July 20, 2010

Aleksandr Surenovich Dronov from Russia is the 22nd ICCF World Champion

In the final game to finish, Dronov won the head-to-head match with Bücker to take the crown. Tie-breaking has decided this Final :

1. Aleksandr Surenovich Dronov (RUS) 11,5 (SB 87,25)
2. Jürgen Bücker (GER) 11,5 (SB 80,25)
3. Joop J. van Oosterom (NED) 11 points

July 11, 2010

ICCF-US Announces 16th Olympiad Finals Squad

The Finals of the 16th Olympiad team tournament have started, and here is the team representing ICCF-US:

• Bd. 1 - GM Alik Zilberberg (2613)
• Bd. 2 - GM Dr. Edward Duliba (2547)
• Bd. 3 - IM Keith Holzmueller (2506) - Keith will receive the SM title at the Antalya, Turkey Congress in October
• Bd. 4 - SM Jerry Weisskohl (2503)

July 1, 2010

Correction to Entry Deadline for USCCC19

Please note that the closing date for entries to USCCC19 (announcement below from May 1) has been corrected to July 15, 2010, so you still have two weeks to get those entries in!

June 21, 2010

ICCF 2010 World Championship Candidates Tournament Announcement

On behalf of the Title Tournament Commissioner, Marco Caressa, I am pleased to provide the tournament announcement for the ICCF 2010 Candidates Tournament.

The ICCF Executive Board asks that all ICCF Delegates ensure that this important information is made available in all national CC magazines and websites. It is the responsibility of Delegates to ensure that all players are made aware of these arrangements!

Regards,

Dr. Michael Millstone
ICCF General Secretary
PJBoogie@yahoo.com

Please remember, under the new ICCF WCC rules, if you are qualified, this will be your only chance this year to enter a Candidates section! Also be aware that "all qualifications for CT achieved in 2009 or earlier are required to be applied not later than 30th June 2010 in order to be utilised in either 2010 or 2011" so don't let your qualification expire!

June 21, 2010

ICCF-US Top 50 Rating List Updated

Using the latest ICCF ELO (player rating) lists [effective 1 July 10], Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer has compiled the latest ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Active Players list. Congratulations and welcome to:

#31 Wieland Belka
#44 John Ballow

for their entry into the top 50 list.

To access the list choose "PLAYER RANKS" from the upper left menu bar.

June 15, 2010

ICCF-US Order Form Udated

Note new updated order form available by clicking "ICCF-US Store" directly above this column or in left menu.

May 25, 2010

4th ICCF Webchess Open - Announcement

Registration for the 4th ICCF Webchess Open closes June 30, 2010; start date is July 15. For more information and entry by Direct Entry go to www.iccf-webchess.com , find New events, scroll down to this event, and click Enter on the right. Or you can send a $14 check to:

There will be three rounds with seven players per section, the winner of each section advancing to the next round.

May 10, 2010

NEW CC DATABASE AVAILABLE FROM CHESSMAIL

Our latest UltraCorr3 database is now available. Click here to see the new database offer and other recent updates.

May 1, 2010

USA Standing Team

All those who would like to play in international Friendly Matches are invited to be a member of the USA Standing Team. We have played Sweden, England, Spain, Scotland, Romania, Finland, Hong Kong, and France in the last three years, all when these teams challenged us. It would be a great help in organizing these matches to have a team committed to playing two games when notified of a match, allowing us to challenge other National Federations with some idea of number of players and approximate ratings. If you are interested please send your name, ICCF rating, and ICCF number to schakels@comcast.net . The entry fee will be $6 per match, and most games will be played by server. Team membership will not be restricted by a rating requirement, but assignments will depend on ratings of the opposing team members. If you are willing to be a Team Captain, a TD, or play by post, please also let me know.

May 1, 2010

19th U.S. CORRESPONDENCE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP - ICCF-US Tournament Announcement

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary

March 22, 2010

Veterans World Cup 3 - ICCF Tournament Announcement

The Scottish CCA has announced the third annual Veterans World Cup. It will be a three round tournament starting 1 September 2010, with play by server, and a time control of 10 moves per forty days. Multiple entries are allowed, but Semifinal qualifications will be limited to two, and one Finals qualification.

If you are 60 or over by the start date, you are eligible. See Official Announcement . for tournament and entry details.

March 20, 2010

ICCF-US Top 50 Rating List Updated

Using the latest ICCF ELO (player rating) lists [effective 1 April 10], Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer has compiled the latest ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Active Players list. Congratulations and welcome to:

#50 Kristo S. Miettenin

for his entry into the top 50 list.

To access the list choose "PLAYER RANKS" from the upper left menu bar.

March 20, 2010

US Player Elegibility to Masternorm and Grandmasternorm Tournaments

Marco Caressa, ICCF Ratings Tournaments Commissioner, has released the following list of US qualifiers to the ICCF Masternorm and Grandmasternorm tournaments, based on the 2010_2 rating list (valid April 2010)
US MN and GMN Qualifiers .

Please check the lists (both tabs) and if your name appears you are eligible to enter a Masternorm or Grandmasternorm section. You may enter either through ICCF-US Entry Form or ICCF Direct Entry . I can attest that entry in a MN or GMN section will guarantee strong international competition and achievable norms as I received norms toward both my International Master and Senior International Master titles through the norm tourneys!

February 22, 2010

Michael Millstone Elected as ICCF General Secretary

Michael Millstone was recently elected as ICCF General Secretary, after a brief period as interim GS. This position is the second highest in ICCF. The announcement was made by ICCF President Eric Ruch, who warmly welcomed Michael to the ICCF Executive Board.

Michael has been the driving force for the highly successful Direct Entry program, and is DE Commissioner. On a personal note Michael takes me under his wing at each annual Congress, and my 2+ years as ICCF-US Secretary would not have been possible without his help, along with several others.

February 22, 2010

Ed Duliba Wins 17th USCCC!

Dr. Edward P. Duliba has clinched first place in the 17th USCCC with ten points in fourteen games completed, and a game remaining to be completed. Ed also won the 15th USCCC, and was awarded the Grandmaster title at the 2009 ICCF Congress in Leeds, England. Congratulations again, Ed!

There is still a battle for second place, and the complete cross table is at www.iccf-webchess.com/EventCrossTable.aspx?id=15562.

