President's Corner

Over the last few weeks, I have attempted to open the lines of communication with the Iowa members. First, I shared some personal stories on communication and how important I think it is, next I offered the membership an opportunity to give some ideas on how to increase membership. I have been pleased with the responses we have gotten so far and look forward to more ideas. Last week, I gave some insights into preparing for a major tournament. All these issues had a major underlying theme- to let the Iowa chess player know that they are appreciated and I want to help them improve, be it by bettering their own game, communicating more openly with the association, or attracting more players.

In this week’s announcement, however, I would like to open for discussion a topic that brings together all three of the previous ideas. In coordination with the Cyclone Chess Club, we will be holding our 2nd Ames Futurity from September 15-18, 2005. There will be 3 sections; the 8 player round robin FIDE rated section, the 6 player round robin FIDE qualifier, and the 16 player, 4 round Swiss. The time control for all sections is 40/2 and SD/1. The FIDE rated section will be played from Thursday evening to Sunday, the FIDE qualifier will be played from Friday evening to Sunday and the 16 player section will be played Saturday and Sunday. If needed, round-robin games can be played in advance, but all games must be completed by Sunday and no byes are allowed.The FIDE section is very important to me. For one, it gives Iowans a chance to get a FIDE rating while competing against some strong competition. Last year, Mike Parsons took advantage of his last minute invitation and is now sporting a 1955 FIDE rating and is using that to get a free entry fee this month at the North American Open in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Another reason is that it encourages stronger players to participate, both from Iowa and from outside our borders. Last year, we got Jon Burgess from Chicago and longtime Iowa master Mitch Weiss to play in the event. I know Mitch is familiar to most of you, but that was the first time I played him. With the Colias tournament in Chicago, we have generated a lot of interest in this format from masters in surrounding states.

The tournament structure is designed to encourage better games and allow people to progress through the sections. For example, since Jason Juett won the first 16 player section, he will be invited to the 6 player FIDE qualifier. The winner of this year’s FIDE qualifier will be invited to next year’s FIDE rated section and the winner of the 16 player section will be invited to next year’s FIDE qualifier event. The reason I restrict the bottom section to 16 players is get better commitment and also it makes the organizer’s job easier during the tournament if we have the field set in advance.Another twist in the tournament is the entry fee. The FIDE section is $50, FIDE qualifier $40 and 16 player section is $30. The nice thing is that if you play all your games and don’t forfeit, you get half your entry fee back at end of tournament. This further emphasizes that we want everyone to play the full schedule. The FIDE section prizes are covered by me and entry fees. The FIDE qualifier and 16 player section returns all entry fees as prizes. The cost of running the tournament and rating it are covered by the Ames Chess Foundation and myself.Last year, for several reasons, we handpicked our invitees. This proved to be very challenging since we struggled to complete the field. This year, we are asking for people to let us know if they are interested in playing. If interested in playing in this year’s event or if you have any questions about it, send an email to timmcentee@msn.com letting me know which sections you would be interested in playing. If you don’t have email, feel free to send me a letter to 921 SE Chaparal Drive, Ankeny IA 50021. The deadline for letting me know you are interested is June 30. Invitations will go out the second or third week in July.The selection criteria is not as straightforward as I would like. For the FIDE section, I would like to get 6 FIDE rated players and then add 2 good candidates. At minimum, we need 4 FIDE rated players to have it FIDE rated. The actual number of FIDE rated players will depend on the interest. While I would like this to be based more on rating, I also want to balance the competition. The FIDE qualifier will be strictly based on ratings with one spot already reserved for last year’s 16 player section winner, Jason Juett. The 16 player section will definitely have a junior look to it, but am also looking for some other players to complement the field.Tournament Preparation