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Correspondence Chess

Celebrating 5 years of service to the on-line
cc community (14 April 1998 - 14 April 2003)
Webmaster J. Franklin Campbell (USA)
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(29 November 2003): I have just posted The Rules Define the Ethics. My point is that chess is not like life. We can't just make judgments that something is unethical. The rules of the game define how the game is to be played. Being unethical means not following the rules. Or is it that simple? Even though chess is a game whose rules are defined, is it still possible to act unethically while strictly obeying the rules of play? This article presents both points of view and asks you if you can provide examples of things which are legal yet unethical. Replies by readers will be used in my future columns.

(17 November 2003): USCF Calls for Player Profile Updates
Congratulations to ICCF-U.S. affiliate USCF for their progress on the Absolute Championship Project. The USCF Absolute Championship is their most prestigious event, and they are attempting to create an archive of games, crosstables and player profiles for participants in these events. If you participated in the Absolute Championship please send USCF CC Director Joan DuBois (joandubois@uschess.org) a photo and current chess bio. If you have not already sent your games from your event(s) please send them as well. See the current status of this project at Absolute Championship Review. The status of the player profiles can be seen at Absolute Championship Participants.

(26 November 2003): The Pacific Area Team Tournament (PATT IV) has finally finished and the Canada team of Artur Mrugala, Eugen Demian, Zoltan Sarosy, Ross Siemms, Al Fichaud, and William Roach (Team Captain Ralph Marconi) can finally pop the corks and start the official celebration. Bd 1 Mrugala and bd 6 Roach won their individual boards with Mrugala surpassing the IM norm by 1½ points. The second place USA team of Stephen Jones, David Eisen, Richard Aiken, Hisham Sunna, Kristo Miettinen, and N. Eric Pedersen (Team Captain Tom Dougherty) retained chances till the very last games ended, falling short of first place by a slim 1½ points (see team standings and crosstables). Sunna won board 4 with 8-2, a full point above the IM norm requirement. The updated PGN file is now available for download from the ICCF-U.S. Games Archive.

(14 November 2003): Steve Ryan, editor of the IECC journal Chess Bits, recently interviewed me for the November 2003 issue, which was just published. He asked some thought-provoking questions. With permission I have posted the complete interview here: A Chess Bits Interview with Franklin Campbell by Steve Ryan.

(10 November 2003): Congratulations to the new USA Co-Champions Dr. Ian S. Brooks and Richard P. Fleming. They finished with 7½ points out of 10 in the 1st E-mail U. S. Correspondence Chess Championship Final to share the title. With 6/10 three players tied for third place: Keith A. Rodriguez, G. Robert Arnold and Michael J. Mazock. This was a hard-fought event with no undefeated players.

(4 November 2003): The ICCF President Josef Mrkvička issued an announcement today concerning the ICCF Chess Web Server project. I just posted it at the ICCF-U.S. web site. See the announcement at ICCF Chess Server Announcement.

(29 October 2003): Just posted: "The Campbell Report" for September-October 2003, as published in the print magazine APCT News Bulletin.


Ruth Ann Fay

(27 October 2003): ICCF Congress Photos
Ruth Ann Fay
, Deputy Director of the NAPZ Zone and wife of ICCF-U.S. Secretary Max Zavanelli, took over 100 photos at the 2003 ICCF Congress. I have now posted these photos at the ICCF-U.S. Web Site, winner of this year's "Friend of ICCF" award. Other reports and collections of photos can be found on the ICCF Congress Web Site hosted here at CC.COM. To see Ruth Ann's photo collection go to Ruth Ann's Congress Photos.


Jeschonnek

(19 October 2003): New Book Review
Popular chess journalist Volker Jeschonnek (USA) has written a comprehensive review of a new cc tournament book. See Review of "First Anglo-Pacific Invitational Chess Championship" by ICCM Erik Osbun.

(4 October 2003): 15th USA Correspondence Chess Championship Final. Assignments are in the hands of the 15 participants in the 15th USCCC Final, which officially begins on 6 Oct 2003. 15th USCCC Final Crosstable.

(12 October 2003): ICCF Congress Starts in Ostrava
The first report is in from the Chech Republic. SIM Max Zavanelli (USA) has won the only contested election for Deputy President & Development Director. For news go to the ICCF Congress Web Site.

(14 September 2003): I have just posted (on the ICCF-U.S. web site) a listing of all the ICCF titleholders from the USA, including those with the non-playing International Arbiter title. See: USA Titleholders. There is also a list of the titles expected to be awarded at the upcoming ICCF Congress.