February 10, 2010 (Photo Added February 15)

Keith Holzmueller Earns Senior International Master Honors

SIM Keith Holzmueller

The ICCF-US would like to add our congratulations to Keith Holzmueller as our latest Serior International Master! This is great two new SIMs for ICCF-US in less than a month. Who's next?
Press Release

Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer

January 14, 2010 (Photo Added February 15)

Kristo Miettinen Earns Senior International Master Honors

SIM Kristo Miettinen

The ICCF-US would like to add our congratulations to Kristo Miettinen for this richly-deserved accomplishment. Represent us well in the World Championships!
Press Release

Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer

January 5, 2010

Kristo Miettinen Wins 11th NAICCC

IM Kristo Miettinen has clinched first place in the Eleventh North American Invitational Correspondence Chess Championship (NAICCC) with a score of 10½/14 (+7-0=7). All play in this tournament is not yet complete, but his total cannot be equaled. This score in a fifteen player field of category V means that he has exceeded the SIM Norm by ½-point. With the help of this result, Kristo has raised his ICCF rating to 2356, good enough to tie for 55th place on the USA list of active players. By his own admission, this is Kristo’s finest correspondence chess result to date. This major national event included players from the US, Canada, and Mexico. The NAICCC, as in the past, served as a zonal championship, thus Kristo has earned an entry to a World Correspondence Chess Championship Final. This is a most exclusive event, and a great honor for Kristo. The crosstable can be accessed at: 11th NAICCC Crosstable .

On a personal note Kristo is one of a handful of players who contribute greatly to keeping all the ICCF-US wheels attached and rolling. Kristo, thank you, and congratulations!

December 31, 2009

Happy New Year's 2010 From ICCF

Greetings to all ICCF-US players...we have reached the end of another year. 2009 will ring out tonight along with all of the ICCF games we have each completed this year. I hope you all had your share of successes and wish you all good chess in the New Year! Follow the link below to a New Year's greeting from ICCF President Eric Ruch

New Year's Greeting From ICCF

Dan Perry, ICCF-US Webmaster
Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary

December 19, 2009

Announcing the 16th Correspondence Chess Olympiad Finals

The list of qualifiers for the 16th Olympiad Finals has been announced. Congratulations to the ICCF-US preliminary team of Gary Kubach, Jerry Weisskohl, Keith Holzmueller and Mihai Harabor for qualifying for the Finals!

16th CC Olympiad Finals Announcement

Corky will assemble the Finals team and we'll run a longer article at that time.

December 7, 2009

Announcing 2010 WCCC Preliminaries

ICCF today announced the World Correspndence Chess Champoinship Preliminary round for 2010. As decided at the ICCF 2009 Congress in Leeds, in a major change from previous WCCCs all sections start on the same date and you will only have one chance to enter this year. You must be entered by the end of January and all sections will begin 10 March 2010

2010 WCCC Prelims Announcement

If you received Corky's letter (forwarding Marco's official qualification list) informing you that you have a qualification into the WCC Preliminaries, you will need to act soon or you will have to wait until 2011. Give it a shot. It could be your first step toward winning the World Championship!

November 10, 2009

Announcing A.L. Al'pert Memorial Open CC

The Russia CC Association has announced the A.L. AL'PERT MEMORIAL Open CC tournament, information below. Entry is via National Federation only, so those who want to play this event can send the $12 entry fee to schakels@comcast.net , or a check to ICCF-US, 16052 Quality Ct S, Lakeland MN. This is an Open event with three rounds, and the list of players already entered is available on the attached link.

Alpert Memorial Open CC

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US National Federation Rep

October 24, 2009

ICCF-US Announces Sponsorship Agreement with Opening Master

ICCF-US has signed a sponsorship agreement with Opening Master, joining ICCF and several of the other national CC organizations (see sponsorship logo in left column). Click on the logo to peruse Opening Master's site and array of database products.

Dan Perry, ICCF-US Webmaster

October 24, 2009

Friendly Match Hong Kong vs. USA -- Announcement

Hong Kong has challenged ICCF-US to a Friendly Match, and expect to have about 15 players with ratings both above and below 2000. The match will be played by server, two games per person, with an entry fee of $6. Players will be selected to approximately match opponents' ratings. If you are interested in playing, please send an email to schakels@comcast.net. If anyone would like to act as team captain, or organize the team, again send an email to the above address.

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary, NAPZ Director

October 12, 2009

The 62nd ICCF Congress in Leeds, England - ICCF-US Secretary's Report

The recently concluded 62nd ICCF Congress in Leeds, England was a constructive 4 days, a great experience for all participants. The highlight of the Congress for me was receiving medals and certificates for our new titleholders: GM Dr. Edward Duliba and SIM Dan Perry. It was also a great honor to accept Franklin Campbell’s Bertl von Massow certificate and silver medal for 10 years of outstanding service to ICCF.

The Congress approved Antalya, Turkey for the 63rd ICCF Congress next October. The site is a marvelous resort, and anyone is welcome to attend, especially those receiving a title. Istanbul is the likely site for the 65th, 2012 Congress, in conjunction with the FIDE Congress.

A most notable result from the Congress was that the USA team of Gary Kubach, Jerry Weisskohl, Keith Holzmueller, and Mihai Harabor will qualify the USA for the 16th Olympiad Final. This is the last postal Final in the current format, but there will be separate post Olympiads in the future. A major change in the World Championship cycle is that all WC sections of the same level shall start on the same day - CT, SF, PR once per year.

Dr. Uwe Staroske (Germany) was elected Marketing Director, and Neil Limbert (England) was elected Qualifications Commissioner. The new ICCF President, Eric Ruch (France), presided over a constructive Congress, and the future of ICCF is in good hands! My thanks go to all participants, and especially to Michael Millstone, the other USA attendee, and Direct Entry Commissioner for ICCF. More complete minutes are available on the ICCF Website

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary, NAPZ Director

October 4, 2009

ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Players List Updated

Using the latest ICCF ELO (player rating) lists [effective 1 October 09], Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer has compiled the latest ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Active Players list. For the first time in several lists we have no new entrants just minor shuffling in the order of the top 50 based on rating changes. To access the list choose "PLAYER RANKS" from the upper left menu bar.

September 29, 2009

ICCF Thematic Tournaments for 2010 Announced

The themes and dates for all 2010 ICCF Thematic Tournaments have been announced by Leonardo Madonia in the ICCF Thematic Tournament Office. For details please select from the following announcements. Postal Thematics and Webserver Thematics.

Entry details will appear on the ICCF Webserver "New Events" page when the announced times approach.

August 27, 2009

Press Release -- Dan Perry Earns Senior International Master

SIM Dan Perry

ICCF-US Webmaster Dan Perry completes his qualifications for the SIM level, to be awarded at the Leeds Congress. Congratulations Dan!

Click here to read the ICCF-US press release.

August 5, 2009

US Correspondence Chess Championship (USCCC) News

All qualifiers for USCCC18 Final have been determined (crosstables at http://www.iccf-webchess.com/Tables2.aspx under National Tournaments, USA, Semifinals). First or tied for first in each section qualified for the Final. USCF and CCLA will be invited to nominate a participant, and one or more previous Champions may be invited to complete a field of 13 or 15 players. With a number of international tournaments starting early this Fall, and several of our finalists in them, the Final will likely start late this year.

