By Tom Dorsch, CJA Secretary/Treasurer

Hilton Hotel
Concord, California
August 1995

Workshops

The various committee meetings and workshops hummed and purred with their usual fine-tuning of USCF governance.

CJA (and Chess Life)

The Chess Journalists of America installed new officers, Ira Lee Riddle stepping aside after years of dedicated service, replaced by Jim Eade. Sylvester Robes is vice-president, Tom Dorsch relieves Tim Just as secretary-treasurer, and Hellen Warren remains as editor. The foremost topic for discussion in the CJA workshops was whether Chess Life is censored or politicized. These concerns arose because of the wording and timing of coverage of the FIDE proceedings. Al Lawrence assured the CJA meeting that he did not censor the magazine, only reviewed certain issues, and that the timing of the FIDE coverage, appearing as it did days before the ballots went out, was coincidental. These assurances were repeated by editor Glenn Petersen.

It was pointed out that Chess Life is the only major chess magazine in the world that did not publish a report on what happened at the meeting. And when Chess Life did finally publish an account of the events, it was an account of the meeting that largely ignored the version of events reported by our FIDE team.

Al Lawrence explained that the Chess Life editor, Glenn Petersen, has complete independence. He exercised restraint in his FIDE coverage because he knew that there was a split on the Policy Board as to our FIDE policy, and he was waiting for direction from the PB.