J. Hilbert

H. Helms

(18 September 2003): New article by chess historian John Hilbert! Check out this great new article titled Hermann Helms and Correspondence Chess Coverage in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle by John S. Hilbert

(3 September 2003): It's always an occasion when a new correspondence chess book is published. I expect to publish a full review later, but I just posted my "mini-review", which recently appeared in my print column "The Campbell Report" in the Sept-Oct 2003 issue of APCT News Bulletin. See: First Anglo-Pacific Invitational Chess Championship Mini-review.


Wim van Vugt

(27 August 2003): Remember the TCCMB discussion of female performance in chess? Wim van Vugt has written an article summarizing the discussion and adding his own mathematical analysis. I have posted his article ...
Freedom, inequality or brotherhood? by Wim van Vugt.

(3 September 2003): Just posted: "The Campbell Report" for July-August 2003, as published in the print magazine APCT News Bulletin.


Schakel

(1 August 2003): Recently, in correspondence with Leonard "Corky" Schakel (USA), he showed me a remarkable gambit he had won in only 19 moves vs. a strong opponent. He graciously acceptable my invitation to share this game, his comments, and a short chess biography with the cc community via this site.
Leonard "Corky" Schakel vs. Kristo Miettinen
Danish Gambit Accepted

(6 August 2003): I just launched a new Games Archive at the ICCF-U.S. web site. There are currently eight collections of games in PGN format available for download. Additional tournaments will be added as the games become available.
ICCF-U.S. Games Archive.

(12 July 2003): I have posted the story Too Young to Fight ... Old Enough to Remember written by my brother Clealon Campbell on the effects of World War II on my family. He is 10 years older than I, was born in 1932 and has (at the urging of family and friends) recorded these memories of how the war affected our lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma (USA). No chess content.
-- J. Franklin Campbell

(15 July 2003): What happens to those score sheets you send in to report the result in an ICCF tournament? Is it possible to dig up results from a tournament played ten years ago? Just what are the duties of a tournament director? Can anything be done to insure that important tournament information (games, results, crosstables) are not lost? For my opinions and suggestions see my new article Preserving the Heritage of Correspondence Chess
-- J. Franklin Campbell

(16 July 2003): The chess world lost one of its great chess writers and historians on 11 July 2003 when Kenneth Whyld died at the age of 77. Read fellow chess historian Neil Brennen's tribute to this wonderful chess author A Tribute to Ken Whyld : Three New Lasker Games

(19 July 2003): I've initiated a new project to create an on-line archive of important crosstables of ICCF-U.S. and NAPZ events. These crosstables are being created at the ICCF-U.S. web site. Initially some links will be to crosstables at other sites. Additional crosstables will be added as quickly as possible. See
ICCF-U.S. Crosstable Archive.


SIM-elect
J. Bokar
(23 June 2003): Congratulations to SIM-Elect Dr. Jason Bokar! ICCF Qualifications Commissioner George Pyrich has confirmed that he has met the requirements for the SIM title. The title should be awarded officially at the upcoming ICCF Congress in Ostrava, Czech Republic in October. Jason earned norms as follows: the first norm was in the MATE 25 Postal B tournament where he had 9.5/14 (Category 7). Now he has added the final required norm by scoring 7.0/11 in NATT V board 5 (Category 5). Way to go, Jason!
(4 July 2003): The May-June 2003 The Campbell Report magazine column from the APCT News Bulletin has now been posted. This column has been published regularly by the USA cc organization American Postal Chess Tournaments (APCT) since Jan-Feb 1989. The columns from Jan-Feb 1994 have been archived here on the APCT Columns page. My thanks to APCT Tournament Director Helen Warren and APCT Business Manager Jim Warren for getting me started in chess journalism through their excellent magazine and for providing the encouragement to write about the Royal Game! -- J. Franklin Campbell

Chris Kantack
(6 June 2003): Today I posted the new article My Correspondence Chess Experience by Chris Kantack to the "On the Square" collection of articles at this site. Through his writing Mr. Kantack shares with us his experiences getting started in correspondence chess. I'm sure you'll enjoy this upbeat story of one player's involvement in our favorite activity.

Neil Brennen
(14 June 2003): Have you ever thought about what a rejection letter from The Campbell Report would look like? I must admit that I hadn't. But that didn't stop chess journalist Neil Brennen from pondering this significant subject. Read his new article A selection of rejection letters from The Campbell Report to see what happens when a famous chess historian focuses his skills and creativity on chess humor.

Dr. Jason Bokar
(5 June 2003): North America/Pacific Zone News: ICCF NAZP Zonal Director Ralph Marconi (CAN) has just announced the formation of the first section for NAPZ Email Higher Class competition. The Tournament Director for these events is Dr. Jason Bokar (USA). He will also be maintaining on-line crosstables for this event. I have added the appropriate link to the NAPZ Tournaments Index.
(21 May 2003): ICCF President Alan Borwell and ICCF Marketing Director Pedro Hegoburu have announced a special offer from New in Chess for ICCF members. You can receive a free copy of a "Mini Yearbook", consisting of a 48-page booklet, exactly half the size of a regular NiC yearbook, which includes 5 recent sample surveys and examples of the other features of a yearbook. Read the following announcement for complete information: Mini-Yearbook Offer. If that link doesn't work go to http://www.iccf.com and follow the link under "22.5.: New In Chess offer - FREE Mini Yearbook!"

