26 Dec-1998
Some details of the team match between American Postal Chess Tournaments (APCT) and All Services Postal Chess Club (ASPCC) are given below. It should be noted that due to unreported problems one board was dropped and the competition was on 29 boards, two games per board. All but four games are now reported as finished with the following result:

It's no surprise that the National Champion APCT team, playing with many of their strongest members, won this event. Personally, I consider it impressive that ASPCC was so competitive, maintaining their winning chances right to the end. This was in spite of losing four games by withdrawal (one player withdrew after a change in prison rules affecting his play).

Thanks to ASPCC Team Captain Kristo Miettinen for the up-to-date results. It was a fine match and a good opportunity for both APCT (to demonstrate their championship stature by competing against a strong organization not included in the NTC-1 competition) and for ASPCC (to demonstrate their club strength by competing with the best). Congratulations to all involved in this outstanding competition!

15 Dec-1998
In February 1997 the 30-board match between APCT and ASPCC got underway. The APCT organization is the standing national team champion of the USA (see my NTC-1 Tournament Report for full coverage). ASPCC wasn't included in that competition. This match, then, presented a chance for ASPCC to test its strength by going head to head with the National Team Champs. How would they perform? ... would ASPCC be swept off the boards and lose by an overwhelming margin or would they put up a good fight?

I must congratulate ASPCC (All Service Postal Chess Club) and their team captain Kristo Miettinen on a very credible performance! At this time my best information is that they are losing the match by a quite small margin and even still have mathematical chances to pull out a win. You can check the match standings at the ASPCC Website by following their link to "Ongoing Crosstables."

Another big attraction of this team match for me was the key matchup on board one of top APCT player and USA Champion Jon Edwards and the ASPCC top gun John Penquite, well known as one of the elite USA cc competitors. The first result of their two games was a very interesting draw, previously reported here (see News & Commentary for 4-Sept-1998 ). The second result is just in. Following is Penquite's fine win with Black:

[Event "?"]
[Site "APCT-ASPCC bd. 1"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Edwards, Jon"]
[Black "Penquite, John"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B87/10"]
[PlyCount "116"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 b5 8. O-O Be7 9. Qf3 Qc7 10. Qg3 O-O 11. Re1 b4 12. Na4 Bd7 13. c3 Bxa4 14. Bxa4 bxc3 15. bxc3 Rc8 16. Bh6 Bf8 17. Re3 Nbd7 18. Rae1 Qa5 19. Bb3 Nh5 20. Qh3 gxh6 21. Nxe6 Ndf6 22. g4 Ng7 23. Nxf8 Rxf8 24. e5 dxe5 25. Rf3 Qd8 26. Qh4 Nfe8 27. Qxh6 Qd6 28. Qxd6 Nxd6 29. Rxe5 Ra7 30. Rd3 Re8 31. Red5 Re1+ 32. Kg2 Nde8 33. f3 Rae7 34. Kg3 R7e2 35. Rd1 Ne6 36. Bc4 Rxd1 37. Rxd1 Rc2 38. Bxa6 N8c7 39. Bb7 Nb5 40. f4 Nxc3 41. Ra1 Ne2+ 42. Kf3 N2xf4 43. a4 Rc3+ 44. Kf2 Nd3+ 45. Kg1 Rc7 46. Be4 Nec5 47. Bg2 Ra7 48. a5 Nb3 49. Ra3 Ndc5 50. Bd5 Rxa5 51. Rxb3 Nxb3 52. Bxb3 Rb5 53. Bc4 Rb2 54. h3 Kg7 55. Bd5 Kf6 56. h4 h6 57. Bc4 Rd2 58. Kh1 Rd4 0-1

8 Dec-1998
Due to overall reductions in the magazine, the popular Chess Life column "Check is in the Mail" by Alex Dunne will be reduced to a single page in the future. Though I've been a frequent critic of USCF for its lack of service to the cc community, I do appreciate this one column. I have little doubt that Alex Dunne produces the most influential cc writing in the USA. Chess Life circulation is much larger than that of the magazines produced by the true cc organizations, such as APCT and CCLA. Even if I read nothing else in my monthly issue, I never skip this entertaining and informative column. Alex Dunne is clearly the "Super Star" of cc journalism in the USA.

