I have not been mailing anything to you. You are not on my mailing list. Probably, you either have a different address or somebody is forwarding my mail to you or you are in a chess discussion group.

I am completely in favor of chess for children. Four of my children are members of the USCF. The majority of all USCF members are either scholastic members or youth members. For this reason, I believe that the USCF should completely re-orient itself in favor of servicing its members, which are primarily children.

I am not opposed to chess grandmasters. Indeed, I encourage them to improve their job skills and to seek suitable employment as dishwashers.

However, you must understand that there is a real problem here. Only 453 members of the USCF are allowed to vote and, among those 453, 222 are life members. The overwhelming majority of all USCF voting members are really really old old people. Yet, these are the people I must get to vote for me so that I can kick them out.

If I could make enough children to vote them out, that might work, but it will take me a while to do that and meanwhile the ballots will be mailed in July.

Another problem: Many candidates claim to be exactly the opposite from what they really are. They used to claim that they were in favor of One Member One Vote, when they were actually opposed. Although they have dropped that pretense, they now claim to be in favor of joining the Internet revolution. Yet, these self styled "revolutionaries" do not have a web site or any Internet presence other than an e-mail address, whereas the average 10th grade high school kid now has a web site.

Right now, I am fighting a mini-battle against an organizer who sold bottled water to the players at the National Elementary School Championship in Arizona last month, because he says it would have been too expensive to have containers of water brought in. He seems to have overlooked the fact that the players paid entry fees and he earned a sizable profit from the event. The event was held outdoors on a hot day.

Among the candidates for election, several want to raise the dues paid by youth and scholastic members so that the kids can pay "their fair share". During this campaign, they have not mentioned this but that was their position before the campaign started.

As to why these candidates would want to charge a little kid more money to join the USCF, they say that it is actually the parents who pay and these parents have lots and lots of money, so they can afford it.

I am opposed to this. I feel that we are already extorting too much money out of the kids. Also, the parents of many children join on impulse. Most child members do not renew. If we charge more, they will think three times before joining.

In answer to your real question, I am hereby giving publicity to your Oak Grove Central Elementary School championship tournament, in Hernando, MS, to be held on Saturday July 24th 1999, by sending this letter to a whole bunch of people.

Sam Sloan

• Why Sam Sloan should be elected to the USCF Executive Board
• Reply to Myron Lieberman
• Jerome Bibuld and the 100 Free Rating Points
• Parr's Election Report
• Happy Talk in the USCF Policy Board Minutes
• Helen Warren letters to the USCF Policy Board
• I have been certified as a candidate for Executive Board of the United States Chess Federation
• Getting Raymond Weinstein out of jail
• The Cat is out of the Bag
• Why we should Reinstate Bobby Fischer.
• Reforming the Chess Rating System
• Answers to USCF Woman's Committee questions to candidates for the USCF Executive Board
• Newsgroup Postings by Tom Dorsch
• Reprimand of Tom Dorsch by USCF Ethics Committee
• Fake letter from "Slam Stone"
• Comment from "Empire Chess"
• Tom Dorsch and the Law of Libel
• 3rd MIND SPORTS OLYMPIAD PRIZE FUND SET AT 100,000 POUNDS
• I was there - National Elementary Phoenix
• Ethics Report is an Outrage
• Why does Parr endorse Dorsch?
• Tim Redman for USCF Executive Board
• The Myth that Scholastic Players are subsidized by Adult Players
• Letter to Bruce Draney
• Apology to Tim Redman
• Does the USCF need a new office?
• The New Windsor Evil
• Scholastic Chess Tournament to be held on Black Sea, Georgia
• Ratings of the Candidates for the USCF Executive Board
• World Chess Rating Lists
• World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer Interviewed over the Radio
• Maurice Ashley makes The New York Times
• Hikaru Nakamura makes master at 10 years, 2 months