USCCC19 is planned for early 2010, again by server with seven player sections. An ICCF rating of 2000 is required, or a USCF or CCLA rating of 2000 for players without a fixed ICCF rating. With a less than perfect mailing list, please watch for an announcement here on iccfus.com.

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary

July 28, 2009

ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Players List Updated

Using the latest ICCF ELO (player rating) lists [effective 1 July 09], Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer has compiled the latest ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Active Players list.

Congratulations to

• #49 Steve R. Douglas

July 25, 2009

Press Release -- J Franklin Campbell to Receive Silver Bertl von Massow Award

von Massow Award Winner J. Franklin Campbell

The ICCF-US would like to add our thanks to Franklin for his years of devoted service to correspondence chess. This recognition from the international chess community is richly-deserved.

Click here to read the ICCF-US press release.

Bob Rizzo, ICCF-US Titles Officer

July 25, 2009

Press Release -- Ed Duliba Earns Grandmaster Honors

GM Ed Duliba

Ed Duliba becomes only the ninth US Correspondence GM. Congratulations Ed!

Click here to read the ICCF-US press release.

June 19, 2009 (Updated July 18)

USA vs. Rest Of the World (ROW) under 2100 -- ENTRY CLOSED

ICCF-US is happy to announce that the match is filled and underway with 54 boards (45 U.S. players with nine playing two boards each). Good Chess to the combatants!

ICCF-US is sponsoring a Friendly Match "USA vs. ROW under 2100". Any player with a fixed or provisional ICCF rating under 2100 on the 2009/2 rating list is eligible to play. USA players will pay a $6 entry fee for two games, and ROW will play with no entry fee. Please send your name, country, ICCF number, email address, and 2009/2 rating to schakels@comcast.net . Pairings will be based on rating order, and the event start is tentatively sometime in August 2009.

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary, NAPZ Director

June 7, 2009

USA Friendly Matches Update

Crosstables and game scores available at: www.iccf-webchess.com under "Friendly Matches".

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary

April 25, 2009 (updated 17May09 - games added)

USA Clinches First in Pan American Team 9

After more than two years since play began, with only four games still to be completed, Pan American Team 9 silver and bronze are still up for grabs, but the USA team has clinched first in a field of 16 teams to get the gold, either outright or by tiebreaker. Here is how it stands:

On Bd. 1 SIM Ted Brandhorst scored an impressive 8/15 in a field with three GMs and six IMs, and six players rated over 2500. His win over Peru (Rojo)'s GM Angel Acevedo Villalba (2551) was critical to the team gold; a draw would very likely have meant silver. Click here to play through Ted's key win.

On Bd. 2 SIM Michael Millstone scored a terrific 11.5/15 in a field with five SIMs and an IM, and his win over the Peru (Rojo) opponent was again critical to the team result. An annotated game will also be linked to this page. The 11.5/15 score exceeded the SIM norm by a full point, and Michael was in a two way tie for first for Bd. 2.

On Bd. 3 SIM Michael Proof scored an unheard of 12.5/15, a full two points ahead of any other Bd. 3 player, and exceeding the SIM norm by 1½ points. And his win over Peru (Rojo) was also critical, along with wins over the players from Brazil (Amar) and Chile. A key win by Michael was already annotated as game of the month June 2008. Click here for analysis.

On Bd. 4 IM Corky Schakel scored an undistinguished 8/15, and is having difficulty finding a game worth annotating. Thanks to my teammates for carrying me! Here is a link to the crosstable; completed games can be displayed by clicking on a score.
Pan American Team 9 Crosstable

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary

May 6, 2009

GM Robin Smith, 1952-2009

ICCF has received the sad news that GM Robin Smith passed away recently at the age of 56. Robin was a two time US Correspondence Chess Champion, and achieved the Grand Master title in fewer games than nearly anyone. He scored 9/10 for a GM norm in his first World Championship Semifinal, which he entered unrated. Shortly after that in the Itzhak Veinger Memorial, a Category XII event (average rating between 2526-2550) he completed his GM title.

Robin was an Electrical Engineer, and worked for Hewlett-Packard for some years. His ICCF record shows only 64 games, but in those he achieved a 2642 rating. He authored "Modern Chess Analysis" in 2004 [in my opinion, the most instructive book in print on computer aided chess analysis - ed.], and although he was retired from competitive correspondence chess, in 2008 he received coauthor credit for Fritz Baumbach’s book "Who is the Champion of Champions?" Those of us who played him know that Robin was well qualified for this project. He was right up there with the very best players of all time.

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary, North America Pacific Zone Director.

May 1, 2009

Veterans World Cup 2 - ICCF Tournament Announcement

The Scottish CCA offered in Pleven to organise the second and ongoing editions of the Veterans World Cup starting yearly in 2009. They have announced the second edition will be a three round tournament (adding a semi-final to last year's format) starting 1 September 2009. This year's edition is held in memoriam of Gerhard Radosztics.

If you are 60 or over and think you can beat the best of the veterans or you just want some good games with other "old hands" this is your tournament. See Official Announcement. for tournament and entry details.

March 29, 2009

ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Players and ICCF-US Titleholders Lists Updated

Using the latest ICCF ELO (player rating) lists [effective 1 April 09], Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer has compiled the latest ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Active Players list and the latest list of ICCF-US Title Holders. Congratulations to the following players for cracking the Top 50 List for the first time:

• #39 Lawrence Coplin
• #42 Frank Goebert
• #48 Brian D. Smith

February 24, 2009

World Cup 17 Prelims - Announcement

The International Correspondence Chess Federation just announced the ICCF World Cup XVII Tournament . This event is open to all players, and will be played in three rounds on the ICCF server. Entry is available via ICCF Webserver Direct Entry , or through the ICCF-US order form .

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary

February 16, 2009

Book Review of WHO IS THE CHAMPION OF THE CHAMPIONS ?

The book review below was recently written by Alex Dunne, who heads up USCF's correspondence chess operations. We are making the book available through iccfus.com, so if you are interested in ordering a copy after reading the review below please order using the ICCF-US order form found by clicking on the "ICCF-US Store" item in the menu on the left or the hyperlink at the top of this column.

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary

WHO IS THE CHAMPION OF THE CHAMPIONS ?

There is a new champion in the lists. Previously I had listed Sanakoev’s World Champion at the Third Attempt as the best correspondence book ever. Now there is a new champion: Who is the Champion of the Champions? by Fritz Baumbach with Robin Smith and Rolf Knobel. This superb book is divided into five parts. Part One contains bios and games of the five deceased World Correspondence Chess Champions and one of their best games thoroughly analyzed. Part Two describes the Jubilee Tournament of the World Champions, arguably the strongest tournament ever, including both OTB and correspondence. The nine living World Champions describe selected games from this tournament. The games are incredible! The annotations are incredible! This chapter alone would make this book great! Part three gives bio and a game of the four World Champions after the 2001 Jubilee Tournament began. There are photos of every Champion, and the analysis is first rate.

