Mike Murray wrote:
> On 29 Nov 2006 22:40:15 -0800, "politikalhack@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"
> <politikalhack@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>
> >relevant passage #2 at 4'38"
>
> >"I'm a chess player. I'm a rated chess expert; I used to be a rated
> >chess master. I'm 61 years old now, my rating's gone down, I can't
> >hold a master rating anymore [...]"
>
> >For once I'll concur with Parr. Sloan--who, like Tanner, claimed a
> >title that he had never earned--certainly meets the minimum standards
> >for USCF Board membership. As a convicted felon, he arguably exceeds
> >these minimum standards.
Your analogy holds to some extent because my statements were made to a
convention of the Libertarian Party and nobody present other than
myself was a rated tournament chess player or a member of the
USCF.These people present would not know nor care what is the
difference between a master, a grandmaster, an expert or an A-player.
So Bill Brock quibbling over the fact that I called myself an expert
(which I was for more than 40 years) whereas my rating for the time
being has fallen below 2000 is nonsense.
I could of course do what Mr. Tanner did and jack my own rating up to
2300, and that would make it true.
I would not even have to invent fictitious people. I could do what
other board members have done in years past (none would dare do it now
with me on the board) which is simply to order the office to give me a
higher floor.
(Incidentally, I made a motion at the meeting in Stamford on November
17-18, 2006 to abolish all these bogus floors for present and former
employees and present and former board members. Predictably, my motion
failed by 1-5. Mr. Tanner, who I believe would have voted FOR my
motion, had left the meeting to catch a flight.)
As to the statement that I won who was considered to be the World
Championship of Chinese Chess for non-Chinese, that is absolutely true.
I was the top foreigner at the Seven Stars Cup Tournament in Beijing
China in 1988. At that time, the title of "World Champion" did not
exist. Therefore, they gave me the title of "First Foreigner of Chinese
Chess".
This was not a trivial accomplishment. I defeated 2-0 the future
European Champion of Chinese Chess (who is Chinese incidentally). If
you look at the website of the World Xiangqi Federation (Xiangqi means
Chinese chess) you will see that I hold the FM title, the only American
and one of only three Westerners in the world to hold that title. Chess
Grandmaster Robert Hubner of Germany holds the lower NT title. There
are only three titles awarded, the IGM, the FM and the NT titles. There
are no non-Chinese who hold the IGM title, so I hold the highest title
of any non-Chinese.
In 1990, they decided to hold the first official World Championship of
Chinese Chess. I finished only second this time because I missed my
flight and arrived late. The man who won (whom I had defeated in a
previous competition) was an Indian living in Singapore, so he was
considered non-Chinese.
Incidentally, since then the Vietnamese have started to compete. (Prior
to that time, Vietnam was a closed country and they could not get out.)
They insist that they are non-Chinese. They are vastly stronger than us
Europeans and Americans. They are 2700 players while the best of us
really non-Chinese are only about 2250. We have no chance against them,
so I believe that the organizers have abolished the title of World
Champion of Chinese Chess for non-Chinese.
Sam Sloan
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