When I heard of the reduction in my favorite cc column I fired off emails to various USCF officials in an attempt to find out why USCF was reducing the one feature provided specifically for correspondence chess players. CL Editor Glenn Petersen wrote that he had been asked to reduce the average number of pages in CL from 84 to 76. USCF President Don Schultz confirmed that the magazine would be cut by 8 pages. The reason given for the cuts is the reduced number of regular adult USCF memberships (which means less income), so this is a cost-cutting action. Petersen assured me that the reduction was being applied across the board and was not focused on reducing cc coverage.

Let's hope that the USCF membership rebounds soon and that Dunne will be given additional space. In the meanwhile, Alex Dunne will have to squeeze as much as possible into a single page. As is usual, if we want a wide variety of cc coverage we'll have to continue as we have done in the past by subscribing to a true correspondence chess magazine.

I would like to balance my obvious bias against the USCF cc program by repeating the following comments from USCF cc guru Joan DuBois:

In the past year or so we have increased our focus on USCF's Correspondence Chess program.

1. We decreased all of the 1997 entry fees but kept all prizes the same.
2. I have been working for almost a year now with a computer programmer to expand our tournament pairing program. By early 1999 I expect to be announcing the new options.
3. We have been announcing a new e-mail quad for USCF and ICC members which will begin soon.
4. With a new in-house computer system expected to be in place early 1999, Mike and I have already begun discussing ideas to expand services to our members who play CC.
5. Already offered a new thematic event, Smith-Morra Gambit.

Joan added, "I'm delighted with the improved focus on CC since Mike Cavallo [USCF Executive Director] has been on board. I'm extremely enthusiastic about our plans for the future for the USCF members who enjoy correspondence chess."

19-Nov-1998
Today the following statement was released:

We wish to announce the move of "Ralph Marconi's Chess Page" to correspondencechess.com. This website joins those of John Knudsen and J. Franklin Campbell at the correspondencechess.com host. This move will expand the potential for future growth of "Ralph Marconi's Chess Page" by increasing disk space and eliminating the restrictions that are part of so many hosts. Note that all three websites will remain distinct and independent. However, by joining forces at a single host all three websites will be strengthened and together we will pursue the goal of building the finest home for correspondence chess information on the Internet.

The new URL for Ralph Marconi's Chess Page is:

http://correspondencechess.com/marconi/

Please update your links and bookmarks accordingly.

(signed)
Ralph Marconi (Ralph Marconi's Chess Page)
J. Franklin Campbell (The Campbell Report)
John Knudsen (The Correspondence Chess Place)

Best New Magazine: L&HC (Lasker & His Contemporaries, Issue 5), edited by John S. Hilbert.

Best Historical Article: "Henry Chadwick: Father of Baseball, Friend of Chess," Edward Tassinari (L&HC)

Honorable Mention under Best Historical Article: "Examining the Past: Essential Tools for Exploring Chess History," Hilbert (L&HC)

Honorable Mention under Best Historical Article: "The Walbrodt-Delmar Match, New York 1893," Hilbert (L&HC)

Best Humorous Contribution: "A Return to Dignity in Chess: A Modest Proposal," Hilbert (L&HC)

Best New Book: Napier: The Forgotten Chessmaster by John S. Hilbert

Chess Journalists of America Awards are published in full in the November 1998 Chess Life (page 49). I might add that John and I have been attempting to get a list of the award winners from CJA for months. I can only speculate about the reason CJA has kept these results under wraps till now. I am a long-time member of CJA but find myself questioning the value of this organization to members such as myself.

25-Oct-1998
Thanks to International Arbiter Ralph Marconi for passing along this information on PATT III (Pacific Area Team Tournament III), previously noted here as being won by the USA team. Following are the final scores and standings, according to the tournament director J. Ken MacDonald of Canada.

Congratulations to USA Team Captain Alex Dunne and the entire USA team (names are given in Max Zavanelli's announcement reproduced below). At a future date, complete crosstables for the six boards plus a download of the games may become available at Ralph Marconi's website. Ralph will act as team captain for Canada in the PATT IV tournament.

