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June 17, 2013ICCF-US Friendly Matches Newsletter - Issue 4The Friendly Post Issue 4 is now available. You can access it using the link in the lefthand column on this web page. The newsletter describes our historical performance, upcoming Friendly Matches, simple instructions about how to participate in Friendly Matches, highlighted games from Friendly Matches, and more. Check it out! Dennis Doren, ICCF-US Friendly Match Organizer |
June 17, 2013Price Rise in ICCF Tournament Entries Through ICCF-USICCF-US regrets to inform you that effective today, due to the increased exchange rate of the Euro in US dollars, we must raise the prices on the ICCF tournament entries through ICCF-US. The new prices have been posted under the "ICCFUS Store" tab accessed from the menu in the upper left column of this page. Prices through direct entry (through ICCF not ICCF-US) are unaffected as they continue to be posted in Euros with the exchange rate handled through the PayPal purchase. |
June 11, 2013ICCF-US Top 50 Rating List UpdatedUsing the 2013/3 ICCF ELO (player rating) lists [effective 1 July 13], Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer has compiled the latest ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Active Players list. Welcome Peter Cullen to the Top 50 List, debuting in the #50 slot. The biggest move this quarter is Wolff Morrow who jumped from 46th to 36th place on the strength of a 31-point rating increase. Congratulations to Peter and Wolff! To access the list choose "PLAYER RANKS" from the upper left menu bar. |
May 20, 20132013 ICCF-US National Federation Report SubmittedCorky Schakel , USA National Federation Representative, has submitted the 2013 USA National Federation Report with ICCF for the 2013 ICCF Congress in Krakow, Poland. This has been an active year for the US in ICCF play and governance with, among other things, 8 new Freindly Matches with other countries / federations. Please click on the hyperlink above to see what else your federation is doing! Dan Perry, ICCF-US Wemaster |
April 7, 2013Czech Republic-USA Friendly Match StartedICCF-US has begun play in a 55-board Friendly Match against a team from the Czech Republic. The Czech Team Captain has informed us that this is the largest Friendly Match their country has ever played. GM Stephen Ham is playing Board 1 for the USA versus GM Jan Židu. SIM Thomas Biedermann is our USA Team Captain. Dennis Doren, ICCF-US Friendly Match Organizer |
April 7, 2013Portugal-USA Friendly Match StartedICCF-US has also begun play in a 27-board Friendly Match against a team from Portugal. IM Corky Schakel is playing Board 1 for the USA versus Paulo Leal. Patrick Ryan is our USA Team Captain. Dennis Doren, ICCF-US Friendly Match Organizer |
March 28, 2013New Events for NAPZNorth America Pacific Zone Promotional events (Open, Higher, Master Class) are now available under New Events on the ICCF webserver page. These are equivalent to the World Individual Promotional events, but are limited to players in NAPZ countries (see Nations & Zones on the webserver page) and those countries in the geographical area that are not ICCF member federations. Master Class will be seven player sections, instead of eleven, the same as Open and Higher, same entry fee. The time control will be different: 40 days for 10 moves for the NAPZ events, rather than 50/10. Thanks to Glen Shields for taking on the role of Tournament Organizer! He will receive the entries from Direct Entry and National Federation entries, and will set the sections up on the server. Corky Schakel, ICCF-US NF Rep. |
March 28, 2013Netherlands-USA Friendly Match StartedICCF-US has begun play in a 64-board Friendly Match against a team from the Netherlands. We last played the Netherlands in a Friendly Match in 1985 (info thanks to Alex Dunne!). SIM Thomas Biedermann is playing Board 1 for the USA versus the over-the-board IM Twan Burg. Harry Ingersol is our USA Team Captain. Dennis Doren, ICCF-US Friendly Match Organizer |
March 24, 2013ICCF-US Top 50 Rating List UpdatedUsing the 2013/2 ICCF ELO (player rating) lists [effective 1 April 13], Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer has compiled the latest ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Active Players list. Welcome IM Cesar Musitani to the Top 50 List. The biggest move this quarter is Peter Dessaules who jumped from 37th to 23rd place on the strength of a 30-point rating increase. Congratulations to Cesar and Peter! To access the list choose "PLAYER RANKS" from the upper left menu bar. |
