MARINELLO IS USCF PRESIDENT
The USCF Executive Board met for the first time today at the conclusion of the Delegates Meeting and elected Beatriz Marinello as USCF President. Marinello obtained the greatest number of votes in the recent elections for three EB members, but was a surprise choice as she has not previously been on the Board. She will be the first woman to serve as USCF President.
Steve Shutt was re-elected USCF Vice President, while Tim Hanke will be VP of Finance and Frank Brady Secretary.
Outgoing USCF President John McCrary was the only Board member not named as liaison to any committees, and rumor is that this is because he intends to resign from the Board.
At the Delegates meetings, there was little controversy as many motions were referred to the Board, in order to give it a free hand to deal with the financial crisis. The most important motion passed directed the Board to take steps including substantial cuts in staff and in Chess Life printing costs to achieve a profit of almost $200,000 after seven years of losses. The magazine may retain its content but be less attractive newsstands, an overdue step in my opinion, as most chessplayers just want to read about chess and are not interested in having an artistic publication. The attempt to sell the magazine on newsstands has never achieved much anyway.