Die letzte Abteilung des Buches wird auf Deutsch geschrieben und zeigt einige hervorragende Spiele…Oops! Sorry about that. The last section of the book is written in German and features some outstanding games well annotated. It should have been translated for the monolingual English reading audience. Still, the games and notes are understandable without knowing German.

The Appendix gives crosstables of all the World Championship finals.

The only other flaw in this outstanding book is that the authors could not come to an agreement as to who is the champion of the champions. They express their opinions and allow the reader to choose for himself. So, reader, buy this book! Read this book! Study this book! And then decide for yourself, Who is the champion of the champions?

Alex Dunne, USCF Correspondence Chess

February 15, 2009

USCCC 16 Finals Winners With Their Trophies

Tom and Trophy

We reported the end of the USCCC 16 Finals in December. Since then the winners have been awarded their trophies and Co-winners Thomas Biedermann and Larry Coplin have both been kind enough to share a picture of themselves with their awesome hardware.

Larry and Trophy

Put yourself in this picture. You can if you enter the next United States Correspondence Chess Championship (USCCC). So watch for the next USCCC tournament announcement and submit your entry. Remember, our winners are seldom the highest rated entries. Mr. Coplin was the second-lowest rated in the Finals!

And if you win the USCCC you will receive an entry into the World Correspondence Chess Championship (WCCC). So your entry could be the first step toward your World Championship trophy.

Congratulations once again to our champions and Good Chess to you all.

February 14, 2009

Happy New Year!!!

OK, it is Valentines Day so this is a much belated New Year's wish for all of our ICCF-US players. 2008 witnessed the crowning of an undisputed (tournament and match) OTB champion with Anand's defeat of Kramnik ... in spite of FIDE's continued lack of direction. ICCF crowned multiple World Champions, but I would say that van Oosterom's second World Championship was probably the ICCF story of the year. What will be the big chess stories of 2009? If you have an interesting speculation or a story of your own, email it to your webmaster.

The new year is also a good time to stock up on games, postcards (for the diehards who are still on the snail mail trail) or World Correspondence Champion Fritz Baubach's new book Who is the Champion of Champions? (more on that later). You will find a new order form under the "ICCF-US Store" option in the menu on the left.

Have a great 2009!

December 4, 2008

4th NAPZ Championship : The Stories Behind the Event

We owe thanks to IA J. Franklin Campbell for this fine contribution to ICCF-US. Read the story behind the 4th North American Pacific Zone Champoinship (NAPZ-4). Franklin originally created this page for "Amici", the ICCF-US ezine, but "Amici" has "suffered through various difficulties and delays" (as Franklin put it) causing the story not to get published. We are the fortunate benefactors of "Amici"'s problems as Franklin has allowed ICCF-US to include it here.

Enjoy a good read!

December 1, 2008

16th USCCC Final Completed
USA Co-Champions Lawrence Coplin and Thomas Biedermann!

Sunday, the final game of the 16th USCCC Final finished, completing play in this event.

Congratulations to the new USA co-champions Lawrence Coplin and Thomas Biedermann, who finished with identical +5, -1, =6 records for final scores of 8-4.

This was an incredibly close event with three players finishing with 7.5 points and three more at 7.0 points.  8 of the 13 players therefore finished within one point of each other.

Tied for 3-5th places (with 7.5-4.5): David White, Corky Schakel and Daniel Horwitz.

Tied for 6-8th places (with 7-5): Don Eilmes, David Sogin and James Brailsford.

13 players competed in this all-play-all event (single round robin), playing 78 games in total (35 decisive, 43 drawn).  Only one player finished undefeated (David White) while five players suffered a single loss.  This event was played on the ICCF server with an official start date of October 15, 2007.  The final game finished on November 30, 2008, so the event lasted 13.5 months.  The ICCF-US archives have been updated with the games from this event  (or click USCCC Game Archives in the menu on the left at any time to see all of the USCCC games).

For a complete crosstable go to: iccf-webchess.com .

J. Franklin Campbell, ICCF-US Games and Crosstables Archivist

December 1, 2008

Rapid Play (10/20) and Blitz (10/10) Tournaments

ICCF is very pleased to offer two new and exciting unrated tournaments for correspondence chess players. These new tournaments will be played on the ICCF Web-Server and provide faster rates of play that allow tournaments to finish in a shorter period. The use of ‘conditional’ moves is allowed for these events. The ICCF Congress at Pleven, Bulgaria (2008) has approved the organisation of Rapid (10/20) and Blitz (10/10) correspondence chess tournaments. These tournaments will be reviewed by the 2009 ICCF Congress.

Note: The above is part of the description of these new events posted on www.iccf-webchess.com . Entry is $15 through ICCF-US, a little less via direct entry. See New events on the webserver page. ICCF Congress 2009 will review the success of these events, and decide if future Rapid and Blitz events will be rated, or possibly a separate rating system will be established.

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary

November 7, 2008

SUPPORT THE ICCF-US WHEN YOU BUY SETS, BOARDS, CLOCKS AND MORE

ICCF-US has signed up as an affiliate of House of Staunton. What does that mean?

It means that when you buy your chess supplies from House of Staunton after clicking on our House of Staunton logo [to the left] that ICCF-US will get a referral bonus based on your purchase. Please click on the logo and look at The House Of Stauton products. If you like what you see, your purchaes will support ICCF-US. Christmas is just around the corner, so give a gift to your favorite chess player and help ICCF-US at the same time.

October 19, 2008

TOURNAMENT ANNOUNCENENT: Slovenia Open - 30/10 Server time control - Cash Prizes

Slovenia is organizing the international tournament to celebrate our 15 years Membership of ICCF. We would like to have at least one entry for player from every member country of ICCF. So I am inviting you and your federation to consider to enter players in our tournament.

The official announcement could be found at:

I would like to remind you, that the deadline for entries is 31st of October.

AMICI SUMUS!

Best regards
Danilo Korže, President of Slovenian Correspondence Chess Council

Editor's Note: Note that 2350+ players may enter at the semifinals if they do not wish to risk points in the prelim.

October 10, 2008

The 61st ICCF Congress in Pleven, Bulgaria

The recently concluded 61st ICCF Congress in Pleven, Bulgaria approved a number of changes that will be welcomed by USA players in ICCF events. The highlight of the Congress for me was receiving medals and certificates for our new title holders: GM Dan Fleetwood, SIM and IM Michael Proof, SIM Ted Brandhorst, and IM Keith Holzmueller. The Congress also approved Leeds, England for the 62nd ICCF Congress next September. Anyone receiving a title is welcome to attend, and receive their certificate and medal in person.