March 12, 2013Cape Verde-USA Friendly Match StartedICCF-US has begun play in a 15-board Friendly Match against a team from Cape Verde. This is another historic Friendly Match for us as we have not played Cape Verde previously. Kyle Biedermann is playing Board 1 for the USA versus Antunio Barbosa. Joseph Korman is our USA Team Captain. Dennis Doren, ICCF-US Friendly Match Organizer |
March 12, 2013Norway-USA Friendly Match StartedICCF-US has begun play in a 21-board Friendly Match against a team from Norway. We last played Norway in a Friendly Match almost 30 years ago. GM Jason Bokar is playing Board 1 for the USA versus GM Arild Haugen. SIM Thomas Biedermann is our USA Team Captain Dennis Doren, ICCF-US Friendly Match Organizer |
March 5, 2013ICCF-US Friendly Matches Newsletter - Issue 3The Friendly Post Issue 3 is now available. You can access it using the link in the lefthand column on this web page. The newsletter describes our historical performance, upcoming Friendly Matches, simple instructions about how to participate in Friendly Matches, highlighted games from Friendly Matches, and more. Check it out! Dennis Doren, ICCF-US Friendly Match Organizer |
February 28, 2013Panama-USA Friendly Match StartedICCF-US has begun play in a 12-board Friendly Match against a team from Panama. This is another historic Friendly Match for us as we have the honor to play Panama in its first Friendly Match - Panama just recently became an ICCF Member Federation. IM Cesar Musitani is playing Board 1 versus Hermann V. Rösch M. SIM Thomas Biedermann is our USA Team Captain. Dennis Doren, ICCF-US Friendly Match Organizer |
January 10, 2013Russia-USA Friendly Match StartedICCF-US has begun play in an 81-board Friendly Match against a team from Russia. This is the historic first time we are playing Russia in a Friendly Match, with a previous match against the USSR having occurred long ago, during the early to mid-1980s. It is also the largest Friendly Match the USA has had in recent time, going much beyond the recent history record holder 64-board match versus the Ukraine in 2010. IM Wieland Belka is playing Board 1 versus SIM Vil Usbekovich Yamaliev. David White is our USA Team Captain. Dennis Doren, ICCF-US Friendly Match Organizer |
December 12, 2012ICCF-US Top 50 Rating List Updated - Correction 20 DecUsing the 2013/1 ICCF ELO (player rating) lists [effective 1 January 13], Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer has compiled the latest ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Active Players list. Dropping from the list are Palciauskas and Divanbaigyand from inactivity, and Moore, Musitani, Cullen & Meiners all have fallen below the cutoff. Returning to the list are Knudsen and Savage who became active by entering Australia/New Zealand-USA, and Holroyd, Morrow, Harvey & Fuller all via ratings jumps. Holroyd gained 57 points, followed by Morrow’s 45 point increase and Fuller’s 41 uptick. Belka’s 24 point increase also included the addition of the IM title. Green also earned the IM title during this past rating period. Congratulations to all of our new top 50s and new IMs! To access the list choose "PLAYER RANKS" from the upper left menu bar. Our sincere apology to GM Vytas Victor Palciauskas for reporting that dropping off the top 50 was due to his passing. |
December 3, 2012ICCF-US Friendly Matches Newsletter - Issue 2The Friendly Post Issue 2 is now available. You can access it using the link in the lefthand column on this web page. The newsletter describes our historical performance, upcoming Friendly Matches, simple instructions about how to participate in Friendly Matches, highlighted games from Friendly Matches, and more. Check it out! Dennis Doren, ICCF-US Friendly Match Organizer |
October 23, 2012Olympiad 20 Prelim Team AnnouncedThe ICCF-US Olympiad 20 Prelim lineup is listed below, a strong team that will be working to maintain the ICCF-US record of qualifying for every Olympiad Final back through Olympiad 13. Good luck and go get ‘em!
TC: Corky Schakel Corky Schakel, USA National Federation Rep. |
October 19, 2012OLY 18 Finals Team AnnouncedThe ICCF-US Olympiad 18 Final lineup is a joy to announce, with four GMs, and two SIMs who earned their way to the Final by winning their Prelim sections. This is a strong team for ICCF’s most prestigious team event! Franklin Campbell has agreed to act as Team Captain. Thanks to all for representing ICCF-US. Good luck and go get ‘em!