ICCF President
Alan Borwell (SCO)
(21 May 2003): ICCF President Alan Borwell has announced his retirement (he will not run for re-election at the 2003 ICCF Congress in Ostrava, Czech Republic in October). Congratulations to him on his successful term of leadership. He has served well as president since 1997 and in other positions of leadership within ICCF and deserves our appreciation. Hopefully, Alan will now be able to participate more actively as a player. For his full announcement see "21.5.: ICCF Congress 2003 - Elections" at http://www.iccf.com or go directly to the his announcement.
(6 May 2003): Now available is a review by Neil Brennen of the new chess magazine Squares: The Chess World's Picture Magazine. See what Neil thinks in Much Ado About Nothing... Also, check out my new article Leaving postal chess behind … for every gain there is a loss
(30 April 2003): My APCT column for March-April 2003 has now been posted. All my columns now available on-line are listed at APCT column menu.
(10 March 2003): Grandmaster, International Arbiter, ICCF Rules Commissioner ... here's a chance to meet GM Ian Brooks, a USA resident who plays for England. Dr. Brooks kindly agreed to answer my questions, plus he has shared his collection of ICCF certificates and medals. Have you ever seen an International Arbiter's pin or examined the handsome certificates and medals presented to ICCF title holders? Ian has a complete collection. I'm sure you'll find them and his comments extremely interesting. See Interview of GM Ian Brooks (ENG)
(10 March 2003): CJA President Pete Tamburro has just announced this year's guidelines for the annual Chess Journalists of America/Cramer Committee awards for excellence in chess journalism. This year new categories have been added for Internet publications. Read the Chess Journalists of America / Cramer Journalism Awards Joint Announcement at the CJA web site. Chess material published in the USA and Internet items by USA residents or USA citizens living abroad are eligible.
(27 February 2003): There's been a lot of discussion about the new chess server ChessFriend.Com and it's owner and creator Reimund Lutzenberger of Germany. I decided to go right to the source and ask Mr. Lutzenberger what was going on. I was delighted when he agreed. I asked the tough questions and he provided his responses plus a lot of information about his new services and plans. Read Interview of Reimund Lutzenberger (GER) by J. Franklin Campbell
(22 February 2003): The Light Within; Or, Let Us Now Praise A Good Man by Neil Brennen.has been added to the "On the Square" articles. One chess historian comments on the work of another chess historian ... read Neil Brennen's interesting commentary and his review of the book Walter Penn Shipley: Philadelphia's Friend of Chess by John Hilbert.

(19 February 2003): On the morning of Sunday, February 16, fire destroyed the home of ICCF-IM and FIDE-Master Alex Dunne. His wife and 2 year old grandson were unable to escape the flames, and perished in the fire. The Pennsylvania State Chess Federation is accepting donations for a fund to be set up for the benefit of Alex. Contributions may be made by check or credit card. If contributing by check, please make checks payable to "PSCF" and send them to: Dr. Ira Lee Riddle / 400 Newtown Road / Warminster, PA 18974-5208, USA. Please include a note indicating that the check is for the Alex Dunne Fund. If you wish to donate by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, or PayPal, please visit the webpage: Alex Dunne Fund The electronic payment site is a joint effort of CC.COM and the PSCF. All contributions to the Alex Dunne Fund are tax-deductible under US law.

(7 February 2003): Tournament Director J. Franklin Campbell has extended the end date (closeout date) for the preliminary round of the 15th USCCC by six months. The new end date is 20 July 2003. Competitors with remaining games are encouraged to finished their games ASAP.
(27 January 2003): Chess Historian John Hilbert is familiar to visitors to this site. A number of his articles, published first here, have been reprinted in his book Essays in American Chess History, which won the 2002 Cramer and CJA award for book of the year. John has written a new article on chess history for The Campbell Report titled Howard Staunton and Chess by "Electric Telegraph".
(14 January 2003): After briefly not allowing prison inmates to participate in USCF correspondence chess tournaments, USCF has reinstated prisoners. I've updated my previous article on the USCF policy to update it with USCF CC Director Joan DuBois' statement on the subject. See USCF Resumes Service to Prison Inmates.
(4 January 2003): Another publishing year has come to an end. I just posted my final APCT News Bulletin column of the year The Campbell Report (Nov-Dec 2002). If you enjoy my column you can see nine years' worth of columns at the APCT column menu.
 

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