Where I coming from

I suppose everyone will want to know my own biases, preconceptions, etc.  I will give a bit of biography/political background.

I was taught to play chess by my father and my uncle.  My father was never an active tournament player, although I have heard family stories that my late Uncle Bill, was an active tournament player at some point.  I played in high school, but lost the game when I went to college.

In about 1992, I wandered into my local library, and saw a bunch of guys playing speed chess.  I sat down and promptly got my ass kicked.  I figured that I was rusty.  It took about three weeks before I realized that I wasn't just rusty -- these guys were good.

I then got involved in tournament chess, and became active in my state chess association.  Somebody decided it would be a good idea to have a lawyer on the board, and I was elected to the state board.  A local vacuum pulled me into tournament organizing and directing.  

Being on the board exposed me to USCF elections, a process that I found to be simultaneously bemusing and horrifying.  After being publicly critical of the Ethics Committee's method of handling the Goichberg v. Dorsch case, I was appointed to the Ethics Committee, on which I served until last August, when, because of work and family situations, I felt unable to devote proper attention to the work.  Other than a brief tenure on the by-laws committee, I have never served in any other USCF office or committee.  I have never attended a Delegate meeting or National Scholastic event, so I have no personal relationships with any of the current political actors.

In 2005 I relocated for a new job.  As a result, the nearest rated chess is well over an hour's drive away, so I haven't been able to play much chess, other than patzer chess on ICC.

As an attorney who has been tring civil cases for over 20 years, I have taken an interest in the various legal disputes that USCF has been embroiled in over the years.

I am sure I will be commenting later about the current legal clusterf***.   I will simply note, at this point, I feel that Mr. Truong and Ms. Polgar should resign for the good of USCF.  It is also pretty well documented that I have also not been a big fan of Bill Goichberg over the years.