There were several changes in rules, and new events approved and announced. A link to the minutes is at www.iccf.com. World Cup 17 will start March 2009, all games on the webserver. A change for Provisional ratings was approved, to allow the Provisional rating to be set somewhere close to an established club rating, instead of by event type. This will certainly help us organize Friendly Matches, which were set at 1800P. New Rapid (10/20) and Blitz (10/10) events were approved as a one year experiment, with the format the same as Money Prize Tournaments, but prize money to be credit for future entries. A new Interzonal tournament is expected to be started by the end of 2008. Veterans World Cups will be started every two years. A small change in rules to discourage slow play in lost games was approved: time doubles after twenty days on one move (server) and after twelve days (post). Rating changes will now be calculated with a maximum difference of 350, as is done in FIDE. The previous 600+ limit discouraged higher rating players from competing with lower rated opponents.

New Executive Board members are Eric Ruch (France) as Marketing Director and Søren Perschardt (Denmark) as Finance Director. These are strong additions to the ICCF leadership team, and it was a pleasure for me to visit with not only these two, but many of the others who participated in the Congress, as well as Michael Millstone, the other American attending and ICCF's Direct Entry Commissioner. The future looks very good for ICCF.

Corky Schakel,
ICCF-US Secretary

September 28, 2008

Romania and Scotland have asked to play friendly matches with ICCF-US. Participants would play a two game match against an opponent of comparable rating. Romania has about 30 players, and all games would be by server. Scotland proposes 15-20 games, with the first 15 by server, and possibly a few post games. Anyone who would like to play, please contact me at schakels@comcast.net. Note that a previous problem with provisional ratings was solved at the recent ICCF Congress: provisional ratings will now be set close to players' established ICCF or CCLA ratings.

If you are interested in being Team Captain for either of these events (or even better if you want to organize them!), let me know.

Corky Schakel,
ICCF-US Secretary

August 13, 2008

ICCF TOURNAMENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Dear chessfriends in all states and Federations!
We need your help!

To support the chess and correspondence chess in Africa the German Federation organizes a tournament for players all over the world. Every player has the right to announce himself to as many groups as he wants to. 9 players together build one group.

It is possible to play by server (ICCF), E-Mail or postal service. If possible every player will get opponents with nearly the same rating. It is guaranteed that each player will meet different opponents in different groups. We will try to create ladies groups if there are enough entries.

Everybody has the right to pay the amount of money that he wants to, but not less than 15,-- €. The whole money will be used to support the African chess and correspondence chess and will be given to “chess4all” under the Leadership of to Dr. Ole Jacobsen, Zonal Director Africa/Asia. The whole tournament will be rated by the ICCF. Norms are possible if the rating average will be high enough and enough players of different federations are playing. The winners will be given a present (books or souvenirs from West-Africa).

The tournament will start at the 20.09.2008. You should announce your entry to Mr. Hans-Jürgen Isigkeit, Arnold-Zweig-Strasse 70, D – 18435 Stralsund, Afrika@Fernschachbund.com or BdF@Isigkeit.net.

At the same time you are asked to send the fee to the following bank account: BdF, Commerzbank Uelzen, account: 5646500, bank code number: 258 400 48 or PayPal: bdf-paypal@gmx.de
Chessplayers from Africa can play for free!

Best regards,

Hans-Jürgen Isigkeit

Editor's Note:  I think Corky sums it up well... "The cause is good, although it seems like an odd event." So if you are looking for something different...

July 13, 2008 ... (Update 14 July - TC named)

ICCF-US Team Announced for Ladies Olympiad

The ICCF-US team has officially entered the Ladies Olympiad, with play scheduled to begin August 1. Roselie Estey, Janet Peterson, and Madge Smith, from the USA-Germany Friendly Match team, are joined by Nona Oldner, a junior player, just eleven years old. Janet has stepped up to fill the role of Team Captain... Thanks Janet. Good luck and good chess to our team!

Press release issued by Corky Schakel ICCF-US Secretary

July 13, 2008

Michael C. Proof is USA’s Newest IM and SIM

to enlarge

With his recent win in the ‘9th Pan American Team Championship’ vs. IM Carlos Sosa Patino (PER), Michael Proof has earned the ICCF Senior International Master Title (Mike had earned the IM Title only two weeks prior). With one game still remaining in that tournament, he has already clinched first place on Board 3, scoring 11.5/14 points and thereby exceeding the 11.0 point SIM Norm for a category IV tournament with 16 players. Mike had previously earned a SIM Norm in WS/MN/013, once again exceeding the SIM requirement of 10.0 points with a final overscore of 11.0.

He had been ‘playing under the radar’ until the Fall 2007 ICCF rating list was published with Mike first appearing in 33rd place (2436 rating) of all active USA players. It is quite possible that his performance in the Pan American will help the USA team to a medal as all 4 boards appear headed for plus scores.

Mike has been so kind as to annotate one of the games that helped earn his titles. Michael added, “This is a game against IM César Capablanca. He (César) told me he is the captain of the Cuban team and a cousin of the great José.” Judge for yourself whose style is more like the former World Champion. Also shown is the game (without annotations) which clinched the SIM Title for Michael. These tournament results and examples of his play are ample ‘Proof” that Michael is a force to be reckoned with in correspondence chess. – Q.E.D.

Press release issued by Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer

June 28, 2008

11th NAICCC Officially Starts 1 July 2008

The 11th North American Invitational Correspondence Chess Championship (NAICCC) officially starts Tuesday, 1 July 2008. Special thanks to Canada (namely IA Ralph P. Marconi) for organising the event and once again directing it. The winner will advance to the WCCC Candidates round.

Of special interest is that Randal Andrews (USA) is in the field of participants. He played in the 3rd NAICCC and 4th NAICCC and did rather well in the 4th, tying for first place with IM John Wright, but Wright won it on the better tie-break score. Click on 4th NAICCC cross-table to see the results.   Another story of this NAICCC: IM David Myers is playing as well as concurrently playing in the 22nd World CC Championship Final .   It was rather surprising that he decided to take on another strong event while playing in a World CC Championship Final - but I'm not complaining.

You can follow the 11th NAICCC progress on the ICCF server cross-table with the start list extracted below:

Reported by Ralph Marconi

Good luck and good chess to all the participants and thanks Ralph for giving us another strong North American tournament opportunity!

June 22, 2008

CORRESPONDENCE CHESS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
PRELIMINARIES OF THE 8th LADIES’ TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

ICCF has officially opened entries for the 8th Ladies' Olympiad Preliminary round to begin 1 August 2008. This is a great opportunity to represent your country, meet other strong lady players from all around the world and maybe achieve a title norm! Competiton consists of the Preliminary round and a Finals round (if our team can qualify).

For details on the competiton see the ICCF announcement. If you are a US lady player ready for top flight competition please send your entry request to schakels@comcast.net.

August 1 is not far away, so send your entry now.