22-Oct-1998
Just in from ICCF-U.S. Secretary Max Zavanelli:

I received notice today from Ken MacDonald that the USA team has won the PATT III by 1/2 point ahead of Canada. Members of the USA team are David Eisen, Curtis Carlson/Alex Dunne, Dan Fleetwood, Bobby Moore, Greg Barry and Bill Richards. This is a great accomplishment for US chess.

We have sent invitations to Pacific Area country secretaries to participate in PATT IV starting in March of 1999.

Amici Sumus,
Max Zavanelli

Thanks to Canada for the fine conduct of this excellent tournament. As implied above, the USA will be in charge of PATT IV. The participants in PATT III were USA, Canada, Columbia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Sinapore, Peru and Hong Kong. Hopefully, there will be a good turnout for PATT IV.

21-Oct-1998
The following just arrived from International Arbiter Maurice Carter, in his capacity of team captain for the USA team in the USA vs. UK team match:

"I am team captain for the just started USA-UK match. The assignment package had an error on it. There are 2 dates for starting they had 15 Oct and 2 Nov. The last date 2 Nov is the correct start date, any moves played before this date are non timed moves, i.e. free time."

This is a two-round qualifying tournament with weighted point scoring. First round sections, seven-player prelims, are filled as entries come in. All who score 4 out of 6 points or better advance to the finals. Prelim wins count as 1.0 (draws .5), finals wins count 1.5 (draws .75). You may enter as many prelims as you wish, but you advance to one finals section only. Players qualifying from multiple prelims take their best score with them. Number in finals section(s) determined by number of prelims. In addition to cash prizes, the APCT E-Mail Champion wins an engraved trophy.

The 1999 APCT Warren Cup E-Mail Championship has a guaranteed prize fund of $400 distributed as follows: $200 (1st), $100 (2nd), $75 (3rd), $25 (4th). The prize fund will be increased if more than seven prelims are filled, with the following amounts added for each additional prelim: $16 (1st), $9 (2nd), $5 (3rd), $2 (4th). Entry is $9.00 per section, two for $17.00. Non-qualifiers to the finals receive a complimentary E-mail Social section if they complete their playing schedule without withdrawal or forfeit (if ineligible for the E-mail Social, i.e. player's rating is over 1800, $5 credit may be applied to another e-mail section).

Entries open from now until May 1, 1999.

As was mentioned before, the USA will host the ICCF Congress in September in the year 2000. The year 2000 ICCF Congress will be only the second Congress held outside Europe. Max is planning for a large USA delegation including Tournament Secretaries, Team Captains, top players and journalists. This will be a rare opportunity for American cc enthusiasts to attend an ICCF Congress. All living cc World Champions will also be invited. Tony Oim has already stated that he plans to attend. BTW, Oim is close to becoming the first player to win the championship twice as he leads the current championship with only two games remaining.

Over 200 USA players are now competing in ICCF run email events as well as another 600 in IECG (run under ICCF rules). The ICCF is planning for an email World Championship with full status alongside the normal correspondence events. The ICCF-U.S. office is planning an email Zonal Individual Championship and Team Championship for the North American Pacific Zone. ICCF-U.S. is also planning the first United States Email Championship with details to follow later.

3-Oct-1998
International Arbiter Ralph Marconi just passed along the following information, that came originally from Eckhard Lers of Germany. Thanks for the info, Ralph.

In the last months you could have felt uncertain where to send the entries for international tournaments, and in this case I want to give you now some more information about all (new) ICCF Tournament Office Controllers; if there remains something unclear, don't hesitate to ask me...

ICCF Tournament Controllers (TOC):

(1) Gian-Maria Tani (Email: tani@torino.alpcom.it) responsible for all entries for World, Thematic and Master Norm Tournaments

(2) Egbert Bsenberg (Email: EBoesenberg@t-online.de) responsible for all entries for European Tournaments, also European Championships

(3) Juan Morgado (Email: iccfto@iname.com) responsible for all entries for Email Championship, Email Cup, Email Master Norm Tournaments

(4) Eckhard Lers (Email: ELueers@t-online.de) responsible for all entries for Title Tournaments, also Email Title Tournaments

Probably on Monday I will inform you about the announcement of the new World Championship Semifinal XXIII, played exclusively by email, starting on 01/04/99.

