurer.  Ginny D'Amico (now Ginny Hoffmann) also worked at the club in those days.  Kathryn worked at a bank and she didn't take any bullshit.  My first impression of her was that she was too grumpy and authoritarian.  Of course in a later stage of life, I realize that its the person who is friendly all the time or who seems friendly all the time, who are always causing confusion and animosity by promising or seeming to promise what he will not deliver.

WCGM Carlsen

Betty Trahim Seminara was night manager after Joe Pandolfini (Bruce's stepfather) before IM Jay Bonin.  The club was pleasant when she was there.  She always seemed to know what the young people were up to, but she let us do it anyway.  I believe she was present for Fischer's last televised interview in New York, which was conducted at the chesstable in the South East corner of the great hall.  Its the same place where GM Magnus Carlsen sat, and the same bench, but a different table.  They threw the table out.

WIM Dolly Teasley was a US Women's Champion and a long time Governor of the club.  I think that like me, she like the non-commercial atmosphere of a membership club.  She was the kind

WIM Rachel Crotto

of Governor the club would always count on in a fight.  The club some strategical issues even in those days.  Fortunately the good guys won out for a long time.  Another US Women's Champion who was good friends in the olden days was WIM Rachael Crotto.

Marianna Bellizzi, was a very active president, and deserves a lot of the credit for bringing the club out of the post-Goldwater slump.   I think she is the only female president of either the Marshall or the Manhattan.  Not only were she and her husband Doug presidents of the two respective clubs at the same time, but they are the only married couple where both spouses were presidents of the Marshall.  It was during Marianna's presidency that FM Brian McCarthy brought in Marshall Gambit the Cat.

Polly Wright

IA Sophia was an active volunteer through many presidencies.   Polly Wright goes back to the 80s, when Goichberg ran tournaments at the club.  She was also more recently a Governor and left when Steve got kicked out.  She runs the Robert Peretz Chess Club in Scarsdale.  I also went to mention Adia Onyango, who runs the Kingsman Club in Brooklyn.  The Kingsmen go back even longer than me.  There are currently two women on the board:  Long-time board member Sandra Oliver and FIDE Vice President WIM Beatriz Marinello.


I am not going to say much about the many women in chess organization who are contemporary.  If you think about it, its obvious who they are and how much they contribute.  So they are no less important.  I just want to talk about who kept things going in the olden days.

Adult vs Children's Chess

Young Magnus Carlsen

Every game is an adventure, and I think that's why we all like it.  Age, background, socioeconomic status or disability don't matter.  What we look for in an opponent is someone of similar strength.

Josh Waitzkin (Right)

Chess is a social activity.  I was going to say its especially good for a shy person, or for a stranger in a strange land, but instead I'll recommend it without reservation.  I've met people in chess I've been friends with for decades.  As for meeting a future spouse or whatever, its happened for a few people.  I don't particularly recommend it for that.

Sukkot Booth

Chess is used educationally because children like it, and it can be used to develop certain processes or characteristics.  So the child is not just enjoying the adventure, but is also preparing for quests of real life.  Some items that come to mind immediately:


1. Observing a problem in its entirety
2. Analyzing it thoroughly
3. Analyzing contemplatively
4. Using logic
5. Using intuition and creativity
6. Using experience
7. Learning from others
8. Observing time limits
9. Patience and persistance

As an older adult, I use chess for one other purpose, which is self-assessment.  To see if I'm sharp on a particular day, and to observe what makes me more or less sharp.  I don't recommend chess as an assessment too for children.  Firstly they're being assessed too much already. Secondly it works for me because I have a certain amount of self-knowledge built up over the years, and I am doing it for myself as opposed to someone else.

Upcoming Bruce Bowyer Tournament

Here is the announcement from Pat Bowyer.  For now I think I'll just add a few pictures from last years event:

Ted, Nick, Kevin, and Tony

  

Announcing 17th Annual 

Bruce Bowyer Memorial 

Chess Tournaments!!!

Coming in April!!

Ron, Peter, Steve, and Ted

We are happy to announce the 17th year of this beloved event in honor of my late brother Bruce.  We’ve moved again, and this year we’ll be at that fabulous Beaux Arts landmark, the New York Estonian House. Please come join us for the friendliest chess event in all of NYC, and step up to compete with some of the finest chess players on the planet!  Hey to all our chess-lovin’ friends out there—It’s that time again! Thanks to the continued generosity and loyalty of our sponsor, https://www.roycefunds.com/Looking forward to seeing you all again this year!
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APR. 9 17th Annual Bruce Bowyer Memorial
TROPHIES PLUS $$ & GRAND PRIX POINTS: 15 (ENHANCED)
4SS, G/45 d10. **NEW LOCATION!** ESTONIAN HOUSE,
43 East 34th Street between Second and Third Avenues. 212.684.0336.

Estonia House

~ and ~
APR. 10 17th Annual Bruce Bowyer Memorial
SCHOLASTIC Tournament
TROPHIES PLUS CASH!! 5SS, G/30 d10. Open to all students thru grade 12. EF: $10
** NEW LOCATION!! *** ESTONIAN HOUSE, 243 East 34th Street between Second and Third Avenues. 212.684.0336.
See the USCF website for further information, more details & registration info will be posted here soon:
http://www.uschess.org/tlas/upcoming.php?STATE=NY

Bruce Bowyer

Scott, Mike, Jay, Yefrem, Peter

Robert vs Leif

Pat and Jay

Pat and Alex

Pat and Rich