June 16, 2008 (with minor corrections on June 22, photo added July 7)

Dan Fleetwood is USA ’s Newest Correspondence GM

the big picture

Bob Rizzo has issued the following press release:

With his victory against Poland’s SM Maciej Jedrzejowski, Dr. Daniel M. Fleetwood of Brentwood, Tennessee, has become the eighth US Correspondence Chess GrandMaster. Dan’s Medal and Title Certificate will be issued at the upcoming ICCF Congress in Pleven, Bulgaria, in September. Dan’s two GM norms were earned in the ICCF Olympiad 14 Final on board 3 and the ICCF Olympiad 15 Final on board 1.

A few glimpses into his chess talents were offered early on when he captured the ACUI Midwest regional Collegiate Chess Championship in 1981 and then the USCF’s premier correspondence tournament, the 1993 Absolute Championship. Success is no stranger to Dan who has not only excelled in chess but at virtually every pursuit he has attempted. He is not only an engineer, a scientist, and an accomplished teacher and academic administrator at Vanderbilt University, but also an inventor, a lyricist, an author, a musician, and an athlete – truly a “Master of All Trades.” His technical papers are too numerous to mention and his honors fill up several pages. In 2007, he was named a distinguished alumnus of the Purdue University School of Science. Given his work schedule and family responsibilities (he and his wife Betsy have three sons, ages 22, 18, and 15), one wonders how he ever found time to play, no less study chess.

Dan claims that nothing is easy in correspondence chess – a rather telling statement from someone who makes a living by solving difficult electrical engineering problems! But judging from his results perhaps he is just being modest. The gamescore that clinched his GM title appears below. Dan’s most impressive curriculum vitae can be found at the following link:

http://people.vanderbilt.edu/~dan.fleetwood/

ICCF CCO15/F (Board 1)

SM Fleetwood, Daniel M. (2565) United States

SM Jedrzejowski, Maciej (2502) Poland

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Nbd7 9.Qd2 Be7 10.g4 O-O 11.O-O-O b5 12.g5 b4 13.Ne2 Ne8 14.f4 a5 15.f5 a4 16.Nbd4 exd4 17.Nxd4 b3 18.Kb1 bxc2+ 19.Nxc2 Bb3 20.axb3 axb3 21.Na3 Ne5 22.h4 Ra4 23.Qg2 Qa8 24.f6 Bxf6 25.gxf6 Nxf6 26.Bb5 Rb4 27.Bd3 h5 28.Bh6 Nfg4 29.Bf4 Ra4 30.Bxe5 dxe5 31.Rc1 Rd8 32.Rh3 Nf6 33.Re3 Rad4 34.Qf3 Ng4 35.Rc7 Rf8 36.Re2 Nf6 37.Rc3 Rb8 38.Kc1 Kf8 39.Bc4 Rxe4 40.Bxb3 Rxe2 41.Qxe2 Qh1+ 42.Qd1 Qxd1+ 43.Bxd1 Nd5 44.Rb3 Rc8+ 45.Kd2 g6 46.Rb7 Rd8 47.Bb3 Ne7+ 48.Kc3 Rd4 49.Nc4 Nd5+ 50.Kc2 f6 51.Na5 Ne3+ 52.Kc3 Nd1+ 53.Bxd1 Rxd1 54.b4 e4 55.Nc4 Rd3+ 56.Kc2 Rd4 57.Ne3 f5 58.Ng2 e3 59.Kc3 Re4 60.Rc7 f4 61.Ne1 Re5 62.Rc4 Rf5 63.Nf3 Ke7 64.Rd4 Ke6 65.Kd3 Ke7 66.Ke2 Ke6 67.Ng5+ Ke5 68.Rc4 Rf8 69.Kf3 Kd5 70.Re4 Rf6 71.Nh3 Rf5 72.Nxf4+ Kd6 73.Re6+ Kd7 74.Rxg6 e2 75.Rg1 Kc6 76.Ke4 Rb5 77.Rc1+ Kd6 78.Nd3 Rb7 79.Kf3 Re7 80.Re1 1-0

April 29, 2008 (Updated 22 June -- Correction Anthony Kain not Cain -- Sorry Tony!)

Announcing -- ICCF 1st JUNIOR WORLD CUP

ICCF announces the 1st Junior World Cup intended to promote correspondence chess in young players. It will be played on the ICCF webserver in two stages: Preliminary and Final and is open to anyone born after June 30th, 1988 regardless of ICCF membership status.

The top four players in the Final will receive money prizes. Players may register immediately via their National Federation or by using the online Direct Entry method. Registration closes at midnight GMT on June 20, 2008.

Two ICCF-US players (Anthony Kain and Cian Wingo) are among the early entries to the Junior World Cup.

For more details see the official announcement on the ICCF website.

April 6, 2008

Wanted: One Player for a Two Game Friendly Match with Scotland, 1800-2000 Fixed ICCF Rating

Scotland vs. The World 30th Anniversary of Scottish CCA will have four Americans participating, and we need one more player with a fixed ICCF rating of 1800-2000 to play by post. Please send your entry request to schakels@comcast.net.

April 3, 2008

April Game of the Month Annotated by GM Dr. Jason Bokar

As promised in March, we present the April Game of the Month with superb annotations by GM Dr. Jason Bokar. The game is a Dutch Stonewall win by ICCF-US Secretary and IM Corky Schakel over a strong Russian opponent.

Enjoy

April 3, 2008

Announcing -- 3rd ICCF WEBCHESS OPEN TOURNAMENT

    -One free entry to new-to-ICCF players-

ICCF has just announced the 3rd ICCF Webchess Open Tournament, with details available under "New events" at www.iccf-webchess (or click http://www.iccf-webchess.com/Message.aspx?message=210 ). This is an open-to-all event with seven player sections; the first of three rounds starts in mid-May. Players who are new to ICCF will be allowed one free entry to introduce themselves to server play. Multiple entries are allowed, at $25 each, a bit less via Direct Entry.

March 23, 2008

Wanted: Chess Clocks for Cuba

SIM Pablo Salcedo Mederos, my Museum Match partner and long time friend of ICCF-US, has started a chess club at his university in Cuba. They need about twenty chess clocks. If anyone has an unused chess clock they would like to donate, please contact me at schakels@comcast.net.

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary

March 23, 2008

U.S. CORRESPONDENCE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS -- Entries Closed

Last minute entries allowed us to kick off with nine sections! Thanks for your response.

March 9, 2008

Ted Brandhorst is USA's Newest SIM

to enlarge

The ICCF-US office is pleased to announce that Ted Brandhorst (USA) has earned the title of Senior International Master as officially confirmed by ICCF Titles Commssioner, Eric Ruch. This is the second of what we hope will be many more medals that the USA will be awarded at the Pleven, Bulgaria Congress to be held in September. Ted’s SIM title was earned as the result of Norms earned in the ‘Chessfriends Rochade 5171 - 15 Years’ and the ‘10th North American Invitational CC’ tournaments.