On a page describing the game collection I found this statement: "It was decided by FIDE to charge for this service. Any further distribution or publishing of the games on-line is prohibited."

For more information go to ChessPlanet and click on "Updated : PGN games Round 1 to 5 in Store." It will certainly be interesting to see how this story plays out.

The Week in Chess (TWIC) has a handful of games at http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/olymg.pgn, including a 21-move win by Short over Irzhanov in round 4. Will FIDE attempt to prosecute TWIC for this "illegal" act of publishing games?

29-Sept-1998
First I want to set the record straight concerning an earlier news story about the "retirement" of ICCF-U.S. Secretary Max Zavanelli. I checked with the ICCF-U.S. office and Bob Meinert replied, "Max is not going to retire." Instead, he's continuing his current work and looking forward to hosting the ICCF Congress in Florida in the year 2000.
-------------------------------
Following are excerpts from the ICCF Congress Minutes concerning the next two planned congresses. American cc enthusiasts will find the second paragraph of particular interest.

"It was confirmed that the 1999 meeting would be held in Thun, Switzerland from 18th-24th September 1999. The SFSV Delegate gave an informative presentation about the proposed arrangements and the ICCF President thanked him and his federation for the kind offer to host the next Congress.

"An offer to host the Millennium Congress in the United States of America had been received and this was accepted unanimously and with enthusiasm by Congress. The 2000 Congress would take place in Florida from 16th - 22nd September, and delegates and officials were asked to complete a questionnaire giving their preference concerning the hotel/location for the Congress."

28-Sept-1998
The ICCF Congress in Riga, Latvia has concluded and the draft Minutes of the 1998 ICCF Congress has been posted at Draft ICCF Minutes. A couple high-lights for USA cc enthusiasts:

A silver Bertl von Massow Medal has been awarded to ICCF-U.S. Secretary Prof. Max Zavanelli for his ten years of service representing the USA. Congratulations, Max!

The following players were among those awarded the ICCF International Master title:

• Anthony (Tony) Albano (USA)
• Dr. Ian S. Brooks (ENG)
• J.E. Callaway (USA)
• W. Conover (USA)
• D.J. Eisen (USA)
• R.M. Jacobs (USA)
• M. Lonoff (USA)
• N. Eric Pedersen (USA)
• C.F. Tears (USA)

Another interesting note was of the special tribute paid to the legendary competitor Walter Muir. To quote: "The ICCF President, on behalf of the Presidium, proposed that Honorary Membership of ICCF should be accorded to Mr. Walter Muir (USA) and Mr. Jrgen Axel Nielsen (DEN) for their outstanding contributions to correspondence chess for many decades. These proposals were agreed unanimously and enthusiastically by the Congress."

27-Sept-1998
Thanks to International Arbiter Ralph Marconi for the following news items. His web site is at: Ralph Marconi's Correspondence Chess Site.

"I was just sent the NAPZ (1997) report of the Zonal Director (dated 10 July 1998) by Max [Zavanelli] and Bob Meinert [ICCF-U.S.]. This will be (or was) presented at the ICCF Congress in Riga, Latvia [schedule for September 20-24].

"Here are a few items you may want to post at your news and commentary page:

"The USA will be conducting the 4th Pacific Area Team Tournament (PATT). Dr. Jerry Benner will be the Tournament Director.

"From the report: 'Teams will consist of a Team Captain, 6 players and 2 reserves ..... All games will be rated by the ICCF. Title norms will be available dependent on the strength of each board. ....A plaque will be awarded to each member of the winning team and the team captain.'

.........'In PATT III the USA leads Canada by 1/2 point with Columbia and Australia within 4 points. However, on a percentage basis and scoring percentage, Columbia is first while Canada and USA are tied! It will be an exciting [finish]!'

"This is the first time this tournament will be conducted by ICCF-US. Canada has been conducting this tournament. The projected start date for the event is 1 March 1999. ICCF-US states that they would like to be sent the official acceptance no later than 1 November 1998 and the official team roster no later than 1 January 1999.

"Countries invited to participate are: Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, USA, and Singapore.

"I will be team captain of the Canadian team, and maybe a player (??).

"Adjudication date for the PATT III unfinished games was set at 31 August 1998."

