Ruth Haring. An Untimely Passing

IWM Ruth Haring, past president of US Chess passed away unexpectedly on November 29, 2018.
https://www.chess.com/news/view/wim-ruth-haring-1955-2018

I first came to know Ruth during the Polgar vs. USCF, et al. litigation. She was supremely ethical, transparent and of sound judgment. She also had a wonderfully cynical sense of humor. We shared many a laugh together. A good person who will be missed by many.

Open Questions for the US Chess Executive Board and Executive Director

Several past US Chess presidents and the current US Chess president are are participating in various levels of FIDE management in the new presidential administration of Arkady Dvorkovitch. This past week, Dvorkavitch was mentioned in the press in relation to the ongoing investigation of the Special Prosecutor, Robert Mueller III. Specifically, there was allegedly a private conversation between Dvorkovitch and Carter Page in Moscow in early July, 2016. It is alleged that Dvorkovitch, a close Putin ally, expressed strong support for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. In view of this and the revelations this week of dealings during the Trump primary campaign with Russian to build at Moscow Trump tower (Cohen plea allocution) and yesterday's WSJ report that the gift of a $50m penthouse apartment to Putin in that tower was considered by the Trump Organization, the status of Mr. Dvorkovitch as a potential target of Mueller's conspiracy investigation should be considered as a possibility, IMO, bordering on a probability. As such Mr. Dvorkovitch may be indicted or subject to Dept. of the Treasury sanctions. While Kirsan's sanctioning was an embarrassment, it wasn't related to potential conspiracy to affect a US presidential election. 
See: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... 1gXtXtDtyE
While participation in a FIDE administration such as those of Max Euwe or Folk Rogard would not be problematic in the sense that Dvorkovitch's is, that was then and this is now. 

Questions: 
1. What concerns, if any, do the ED and members of the EB have for a scandal developing around Mr. Dvokovitch?
2. Should Mr. Dvorkovitch be indicted or sanctioned, have the ED and/or members of the EB considered developing an appropriate public response to distance our federation from Dvorkovitch despite having participated in his administration?

Take The Survey for Next World Chess Championship Format Preferences

I've created a survey regarding the number of games preferred and tiebreak format for the next WCC. Please consider taking the survey. Thanks.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6JZNHW9

A Disgusting End To the Classical World Chess Championship

Carlsen Keeps the Title winning Three Rapid Games.

An absolutely disgusting way for the classical WCC to end two cycles in a row. Even more so this time after Carlsen offered his now infamous draw in game 12 from a clearly better position.

FIDE needs to completely rethink the WCC format. I suggest going back to a 24 game match. If its tied at 24, the champion keeps his title. If you must have a tiebreak, make it in sets of four games timed at G-90 with NO increment or delay. Play two games per day, no rest days until the match is decided by one payer winning a four game set,. Play the sets one after the other with no rest days between sets of four games.

Is the New FIDE President On Mueller's Radar Screen?

"July 7, 2016: Manafort contacts Kilimnik again to invite the oligarch Deripaska to get a private briefing on the campaign.

The same day, another campaign adviser named Carter Page travels to Russia to give a speech. The next day, he sends a memo to campaign staff with an overview of his travel. It reads, in part, “Russian Deputy Prime Minister and [New Economic School] Board Member Arkady Dvorkovich also spoke before the event. In a private conversation, Dvorkovich expressed strong support for Mr. Trump and a desire to work together toward devising better solutions in response to the vast range of current international problems.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/11/27/timeline-what-it-would-mean-if-manafort-assange-met/?utm_term=.556919feac3a

The GM Ian Rogers Fiasco at US Chess: Censorship Under the Guise of Editorial Discretion

The facts of the apparently accidental publication on Youtube of a video from the St. Louis Chess and Scholastic Center revealing some of what Fabio Caruana was studying are by now well know., The matter was covered by IM Ian Rogers in an article submitted to Chess Life Online, an online publication of US Chess. It was rejected by the CLO editor and GM Rogers quit as a contributor to CLO. 

The publishers "right to edit" within what is customary for the publisher is not the issue. Here, the problem I see is that the relationship between Rex Sinquefield, Fabio Caruana, the St. Louis Chess and Scholastic Center and US Chess gives the appearance that the edit was done to please a major US Chess contributor, to wit, Rex Sinquefield. That may or may not be the substantive situation, but the appearance of a conflict of interest is very real.

There has also been a copyright concern floated by US Chess as a reason for the proposed edit of GM Rogers' article. The argument is specious. Once the St. Louis Club aired the video, the screen shot at issue became newsworthy. As such, fair use permits any journalist to use it in an article regarding the news of the video being posted and withdrawn from Youtube.

Whilst, CLO has the right to edit or not publish GM Rogers' report, the appearance of a conflict of interest and the heavy handed way it was handled by CLO's editor and publications/communications director is, at best, unfortunate. IMMHO, it shows how fraught with embarrassing problems big donor money can at times be and, in this case needlessly so, given that all concerned should have known that once on the Internet, it would exist there in cyberspace as a news item forever. Additionally, attempts to discuss this apparent conflict of interest on the US Chess Issues Forum, have met with censorship by the forum's "moderators." 

Carlsen vs. Caruana World Championship Match Begins this Friday, November 9th

The World Chess Championship Match between Carlsen and Caruana commences this Friday, November 9th at 10 am EST (3 pm GMT) in London, UK. It can be followed live in real time on chess. com in their live chess area and on twitch TV. More information can be found here

https://www.chess.com/article/view/world-chess-championship-2018-carlsen-caruana

Chess at Camp David

I came across this photo from the Carter administration.