Ted represented the USA team as board 4 in the Rochade event where he scored 8 points. Board 4 was rated 2467 (Category IX) and included 2 GMs as well as 7 SIMs in the field of 15 players. Ted made the SIM standard while earning a performance rating of 2528 and finishing tied for 4th. Ted clinched the norm with his result against Germany’s SIM Thomas Cuno on Halloween, October 31, 2006.

In the Category VII (rated 2417) NAICCC tournament Ted scored 9 points which exceeded the 8 required for the SIM title, missing a GM norm by a mere ½ point. Ted won this tournament with a stratospheric 2617 performance rating. Ted scored his 8th point (title clinching point) against Canada’s IM Valer-Eugene Demian on Christmas Day! It looks like Ted does not take off on Holidays! Congratulations to the USA’s latest SIM.

Reported by Bob Rizzo

March 4, 2008

New Feature -- Game of the Month

In the menu to the left you will see a new item -- "Game of the Month". Just to get the ball rolling I have started with light annotations on one of my own games. But I promise you better games and better annotation in the coming months as the USAs newest ICCF GM Dr. Jason Bokar has volunteered to annotate for us!

I will also accept your most interesting annotated games from our other readers for consideration for publishing in this new feature. Don't be shy -- send your best efforts. I will also accept your best games unannotated and pass them on to Jason for possible annotation by a GM.

March 1, 2008

U.S. CORRESPONDENCE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS -- Two More Players Needed

ICCF-US Secretary Corky Schakel has informed me that 54 entries for the 2nd USCCC via webserver have been received! (Unfortunately not enough Postal entries came in to hold the 18th USCCC by post). We still need two more webserver entries to fill out the eighth seven-player section so Corky can get the assignments out this month. If you have ever considered playing in the U.S Championships, or just want want some good games against strong players, we need your entry now. See tournament and entry details in February 1st announcement below.

February 15, 2008

U.S. CORRESPONDENCE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Note: E N T R Y    D E A D L I N E    E X T E N D E D    T O    M A R C H    1st
Last chance to get those entries in!

to enlarge and see other photos

9 February 2008: USCCC Champion IM David Myers With His Trophy

There's more to being USCCC champion than just the title. The perquisites as the winner include:

You too will get your story on the web (see October 22 article below)

The Trophy - a pretty impressive piece of hardware for your trophy case (and if you don't have a trophy case, the USCCC Championship trophy will be worth building one for)

Certainly not the least impressive prize is that you earn an entry into the ICCF World Championship tournament

The Trophy

I hope these pictures will whet your appetite to vie for the titles of 2nd Webserver US Correspondence Champion or 19th Postal US Correspondence Champion (if we get enough postal entries). See the announcement below and if you are rated over 2000 and didn't get an email from ICCF-US inviting you, please email ICCF-US or the webmaster with an updated email address. (Qualified players not receiving an invitation may mean that we have a bad email address on file for you.)

Remember, you don't have to have the highest rating to win, David wasn't the top rated player last year.

February 1, 2008

U.S. CORRESPONDENCE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The deadline date for upcoming U.S. Correspondence Chess Championships is fast approaching. Get your entries in now!

18th Postal Entries due Feb. 15, 2008
2nd Server Entries due Feb. 15, 2008

All CCLA and USCF members
with correspondence ratings over 2000 or OTB over 2100
Preliminary round sections: 7 players, balanced by rating. Winners advance. Final round
includes designated champions from USCF and CCLA and former USCCC Champions.

U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY
AND NOMINATION TO
ICCF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CYCLE

Details at www.iccfus.com/ne040210.htm
Or for order form to write to:

ICCF-US
16052 Quality Ct. S.
Lakeland MN 55043

Entries due Feb. 15, 2008
Calendar March 1st 2008 as the start date!

February 1, 2008

USA Women Take on Germany in a Friendly Match

Germany challenged ICCF-US to a Women's Friendly Match, with a Scheveningen System format (each of the five team members plays two games against each of the five opponent players). Here is our team:

Janet Peterson
Jean Moeckel
Madge Smith
Roselie Estey
Vanessa Glover Evans
We wish our team good luck and good chess!

In addition ICCF-US has agreed to participate a Women's Olympiad if ICCF can get nine teams to commit. Ladies, this is a great chance to meet other chess player from at least eight countries!

January 6, 2008

NEW INTERNATIONAL MATCHES SCHEDULED

Dick Vandenburg reports that he is organizing two new international matches, with the United Kingdom and Spain , both of which will be played 100% through the ICCF server. Both countries indicate they want to use the server only, without any of the games being played via email on the side. The UK match is set to begin on February 1 with Spain following March 1. Only members of CCLA and USCF are eligible to play on one or both of our teams (non-members are encouraged to join one of the two groups). Space depends upon whether we have room in the various rating classifications, except we will not give preference to players who participated in the now winding-down USA vs. Sweden match and ended with a 0-2 score. As with Sweden, most players will be rated between 2000 and 2500, although a few may be accepted down to 1700 or 1800. Two games will be played with each opponent (one with each color, of course) and players will be listed in order of their ratings, using ICCF ratings first, followed by either USCF or CCLA. We estimate the UK match will have about 30 players and Spain somewhere between 50 and 80. Also as with Sweden, the use of computers is permitted.

If you are interested in playing in either match, please contact:
Dick Vandenburg rsvandenburg@juno.com.

January 1, 2008

ICCF-US Secretary's Report -- ICCF-US Administration

After more than ten years of outstanding service as Secretary to ICCF-US, Ruth Ann Fay retired last October. She continues to be a great help as I learn the ins and outs of ICCF and ICCF-US. Ruth Ann was also the North America Pacific Zone Director, and I will be continuing the dual role until we find someone who can dedicate theirself fully to take on the NAPZD duties.

There are a number of volunteers supporting ICCF-US during this transition. Dan Perry is the new webmaster, with Franklin Campbell the back-up. Franklin is also TD for the 2nd World Server USCCC Final. Kristo Miettinen is organizing the USCCC17 Final, and will be the TD for the event. Bob Rizzo is keeping track of all the norms for IM, SIM, and GM titles. Michael Millstone is the Direct Entry coordinator for ICCF, and has been a great resource for how ICCF works. Jason Bokar has been the deputy NAPZ Director, and continues to provide help and advice. Brennan Price has volunteered to provide organizing support, as well as legal advice. Dick Vandenburg, CCLA President, is coordinating a friendly match against Sweden, soon to be followed by matches with England, Germany, Spain, and whoever else challenges us. And Alex Dunne and Joan DuBois of USCF have been providing support through publicity for ICCF events (and successes!).

ICCF officials have been most helpful (and tolerant), especially Gino Figlio, Marco Caressa, Frank Geider, Eric Ruch, Gian-Maria Tani, Guido Bresadola, Pedro Hegoburu, President Med Samraoui, and Honorary President Alan Borwell.