19-Sept-1998
The 13th USCCC continues to wind down. Just over 60 games remain out of the 1260 games started by the 180 competitors. Only the winner of each of the 12 preliminary sections advance to the finals. So far 8 sections have been decided with four still up for grabs. The following players have won their sections and clinched a place in the finals:

US13P01 - Bob Martinec
US13P04 - Wesley Brandhorst
US13P05 - Mark F. Morss
US13P06 - Gary Good
US13P07 - David Heap
US13P08 - Joseph Bacon
US13P09 - Paul L. Thompson
US13P11 - Jonathan Crumiller

For details check the 13th USCCC crosstables

17-Sept-1998
Friends and admirers of cc Master Stephan Gerzadowicz, who has written numerous books and articles on chess and is certainly familiar to most readers of American cc publications, will be interested in his recent move from Massachusetts to Princeton, New Jersey. He has a new job there as facilities manager and chess instructor for the Princeton Charter school. His chess duties include teaching chess to children grades 3-7, organizing chess events and after-school chess activities and accompanying the children to scholastic chess events. Former Gerzadowicz chess student (and current USA cc champ) Jon Edwards was instrumental in getting the school and Gerzadowicz together.

The Princeton Charter School is perhaps unique in the USA in its approach of making chess a required part of their curriculum. By hiring a true chess enthusiast and widely respected master of the game they have shown a real commitment to exposing children to a quality chess education. I wish the best to both Stephan Gerzadowicz and to the Princeton Charter School in this bold educational initiative.
-------------------------------
The first results have been posted on the 14th USCCC crosstables. Nine game results plus some additional comments by Tournament Director Maurice Carter are now available at 14th USCCC pages at this site.

15-Sept-1998
Ted Houser reports the following concerning APCT Master Harvey Roys.

"I do have some information on Harvey Roys. In response to a repeat chesscard, he advised me that he had a stroke. He is now home and doing better."

Thanks for the information, Ted, and best wishes to Harvey Roys for a speedy recovery.
-------------------------------
Ted Houser is number one! I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ted Houser for moving to the top of the APCT rating list as reported in the September-October 1998 issue of APCT News Bulletin. His rating is a strong 2427 just ahead of current U.S. Champion Jon Edwards at 2420.

13-Sept-1998
Today "The Campbell Report" officially begins its new life on John Knudsen's host at correspondencechess.com! My thanks to John Knudsen for making this move possible. I am pleased to be able to work with John to make correspondencechess.com the place on the web for correspondence chess.

5-Sept-1998
The Nrresundby Chess Club (Denmark) has named "The Campbell Report" as the "Link of the Month" for September 1998. For the announcement see Nrresundby Chess Club Chess Links. I've added this excellent (and intelligent!) chess site to my chess links page.

4-Sept-1998
Some time ago I was excited by what I considered a tremendous matchup of two of the strongest USA cc competitors. Jon Edwards is the highest rated APCT player, many time APCT champion and current USA champion. John Penquite was once touted as the highest rated USCF cc competitor in history. My personal impression is that he has an understanding of chess that is absolutely phenomenal. As top boards in a 30-board club match between APCT and ASPCC they were scheduled to play two games against each other. If you wish to follow the team match, the standings are posted both on the ASPCC pages at http://www.vvm.com/~dbaum/apct97.htm and on John Knudsen's site at http://correspondencechess.com/match.htm. It should be noted that one board was "cancelled" converting this match into a 29-board affair. APCT currently owns a modest lead as the improving ASPCC organization has provided some stiff competition.

Although neither player appeared to consider this match-up as particularly significant, I couldn't help but think of it as a huge event in USA cc. The games have proved to be very competitive and exciting. Following is the first completed game, a hard-fought draw that is a credit to both players. The second game is still going, with Penquite holding an edge. I'll attempt to bring that exciting game to you at its conclusion. Meanwhile, here's the first game!

