News Release
DATE: August 8, 2007
CONTACT: Cory Chandler, cory.chandler@ttu.edu
(806) 742-2136
Two Texas Tech Chess Heads Elected Officers of U.S. Chess Federation
Susan Polgar, Paul Truong elected by unanimous votes.
Add this to the list of textbook opening moves: The two directors of Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) were elected this week as 2007-2009 officers of the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF), giving a shot of added prominence and visibility to the newly established institute.
Susan Polgar, executive director of SPICE, was elected as the first chairman of the USCF. Paul Truong, director of marketing and public relations for SPICE, was elected vice president of marketing and communications.
“These high honors are a tribute to the skills and reputation Susan and Paul have among the millions of chess players around the world,” said Jim Brink, senior vice provost for academic affairs “We at Texas Tech are proud they are a part of our vision for our university.”
As the first chairman, Polgar will serve as the “face and voice” of the USCF, said Truong, who helped author the federation’s press release; she will represent the federation and act as a liaison with external components such as members, affiliates, sponsors and other chess organizations worldwide, including Global Chess BV, association of chess professionals and members of the World Chess Federation.
“I am honored that the chess community trusts me to represent them both nationally and internationally,” she said.
Polgar and Truong’s two-year terms as officers of U.S. chess’ governing body should benefit both organizations, Truong said, pointing out that the two entities share mutual goals in areas such as chess outreach and education. SPICE, established by Texas Tech in May, promotes chess academics and outreach and will provide an unprecedented forum for academic research on the game. The USCF is devoted to extending the role of chess and promotes study and knowledge of the game.
“I believe that this will work very nicely with what we are doing with SPICE at Texas Tech,” Truong said. “Both programs serve basically the same mission as far as promoting chess and chess education.”
Polgar, four-time Women’s World Champion, was the first woman to earn the Grandmaster title with the same qualifications as her male counterpart and the first woman to qualify for the Men’s World Championship cycle. Susan became the top woman player in the world at the age of 15 and has remained in the top three for 23 straight years.
Truong is a National Master and World Chess Federation Master with numerous national championship titles. He has co-authored best-selling chess books, coached national scholastic and Olympiad champions and organized high profile chess events. He was the captain and business manager of the 2004 Silver Medalist U.S. Women’s Olympiad Team.
For more information on SPICE and Texas Tech, visit Susan Polgar’s blog: http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2007/05/spice-and-texas-tech.html.
For additional information on the USCF see: http://www.uschess.org/.
CONTACT:
Paul Truong, director of marketing and public relations, SPICE, Texas Tech University, (806) 392-0758 or paultruong@aol.com
Jim Brink, senior vice provost for academic affairs, Office of the Provost, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-2184 or jim.brink@ttu.edu
4 comments:
This is great news. What do ya'll think it will take for Texas Tech to become a chess powerhouse to the extent that the best players in the world will want to come here? Is that already the case?
Tech is already offering some scholarships but what would help tremendously is for Tech Almuni and other well-wishers to step up and support the chess program. Then the players and championships will roll in. Many young strong chess players (most foreign - consider this the US has not produced a native-born grandmaster in 10 years!) are waiting in the wings eager to come to Tech if sufficient financial support is available. With Polgar and Truongs coaching Tech could easily land state, national and even international (Pan Am) championships - both for individual and teams. This could be done with only a fraction of what is spent on Tech's regular sports programs. People around the country and indeed around the world are stunned by this bold move by Tech in establishing SPICE and are eager to see the follow-up.
SPICE should set up a donation page, or at least have a link to online giving to the University with instructions on how to make a gift towards SPICE scholarships.
I wonder when all the other major Texas Universities (Texas A&M, University of Texas Austin, University of Houston, etc.) will decide to get their own in-house grandmaster and compete for collegiate chess prominence. If there was only more popularity and money in chess this would have been done. Anyway, mad kudos to Texas Tech for taking a bold step in bringing Susan Polgar to their university. And yes I agree, they should have a donation link on their webpage.
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