Support for Executive Board Candidacy

I announced my candidacy for the USCF Executive Board on the USCF Issues Forum on November 12. I have been a regular reader and poster on that Forum since May 2008. The below excerpts appear in the Forum.

Joe Lux: "You have a long trail of posts on the forum to your credit. I will be proud to collect signatures for your campaign, as you asked. We can certainly use a lawyer on the EB. If you can spend a fraction of your time that you put towards correspondence chess, you will be an active Board member."

Brian Lafferty: "You have my vote."

Bill Brock: "Very impressive and very sensible. You would be an excellent addition to the Board."

Rob Sturgeon: "You have my vote also."

T.P. Griffin: "Agreed. Thanks for stepping up! (Both here, and in Kuwait.) Good luck."

Bill Goichberg: "I look forward to having you join our Board."

Ben Bentrup: "I always love your posts for being down-to-earth, impartial, logical, and helpful. You've done a great job trying to deflate a tense situation. I, too, would be happy to vote for you."

Brian Mottershead: "Not the first time I've agreed with Bill Goichberg, nor probably the last, but when Bill and I can easily agree on something, it means we have a sure winner."

Mike Murray: "I'm climbing on the bandwagon. You have my vote."

Harry Payne: "You can count on my vote, and any support I can give. I will start calling members in Oklahoma, and the surrounding states as soon as it is official. Thank you for your, efforts and willingness to volunteer. Also, your voice and correspondence chess experience needs a place in the Government of the USCF. Good Luck, Just my take on it."

Mark Nibbelin: "Grayson, great candidate statement, a very refreshing change."The "game" begins with the rank and file player who plays in weekend events. These players (for the most part you and me) are critical to raising chess to its highest potential, which certainly includes developing young players who will enjoy the game beyond their school years, and affording the most talented players the opportunity to play full time with minimal distraction. We must present to all a professional, reasonable, and capable leadership if we are to advance chess in the United States and tap into resources, yes, including money, that will allow chess to be viewed as the intellectual pursuit that it is. We don't always have to agree with one another, but we do need to work together to advance the game."We have a ways to go - good luck."

Tim Redman: "I agree that Grayson seems to be a very good candidate."

The Top 20 rated U.S. players in the International Correspondence Chess Federation

1. GM Timm, John C. 68 2642
2. GM Zilberberg, Alik Samulovich 138 2613
3. GM Fleetwood, Daniel M. 249 2578
4. GM Bokar, Dr. Jason 286 2576
5. SM Murray, Tim 79 2567
6. IM duCret, René P. 116 2549
7. GM Duliba, Dr. Edward P. 326 2548
8. SM Ham, Stephen E. 99 2535
9. SM Edwards, Jon 160 2525
10. SM Sergel, Christopher T. 118 2520
11. SM Kubach, Gary L. 220 2511
12. SM Weisskohl, Jerry 140 2511
13. SM Jones, Stephen L. 97 2505
14. SM Parnas, Dr. Anatole 71 2503
15. Schmidt, Randy 38 2501
16. IM Holzmueller, Keith 76 2500
17. SM Ostriker, Jon 108 2493
18. GM Palciauskas, Vytas Victor 218 2488
19. SM Zavanelli, Prof. Max E. 179 2483
20. SM Millstone, Dr. Michael 213 2479

The ICCF is to the USCF for correspondence chess as FIDE is to the USCF for over the board chess. Anyone who is a member of the USCF can play international correspondence chess through the ICCF. ICCF awards the titles of Grandmaster, Senior Master, and International Master. If you want to give it a try and can't figure out how to get started, drop a comment here.

Meeting the English Attack with 6...Ng4

Rather than enter into one of the most analyzed variations of the English Attack versus the Najdorf with 6...e5, many players, including Super GMs, have opted for the completely different game that results from 6...Ng4. There is room for a tremendous amount of original analysis in this variation. See the below game where Carlsen just a few days ago brought out 6...Ng4 against Leko. The annotations are mine, with assistance from Rybka 3.

2009 USCF Absolute--Correspondence Chess

These are the standings of the 2009 USCF Absolute, the USCF's top level correspondence chess tournament, as of today with 9 games remaining. It's a four-player race for first, with David Sogin having the highest potential score. The number in parentheses after each player's score indicates the number of unfinished games. Crosstable.

1 Walters 2158 7.5 (1)
2 SM Brandhorst 2293 7 (0)
3 Ballow 7 (0)
4 Wilson 6.5 (2)
5 O'Hare 2369 6.5 (2)
6 Sogin 2287 6 (3)
7 Anderson 2281 6 (1)
8 Van Enk 2301 5.5 (1)
9 IM Miettinen 2291 5.5 (1)
10 Greene 2295 5.5 (0)
11 Rhodes 3 (0)
12 Poole 2.5 (1)
13 Shipman 2219 0.5 (6)

USCF Special Election for Executive Board 2010

I am running for one of the two open seats on the USCF's Executive Board in the 2010 Special Election. Below is an introductory statement (500 words), and I will post here from time to time on issues that I think are important, as well as on issues of interest to others.

I began playing USCF chess in junior high school in Columbus, Ohio in 1969 and became swept up in Fischer's run to the World Championship. I played throughout high school, tying for first in the Central Ohio School Chess Association (COSCA) championship as a senior (2nd on tie breaks), and playing for the first-seeded team in the state championship. Following high school, I began a military career that took me away from organized chess for years. Although I played casually, and even returned to rated chess during two more quiet stateside military assignments, it was only upon departing the military that I was able to return to chess with a renewed passion. I am currently, in my own words, one of the country's more devout correspondence players. In addition, I use the majority of my vacation time to play in OTB tournaments. Over the past three years, I've played in California (twice), Connecticut, Florida, New York, and Ohio. During this time I have played approximately 120 USCF correspondence games and a similar number of games in the ICCF. I've almost completed the 2009 USCF Absolute tournament, and I'm one of 15 finalists in the 18th United States Correspondence Chess Championship. I have lived in New York, Georgia, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Missouri, and Ohio, as well as in Germany. I have a B.A. from Auburn University in English literature, a Masters from the School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and a law degree from Cornell Law School. I was awarded the Silver Star as an infantry company commander during DESERT STORM in Kuwait. For the past decade I have lived in Cleveland, Ohio where I work as a civil litigator focusing on complex commercial cases. I became drawn deeply into USCF issues off the chessboard upon learning that an Executive Board member had sued the USCF. This appeared so fundamentally detrimental to the USCF that I began reviewing the various cases, and engaging in discussions (as "Grayson") on a wide variety of subjects in the USCF's Issues Forum.

What can I bring to the USCF? I bring a passion for the game. The game must come before personal viewpoints, political power, and pecuniary interests. The "game" begins with the rank and file player who plays in weekend events. These players (for the most part you and me) are critical to raising chess to its highest potential, which certainly includes developing young players who will enjoy the game beyond their school years, and affording the most talented players the opportunity to play full time with minimal distraction. We must present to all a professional, reasonable, and capable leadership if we are to advance chess in the United States and tap into resources, yes, including money, that will allow chess to be viewed as the intellectual pursuit that it is. We don't always have to agree with one another, but we do need to work together to advance the game. I think I can help.

Gary L. Walters