[Event "?"]
[Site "APCT-ASPCC bd. 1"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Penquite, John"]
[Black "Edwards, Jon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B43/70"]
[PlyCount "100"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 b5 7. O-O Bb7 8. Bf3 Nc6 9. Nxc6 dxc6 10. Qe2 Bd6 11. g3 Ne7 12. Be3 O-O 13. Bg2 e5 14. a4 Ng6 15. Rfd1 Rfe8 16. Bh3 Nf8 17. Bf5 Qe7 18. Rd3 b4 19. Na2 a5 20. Rd2 Ba6 21. Qf3 c5 22. Rad1 Red8 23. Nc1 c4 24. b3 g6 25. Bh3 Bb7 26. bxc4 f5 27. Rd5 Bxd5 28. cxd5 Qc7 29. Rd2 f4 30. gxf4 exf4 31. Bd4 Be5 32. Bxe5 Qxe5 33. Nd3 Qa1+ 34. Bf1 Nd7 35. Qxf4 Re8 36. Re2 Ne5 37. Qf6 Ra7 38. d6 Rf7 39. d7 Rxd7 40. Re1 Qd4 41. Nxe5 Rxe5 42. Bc4+ Qxc4 43. Qxe5 Qc7 44. Qe6+ Rf7 45. Re2 Qd7 46. Qxd7 Rxd7 47. Kf1 Rd1+ 48. Re1 Rd2 49. Re2 Rd1+ 50. Re1 Rd2 1/2-1/2

2-Sept-1998
In the September 1998 issue of Chess Life Alex Dunne reports that ICCF-U.S. Secretary Prof. Max Zavanelli, who has served in that post for ten years at great personal expense, is preparing to step down and is seeking a replacement. Prof. Zavanelli has sought to place the USA on solid ground by repairing the sorry financial status, paying old ICCF bills, eliminating the old problems of USA dropouts in international play and generally improving the status of USA players in the international scene. His nickname of "The Axe" came from his unwavering insistence on only the most correct behavior by all USA participants. "Silent Withdrawals" were dealt with in draconian fashion.

Apparently, his approach was highly successful as the dropout rate of USA players was minimized and USA players earned an unprecidented number of international titles. I believe it is going to be difficult finding a replacement for Max "The Axe" Zavanelli. For the sake of USA international chess I hope someone with the proper credentials and energy steps forward to fill the job. This is a story many of us will be following with great interest.

25-Aug-1998
I've just found out that the Chess Journalists of America have once again named the APCT News Bulletin as the best correspondence chess magazine in the USA. The CJA annually announces the winners of their competition for the best chess journalism in various categories during the U. S. Open Chess Championship. I'm still trying to obtain a complete listing of winners and will post them when obtained. For now, congratulations to Helen and Jim Warren on once again having their magazine named as the best! I also appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this excellent publication through my regular column "The Campbell Report."

21-Aug-1998
John Knudsen has announced his new correspondence chess web site:
"The Correspondence Chess Place".
He's taken this opportunity to increase his future expansion capabilities by obtaining a huge (350 MBs) site. This will allow tremendous expansion capabilities. He invites readers to submit additional material to his already outstanding web site. To quote John, "I am also actively soliciting annotated cc games, stories, articles, humor, etc." I strongly recommend that all cc enthusiasts consider ways to contribute to this outstanding Internet cc resource.
Welcome back, John ... we missed you.

17-Aug-1998
John Knudsen has had significant problems with his Internet web page provider and has decided to move his entire site to another service. For the time being his web site is not available. When it becomes available again I'll put his new URL into my Chess Links page and include a notification here. Changing providers is a major project ... good luck, John!

15-Aug-1998
The next ICCF Congress will be held in Riga, Latvia September 20-24, 1998. Future conferences are planned as follows:
1999 - Swiss Federation (SFSV)
2000 - USA (ICCF-U.S. in Florida)
2001 - Italy (ASIGC)
For more information check out ICCF President Alan Borwell's message at the ICCF Website under "What's New" or check out the Chess Mail Frontpage site listed below.
-------------------------------
Eckhard Lers, who created the ICCF web site and acted as webmaster for the 18 months since then, has stepped down. Sren Peschardt of Denmark will become webmaster for the ICCF web site starting 1 September 1998. His email address is kskakdsu@post5.tele.dk.

For more information and a nice picture of Mr. Peschardt check the Chess Mail page at Chess Mail Frontpage. You can also check out the ICCF Congress Agenda while you're there.