My objectives for the next several years are simple: help ICCF-US survive and thrive, providing an opportunity for American players to compete internationally at the highest levels. So the right way to end this note is to wish the best of luck to Jon Ostriker, David Myers, and Tim Murray as they start WC Finals in the next few months. Previous American World Champions Hans Berliner and Victor Palciauskus have led the way for all of us.

Amici Sumus!
Corky Schakel,
ICCF-US Secretary

December 31, 2007

ICCF Olympaid XVII Preliminaries US Team Qualifies for Finals and Makes Chess Life January Cover!!

I wish to pass along a letter of congratulations to the US ICCF Olympiad XVII Preliminaries team on their qualification to the Olmypiad Finals from Joan DuBois, U.S. Chess Director of Communications, Affiliate Relations & Correspondence Chess. Her letter also points out their new status as the "cover boys" of U.S. Chess. Their achievement has been memorialized on the January cover of Chess Life for all the world to see!

Let me echo Joan's congratualations to:
1st Board : Dr. Jason Bokar
2nd Board : Kenneth Reinhart
3rd Board : Keith Rodriguez
4th Board : Robert Rizzo
5th Board : Michael Millstone
6th Board : Corky Schakel
Captain (and cover designer!) J. Franklin Campbell

For more on the team see the official team website (where you can also get a preview of the cover).

December 31, 2007

Tournament Announcement -- 1st ICCF Veterans World Cup

ICCF-US is now accepting entries for the 1st ICCF Veterans World Cup organized by the Czech Correspondence Chess Association in memory of IA Stanislav Foglar.

This tournament will be played on the ICCF webserver, in two or three stages (depending on entries) of 11-13 players, beginning 11 April 2008. This tournament is only open to players who will be at least 60 years of age as of the startdate. All games played in this tournament are rated, and one entry fee covers all stages. Games will be available to the public only when they are finished, and when at least 10 games are finished in the section.

The entry fee is $25, payable to ICCF-US. Entries must be sent to the ICCF-US at the address below with the player’s name, date of birth, e-mail address, and entry fee by 15 February 2008.

Mr. Stanislav Foglar (11 April 1913 – 9 August 2004) was a significant figure in Czech, Czechoslovak, and international correspondence chess. Mr. Foglar was an International Arbiter, recipient of the Bertl von Massow gold medal, and captain of the Czech teams which won gold in the 5th ICCF Olympiad and silver in the 6th ICCF Olympiad. 11 April, the startdate of the tournament, is Mr. Foglar’s birthday.

Send entries/inquiries to:

ICCF-US, Leonard Schakel
16052 Quality Ct S
Lakeland, MN 55043
schakels@comcast.net

December 4, 2007

Players Wanted for USA vs. Germany, England, and Spain Friendly Matches!

Play a two game match with an opponent of comparable rating, on the ICCF server, ICCF rated.

All ratings accepted.

Order using the ICCF-US order form, $6 per match.

All players welcome, as are entries to multiple matches!

Assignments will be made throughout 2008.

November 15, 2007

Keith Holzmueller Qualifies for IM and SIM Titles

Keith Holzmueller has just received confirmation of his qualification for the IM title and SIM title, for which applications will be submitted to the annual ICCF Congress in Pleven , Bulgaria next September. One of his performances also met requirements for a GM norm, and he will play a World Championship Candidates section, looking for that last GM norm. Good luck, Keith!

Bob Rizzo,
ICCF-US Titles Officer

November 15, 2007
(Entry Address modified from October 3, 2007 posting)

November 8, 2007

2007 ICCF Congress - NAPZ Directors Report

Ruth Ann Fay, North America Pacific Zone (NAPZ) Director has provided the official NAPZ Directors Report 2007.   For further information you may download the Draft Congress Minutes  from the ICCF site.

Among the other rulings of the 2007 Congress covered in Ruth Ann's report, is the addition of ICCF Money Prize Tournaments  to the ICCF tournament menu. Nine player sections compete for a 200 CHF first prize and a 100 CHF second prize. For information on the current section filling and to enter (Direct Entry only) see http://www.iccf-webchess.com/EventsAnnouncements.aspx.

As an added bonus for those of us who couldn't make the trip Ruth Ann has included a gallery of her best photographs  taken at the Congress. Enjoy the shots of Spain, Gibraltar and the congress participants. Its the best alternative to being there.

Amici Sumus!
Dan Perry,
ICCF-US Webmaster

November 5, 2007
(Updated 1 Nov posting -- Photo hyperlinks added)

US Players Receive GM, SIM and IM Titles

October 22, 2007

Dave Myers Wins USA Championship

Congratulations to Dave Myers on clinching first place in the USA Championship (1st WS USCCC Final). The tournament Director International Arbiter Ralph Marconi has informed that by finishing his playing schedule with an undefeated score of +4 =4 (6-2) he has assured that no one can catch him (several players can theoretically score 5½). Thus, David Myers becomes the current USA correspondence chess champion.

September 16, 2007

The Top 50 List of Active US players with Fixed Ratings is now out!

Please click on the "Player Ranks" on the side bar. Thismeans the rating is based on 30 or more results and that the lastresult was within 5 years. Some players, who would otherwise be on thelist, have indicated to me that they are no longer active. GM Hans JackBerliner with a rating of 2726 is the number 1 example.  The ratings onthis list are valid for calculation of title norms in tournamentsbeginning between 1 October 2007 through 31 March 2008.

Please congratulate Michael C. Proof on his first appearance on thelist. His rating jumped an impressive 40 points since the last list. Heenters this list as number 33.

Players may look on www.iccf-webchess.com for their ICCF Rating and ID number at anytime.

May 30, 2007

Next Champion's League Season Registration

See NTT Commissioner's letter below. ICCF-US order form has been updated.

Dear chessfriends,

Welcome to the 3rd season of ICCF-CL! We areopen for registration later than announced; please accept my apologies for thisdelay. The registration closes August 1st, 2007. All games for the new seasonwill start officially on September 1st, 2007.

We have revised anduploaded the FAQ valid for this season. You can read it here:
http://tables.iccf.com/email/ChLeague/2004/season3faq.htm
Theregistration form is available here:
http://tables.iccf.com/email/ChLeague/2004/season3faq.htm#faq03.8
Itshould provide you with all necessary details to make an educated decisionbefore registering.

There are 2 ways to register for this 3rdseason:
- register via your national federation
- register via DirectEntry
as explained by our FAQ.

If at anytime during the registrationyou need clarifications, we are ready to help you! Please contact the followingpeople:
Michael Millstone (DE Administrator) - for any DE relatedquestion
Valer Eugen Demian - for any other question regarding ICCF-CL ingeneral
Their contact information is available at the ICCF main webpage under"Main menu" > "ICCF Contacts"

Amici sumus,
Valer EugenDemian
NTT Commissioner

May 28, 2007

Update on the Olympiad 15 Final. Many thanks to Raymond Boger!

April 2007

The ICCF-US top 50 players announced!