Corky Schakel, USA National Federation Rep. |
October 10, 2012Australia/New Zealand-USA Friendly Match StartedICCF-US has begun play in a 55 board Friendly Match with a combined team from Australia and New Zealand. GM Daniel Fleetwood is playing board 1 versus GM Mark Noble. Ed Barr is the Team Captain, and thanks, also significantly assisted in organizing this event! Dennis Doren, ICCF-US Friendly Match Organizer |
September 19, 2012USA Olympiad 18 Team takes second place ahead of GermanyCongratulations to our board 3 Keith Holzmueller on winning his final game vs. Dr. Arpad Serner of Germany to clinch 2nd place for USA in our section. We had already qualified to the final since Germany had previously qualified (so 3rd place was sufficient). However, it is great to actually take 2nd place ahead of Germany and just one point behind 1st place Sweden. This closes out this event with all games on all boards completed. Crosstable at http://www.iccf-webchess.com/EventCrossTable.aspx?id=19120 The game Holzmueller-Serner was a titanic battle of 103 moves where Keith got an advantage and slowly pressed it till he got the win in a difficult R&P ending. You can see the game on the server at: http://www.iccf-webchess.com/MakeAMove.aspx?id6=235184 In addition to overtaking Germany with this win, Keith also won the board with an undefeated score of 3 wins, 3 draws to edge Lennart Rydholm of Sweden on tie-break. Overall, the USA team performed very well scoring 10 wins vs. only 2 losses (36 draws). On two boards the USA player finished 1st (Bd3: IM Keith Holzmueller, Bd4: SIM Michael Proof) and on two boards just 1/2 point out of first (Bd1: GM Daniel Fleetwood, Bd 6: SIM Tim Murray). This was an excellent performance by all six team members! Best regards, Franklin Campbell, Team Captain |
September 19, 2012ICCF-US Friendly Matches Now Has a NewsletterThe ICCF-US now has a periodic newsletter dedicated to everything from the USA Friendly Matches (our international team competitions with no team prizes). The newsletter is entitled The Friendly Post. You can access it using the link in the lefthand column on this web page. The newsletter describes our historical performance, upcoming Friendly Matches, simple instructions about how to participate in Friendly Matches, highlighted games from Friendly Matches, and more. Check it out! Dennis Doren, ICCF-US Friendly Match Organizer |
September 17, 2012ICCF-US Top 50 Rating List UpdatedUsing the 2012/4 ICCF ELO (player rating) lists [effective 1 October 12], Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer has compiled the latest ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Active Players list. We have no new players in the Top 50 this month (Robert Merton Jacobs has returned to the list after a period of inactivity). To access the list choose "PLAYER RANKS" from the upper left menu bar. |
September 11, 2012HERBERT W. GUSTAFSON OPEN TOURNAMENTHerbert W. Gustafson, who died in 2008, left a generous bequest to CCLA to be used for correspondence chess. CCLA will hold the Herbert W. Gustafson Open Tournament starting October 15, 2012 in honor of Mr. Gustafson. This is a CCLA server event open to any resident of the United States or Canada. No CCLA Membership Requirement. No Entry Fee. Sections will be formed in order of rating, with each section having four players playing two games against each opponent. (There may be a few five-player sections if needed to accommodate all the entrants.) There will be prizes, in the form of $19 credits to each section winner (split in case of a tie) that may be used for a CCLA membership or, for CCLA members, entry fees into other CCLA events. Entries close on October 15, 2012. Only one entry per person accepted. As with other CCLA events, the use of chess-playing computer engines is not allowed. If you are interested, please email herbhickman@comcast.net with name, rating (please specify organization), email address, and ICCF ID# if you have one. Corky Schakel, USA NF Rep. |
September 1, 2012ICCF - Tournament Announcement - 50th Anniversary of the Finnish Correspondence Chess FederationDear ICCF Delegates, Officials and Friends, On behalf of the Finnish Correspondence Chess Federation, I am pleased to distribute the Tournament Announcement for the 50th Anniversary of their Chess Federation. Please read the FinJub-50 Tournament Invitation on the newly redesigned ICCF website. Regards, Dr.Michael Millstone |
August 19, 2012Wolff Morrow joins ICCF-US Board as USCCC OrganizerWolff Morrow has volunteered to accept the new position of USCCC Organizer, and joins the ICCF-US Board. Wolff has been an active player for several years, and is currently playing in the USCCC 19 Final. He will be organizing the USCCC 20 Semis, and future US Correspondence Championship events. Thanks so much to Wolff for taking on this role! Corky Schakel, USA NF Rep. |
August 13, 2012Dennis Doren to the ICCF-US Board as Friendly Match CoordinatorDennis Doren has volunteered to take over responsibilities for Friendly Matches, recruiting and selecting Team Captains and organizers for our team. We have had lots of matches in the last five years, but only one where we issued the challenge. That may change! Right now he is working with Ed Barr who as agreed to TC and organize the team for a challenge from Australia. Dennis is a long term ICCF-US player, a friend, and I am most grateful to him for volunteering for this job. Corky Schakel, USA NF Rep. |
UPDATE August 4, 2012GM Tansel Turgut 3rd in WCCC 24, GM Jason Bokar 5thGM Tansel Turgut finished third in WCCC 24 with a score of +5-0=11, for 10½/16, a point out of first and losing the 2/3 tiebreak. Tansel is a physician who has lived in Illinois for twenty years, and plays under the Turkish flag, his native country. GM Jason Bokar finished fifth with a score of +2-0=14, for 9/16. Congratulations, Tansel and Jason, for fine performances in a World Championship Final!