13-Aug-1998
News just in from the Scottish CC Association: SCCA has announced that the "Friends of Scotland" email tournament, scheduled to start on September 1st, has been postponed indefinitely (at least until after the ICCF Congress in Riga in late September). The delay is apparently needed to work out the details of (hopefully) gaining ICCF rating for this event. If SCCA pulls this off, they'll have an excellent international event. I'm planning to play either way it goes. I suggest that you keep an eye on the Scottish Correspondence Chess Association (SCCA) web site for future information.
-------------------------------
ICCF-U.S. Secretary Prof. Max Zavanelli recently announced that 60 USA players have now received their first ICCF rating. ICCF has been working on rating events retro-actively. If you've never had an ICCF rating before but have played in a number of events in the past, you might find that you now have a rating. Check out the well-designed web pages at ICCF rating list.

12-Aug-1998
I would like to recommend that you visit a relatively new website (actually it's a bit older than "The Campbell Report!"), namely the Scottish Correspondence Chess Association (SCCA). While there, check out their just-announced first email tournament, the "Friends of Scotland" email tournament. Help our Scottish cc brothers celebrate their joy in chess competition by signing up for one (or more) free 7-person email sections. We're promised complete coverage of this event at the web site. It's also possible it will be ICCF-rated! More later.
-------------------------------
Disaster strikes the John Knudsen CC Site! While John was away from home for a few days for a well-deserved vacation, his entire web site was accidentally deleted by his service provider (they even deleted the backups!). Many lesser men would curl up their toes and look for other ways to spend their time. However, John is hard at work restoring his vast cc resource for his many world-wide friends. Please don't be critical if some features take a while to restore, such as the games for downloading. This is one of those nightmares we never expect to actually happen to us. John already has a number of features restored and will undoubtedly have everything back to normal soon. Way to go, John Knudsen!
-------------------------------
I would like to congratulate my friend Ian Brooks on qualifying for the ICCF International Master title. I recently received this note from Ian, who previously was a fellow columnist for the APCT News Bulletin:

"I just finished my last game in the Pelikan memorial when Parkkinen agreed to my draw offer. It is a game I should/could have won, but my final score of 6/14 meets the norm for the IM title :) I am just waiting for confirmation from the TD, Juan Morgado."

Shortly after that Morgado did confirm the title and the ICCF qualifications commisioner George Pyrich (who was also playing in the Pelikan) also confirmed the title. So I say, "Congratulations, IM Ian Brooks!"
-------------------------------
COMMENTARY
Based on my 3-4 months experience as a "webmaster" I have a few comments/suggestions directed at the users of these sites.

Creating and maintaining a good chess site requires a tremendous commitment of time and energy. Of course, much of this is a labor of love by the webmaster. However, there is no doubt that positive feedback is appreciated. In fact, without such feedback it is likely that the chess website creator/maintainer will "burn out" and the site will run out of steam. New material will cease and the site will die a slow death. You can supply the much-appreciated positive feedback in several ways ... and I suggest that you reward the sites you appreciate with such feedback.

• Sign the Guestbook ... such a simple thing yet so often ignored. I know how often I check my Guestbook for a new entry ... and how seldom I find one. This is a good place to vote for the continuation of a site you like.
• Drop the webmaster an occasional E-mail ... I treasure the rare compliments that arrive at odd moments in my e-mail inbox. Even a single sentence can work wonders.
• Provide information ... some chess sites need input from others. If you have appropriate news items or the ability to write the type of articles/tournament reports/annotated games/instuction/etc. that is published at the website, then provide a little of the effort required to keep the site going.
• Provide ideas ... if you recognize a feature missing from the web site that would be a good addition, send the webmaster your suggestion.
• Provide a link ... if you also have a web site, provide your readers with a list of links to your favorite web sites. Chances are that people who like your site will also like the sites you recommend.
• Follow through ... if you think of some web sites that deserve some of the treatment I suggest above, follow through. If you make a commitment to send information or write an article for a web site, follow through. Many webmasters have learned not to depend on people, even well-known and respected chess journalists, to deliver on their promises. This is a disappointing and discouraging experience and will certainly lead many webmasters to abandon their former passion for producing a quality web site.

If any other webmasters out there have additions to make to this list I'd appreciate hearing from you.