OCB Editor’s Message

Wow! What a year in Oklahoma chess. It’s truly been a pleasure to be the Editor of Oklahoma’s only balanced chess periodical. We’ve been covering all relevant, and irrelevant, chess news for all players, “serious” or not. We choose not to discriminate, so that the OCB is a better reflection of chess in our state. Looking back at 2004, the irrelevant stuff seems to have dominated the chess news only a few times, when the OCA deflected frivolous challenges to our good standing as the USCF Oklahoma State Chapter Affiliate. Reporting in a positive way on these challenges has kept Oklahoma chess players informed and allowed those unfortunate events to pass like a June Bug through a goose into the pages of history.

Holidays are a time of reflection and hope for us all. It seems like ages ago that Oklahoma had only one tournament a month and only $2300 in guaranteed prizes for an entire your. The OCA election of June 2003 is looking more and more like a historical watershed event when we emerged from a dark age of Oklahoma chess. Consider the following:

• After previous declines, scholastic chess has grown over 60% since OSCO formed 1/1/2003 (2001-2 vs 2003-4 school years from USCF data). The next generation of top chess players is already starting to make their presence known at open tournaments. Oklahoma’s chess future now looks brighter than ever.
  
  
• Oklahoma Clearinghouse Harold Ball reports that he‘s never seen the tournament Clearinghouse schedule so full. There are now many more tournament chess playing opportunities.
  
  
• Prize funds have prospered, with total annual guarantees many times what they were before. Many tournaments are now often paying nice prizes from the entry fees with organizers using sound financial management that will stand the test of time. In other cases, individual generosity has certainly sweetened the prize pot and paid a lot for some high Master participation, which we hope will also continue.
  
  
• Oklahoma now has some of the best chess websites in the nation to keep players informed. Check out the OCA website at www.ochess.org and our scholastic organization, OSCO’s, website at www.okschess.org .
  
  
• The OCB now delivers accurate accounts that are respectful of all the players and organizers it reports on. Content is now coordinated with a wealth of information available on the internet to avoid expensive duplication. This has helped the OCA to control publishing costs, maintain low membership fees and offer much more information than ever before to improve the overall value for our members.

Yes, this does look like the beginning of a new golden age for Oklahoma chess. Only a little tarnish remains in our chess future. A few folks are still calling for a boycott of OCA events, scheduling conflicting tournaments, publicly discouraging your elected OCA leaders from playing in their tournaments, and threatening to exclude OCA supporters from grand prix points and prizes they earn. It’s an honor to be associated with the OCA in such times, which won’t even dignify such unfortunate behavior with a similar response. Contrary to all of the negativity you’re hearing from others, here’s our advice. Simply play where you have fun and ignore the talk of boycotts and exclusion. What a wonderful and non-toxic tarnish remover!

Regardless of how others conduct themselves, they will continue to be treated with respect at all OCA events and in our communications. We hope that everyone will agree and do likewise. This is the only way we can truly reunify Oklahoma chess in a positive and enduring manner. Help make our new golden age of chess a lasting reality. Let’s simply enjoy it together at the many new tournament opportunities that come with it.

All the best, Mike Swatek