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August 3, 2012SIM Tom Biedermann, ICCF-US Treasurer, Additional Board PositionsSIM Tom Biedermann has agreed to accept the new position of ICCF-US Treasurer, and will also be taking on the responsibility for handling entries. Tom joins the ICCF-US Board. Recognition for those who have been supporting ICCF-US is long overdue. SIM Dan Perry is webmaster, continuing the key support role he has maintained for the last five years. IM Bob Rizzo keeps track of norms, submits Title applications, and writes and distributes communications outside of ICCF-US. SIM Kristo Miettinen has acted as Tournament Organizer and TD for many events. IA Franklin Campbell played a key role in developing the ICCF server, and has been the all-everything support person for all things server related, as well as TO and TD for USCCCs. GM Jason Bokar is the NAPZ Director, and provides much support to ICCF-US, as does SIM Michael Millstone as General Secretary of ICCF. In addition to these now official positions there have been many active Team Captains, Tournament Organizers, and TDs greatly deserving thanks from all in ICCF-US. There are other support opportunities for participation in ICCF-US. We need a person to handle applications through the ICCF New Player function. There is also a need for a person to lead Friendly Match efforts, including selecting Team Captains and submitting and receiving other NF challenges. A USCCC coordinator would be a good position for an experienced player willing to take on a busy couple of months every two years. These positions offer the opportunity to work with the many ICCF officials who make ICCF work so well. Finally, I could not have gotten through the first year as ICCF-US Secretary without the support and guidance of Ruth Ann Fay, who did all of the above for more than ten years. I am honored to continue as USA National Federation Rep. Amici Sumus! Corky Schakel |
July 28, 2012England-USA Friendly Match StartedICCF-US has begun play in a 34 board Friendly Match with England. SIM Ciaran O’Hare is playing board 1 versus SIM Alan J.C. Rawlings. Dennis Doren is the Team Captain, and thanks, Dennis, for organizing this event! Corky Schakel, ICCF-US NF Rep |
July 12, 20125th ICCF Champions League is now open for new teamsBelow is the announcement for the new season of Champions League. Anyone who is not a member of a four player team and is interested in playing, please contact SIM Tom Biedermann at bied26@gmail.com On behalf of the NonTitle Tournament Commissioner, Andrew Dearney (ENG), I am pleased to announce that registration for the 5th ICCF Champions League is now open. Applications will be accepted through National Federations and Direct Entry this season. Team applications accepted through National Federations will be EUR 40,00; Direct Entry fees will be displayed through PayPal on checkout. Please see attached for the Tournament Announcement and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Regards,
Dr. Michael Millstone
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June 12, 2012ICCF-US Announces 20th US Correspondence Chess ChampionshipThe 20th US Correspondence Chess Championship is scheduled to start October 1, 2012. It is open to all US citizens or residents with an established rating of 2000 or higher. This includes OTB ratings as well as USCF, CCLA, or ICCF ratings. Play in this Semifinal will be in seven player sections, play by ICCF server, with section winners qualifying for the Final. Entry fee is $20, no additional fee for the Final. The USCCC Champion will qualify for a World Correspondence Chess Championship Prelim or Semi. Players can send entries or questions to ICCF-US Secretary Corky Schakel, schakels@comcast.net . Entries should be submitted by September 1, 2012. |
June 12, 2012ICCF-US Top 50 Rating List UpdatedUsing the 2012/3 ICCF ELO (player rating) lists [effective 1 July 12], Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer has compiled the latest ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Active Players list. We have no new players in the Top 50 this month. To access the list choose "PLAYER RANKS" from the upper left menu bar. |
May 18, 2012Sweden-USA Friendly Match StartedICCF-US has begun play in a Friendly Match with Sweden. GM Dr. Edward Duliba is playing board 1 versus GM Lennart Rydholm, a great Board 1 matchup. SIM Tom Biedermann is the Team Captain, and thanks go to him for all the work organizing this event. Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary |
May 7, 2012ICCFUS Olympiad 18 Team Qualifies for the Finals!The ICCF-US Olympiad 18 team has officially qualified for the OLY18 Final. The team of GM Dan Fleetwood, SIMs Jerry Weisskohl, Keith Holzmueller, Michael Proof, IM Bill Boucher, and SIM Tim Murray scored +9-2=36 with one game remaining. To have only two losses for the whole team is an amazing result. Michael Proof won his section with +3-0=5, a great result! Thanks to all the players, and to TC Franklin Campbell. With only two teams of nine qualifying in each Prelim section, ICCF-US maintains a record of qualifying for all Olympiad Finals, 13 to 18. Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary |
April 23, 2012GM Duliba Bd. 1 for Sweden-USA Friendly MatchGM Dr. Edward Duliba will play Bd. 1 for ICCF-US against Sweden's GM Lennart Rydholm. The 45 board match officially starts May 1, with assignments recently sent out. SIM Tom Biedermann is the Team Captain, and did all the work recruiting the team and organizing the match - many thanks, Tom! And a sincere thank you also goes to IA Leo Lahdenmäki for taking on the TD responsibilities. Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary |
April 23, 2012Belka Wins Chessfriends Rochade Bd. 7ICCF-US member Wieland Belka, as a member of the NAPZ team, has completed play in Chessfriends Rochade - 20 Years with a first place finish on Bd. 7, scoring an IM norm in the process. The Rochade chess club is one of Germany's largest chess clubs, and has sponsored prestigious team games for the club's 15th and 20th anniversaries. Ten member ICCF-US and NAPZ teams have competed in each of these events, and Wieland's win is the only first place for an ICCF-US player. Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary |
March 14, 2012ICCF-US Top 50 Rating List Updated Using the 2012/2 ICCF ELO (player rating) lists [effective 1 April 12], Bob Rizzo
ICCF-US Titles Officer has compiled the latest ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Active Players list.
Congratulations and welcome to: To access the list choose "PLAYER RANKS" from the upper left menu bar. |
February 19, 2012Sweden-USA Friendly Match AnnouncementICCF-US has accepted a challenge to a Friendly Match from Sweden, play to start in May or June. SIM Tom Biedermann is the Team Captain, and will work with his Swedish counterpart to arrange matchups. Target date for roster is 15 April. We have enough applications from the Standing Team to fill about half of the 50 boards, so we are opening applications to others who are interested. Contact Tom at bied26@gmail.com . We also need 6-8 players willing to play by post. Entry fee for a Friendly Match is $6 for two games. If you are interested in future matches, please send an email to schakels@comcast.net . Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary |
February 7, 2012Walter Muir Memorial InvitationalAssignments were sent out by the ICCF server 31 January for the Walter Muir Memorial Invitational, jointly sponsored by ICCF-US and the Canadian Correspondence Chess Association. Thanks to GM Zdenek Nývlt for volunteering to serve as TD, and to Tournament Organizer Ralph Marconi. Section A has a field of six SIMs and eight GMs, including GMs Jason Bokar and Dan Fleetwood representing ICCF-US. Section B also has fifteen players, including three IMs and three SIMs. Steve Douglas and Tony Kain are representing ICCF-US. Crosstables: Section A and Section B . The prize fund totals $1800 for the first five places in section A, and $1500 in B. Co-champions will be declared if a tie for first, and cash prizes will be split among all ties. Listed below is a brief bio for Walter Muir, an ICCF-US cofounder. Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary Walter Muir has deservedly earned the title of the Grand Old Man of American Correspondence Chess. He led American players into the international arena. He was a nine time Canadian Correspondence Chess Association Champion, twice British Overseas CC Champion, 16 time champion of the Illinois CCA, winner of nine ICCF Master Tournaments, qualified seven times for ICCF World Championship second-round play, and played on four Olympiad teams for the United States. Muir was awarded the title of International Correspondence Chess Master in 1971. Walter was active as a chess administrator and OTB player, and was a cofounder of ICCF-US. |