Things I Learned from the WCF (*)

The last time I featured Stan Vaughan on my blogs was for a couple of posts in November 2009: Who Owns the World Championship? and Counting Down to the 2010 FIDE Election. Thanks to his frequent press releases sent by email, I've been following Vaughan ever since. Here are a few of the things that I've learned in the past year (with minor editing for spelling and punctuation).

Subject: Updated World Chess Federation World Champions listings
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 9:37 PM

The updated official World Chess Champions recognized by World Chess Federation through the 2011 WCF World Chess Congress in Las Vegas is at www.wcfchess.com under World Chess Federation hall of Fame. The new changes reflect 2010 nominations by GM Larry Evans to include Tarrasch, Rubinstein, Schlechter and Trifunovic as having earned shares of the official WCF titles through matches played.

Subject: 5 million WCF title match 2012 coverage inquiry
Sent: Friday, May 25, 2012 12:28 AM

After the two previous sites scheduled Mizpah Resort and thereafter Stirling Club las Vegas both went bankrupt, a contract for the site of the WCF 2012 5 million title match first to 11 wins has been set for THE MOB MUSEUM, Las Vegas, Nevada scheduled for approx start mid June. The world's largest online shoe company sponsors are requesting before Monday when they meet with WCF President Martirosyan that we provide email committments from potential media coverage of this historic event.

The winner of the match is tentatively set to accept challenge from Pal Benko to play a followup WCF title match also in 2012 to start approx Sept as a 20th anniversary of WCF #1 Fischer Spassky 1992, to be played in Montenegro. Benko had given up his spot to Fischer so that Fischer-Spassky 1972 was able to occur and now gets his belated shot at the WCF title. The same sponsor, Janos Kubat would be sponsoring that second title match. So lots of exciting WCF title match first to 11 wins Fischer rules draws don't count and 10 moves per hour chess is ahead! Please RSVP asap of any chess media outlets we can inform sponsors will be giving live coverage commentary on the games.

Subject: Vaughan sets another world record in international chess tournament today!
Sent: Sunday, June 10, 2012 5:46 PM

Fresh off the heels of a 12-0 sweep at the Bulgarian Open 2012, Vaughan set another record today with a knockout over his round 1 opponent from India which is the shortest checkmate in international chess tournament history. Here was the game! (Now can he also win in November versus Dina Titus for US Congress District 1 Nevada?) Vaughan had Black.

1. a4 d5 2. g4 Bxg4 3. f3 e5 4. fxg4 Qh4 checkmate 0-1 !!

Subject: Famed chess artist LeRoy Neiman passes away at age 91
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2012 2:23 PM

LeRoy Nieman, the painter and sketch artist best known for the world's biggest sporting and leisure events, has died Wednesday at age 91. Nieman was a media savvy artist who knew how to enthrall audiences with his instant renditions of what he saw. In 1972 he sketched the world famous chess match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland for a live television audience.

Subject: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? Tobey McGuire as Bobby Fischer?
Sent: Friday, August 24, 2012 9:49 PM

It has just been reported today that the 5' 6" actor Tobey McGuire [sic; 'Maguire'], noted for appearing as superhero Spiderman in 3 movies, will be playing the towering 6' 3" Bobby Fischer in upcoming movie PAWN SACRIFICE which focuses on Fischer in the sixties through defeat of Spassky in 1972. This chess journalist is wondering what were they thinking in casting McGuire who is nine inches shorter than the tall, handsome Fischer?

Subject: Story I just did for chess magazine about Bobby Fischer's father
Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2012 6:42 PM

Exclusive for GEORGIA CHESS: In the fall of 1962, Peter Nemenyi, the older brother of Bobby Fischer, went to Atlanta, GEORGIA to work with the SNCC (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee) that had organized the Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins. The SNCC was affiliated with another Atlanta organization, that of Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Council. (SCLC). Peter was later also involved with his skills in statistics with voter registration drives that took him to places such as Jackson, Mississippi where he was at when civial rights activist Medgar Evers was killed and attended his funeral. He also was in the Selma march with John Lewis, etc.

Anyway Peter related the story of how after his and Bobby Fischer's father Paul Nemenyi was arrested April 1, 1933 by the Nazis in Berlin at which time he was stripped of his professorship at the University of Berlin, that he came to the United States where Albert Einstein got him a job with his son at the University of Iowa.

Peter related how his father was scolded for showing up at a meeting without a tie. He related that his father responded that he thought America was a place where one was judged on their intellectual content and not on their external appearance. The story made an impression upon King he decided to change it slightly to content of your character instead of intellect and color of your skin instead of external appearance. And so now you know the chess connection to the famous 1963 'I Have A Dream' speech of Martin Luther King inspired by Bobby Fischer's father, Paul Nemenyi.

Subject: World Chess Federation "The World Chess Championship " Title match underway in Las Vegas
Sent: Monday, November 5, 2012 7:46 AM

The Red carpet Grand Opening for the World Chess Federation WCF #11 World Chess Championship Title Match Opening Ceremony took place today at Tivoli Village in Las Vegas. The event was attended by over 100 members of the media and was opened by a speech from WCF President Martirosyan. WCF champion Vaughan gave a simul with all proceeds going to Nevada Blind Children Foundation and won all games.

Official Challenger Ron Gross manned the demonstration board as Vaughan also gave a Blindfold Knight Tour which will be posted on Youtube within next couple of days. Prizes were donated by numerous sponsors including Chess N Games and a silent auction also held. The evening was completed with the drawing of colors using matroisyka dolls one of which had a black pawn the other a white pawn. The result is that the challenger selected a doll with the black pawn and so the defdning champion will have white in game 1. Rounds will be held each Monday Wednesday and Friday with the winner being the first to win 11 games, draws not counting.

Subject: Photos from World Chess Federation World Chess Championship Opening ceremonies after party in Las Vegas
Sent: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 1:42 AM

http://www.facebook.com/#!/LasVegasRussianClub/photos_stream • [For the first photo in the chess series, see LAS Vegas Russian CLUB's Photos, and click 'Previous' for more].

Subject: New Report today Nov 12 in Trends in Genetics says humans must start playing chess to reverse an alarming trend of lowering intelligence IQ
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2012 9:09 PM

A new report out today, November 12, in the medical journal Trends in Genetics suggests that we are seeing what was spoofed in the movie Idiocracy is indeeed true. Human intelligence is seeing average intelligence lowering at an alarming rate. The journal suggests an attempt to reverse this alarming trend by introducing the teaching of chess to humans to develop intelligence skills.

Subject: World Chess Federation Blindfold Exhibition
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 4:03 AM

Now on Youtube.com. Search 'World Chess Federation Blindfold Knight Tour' to get the amazing 9 segment WCF Opening ceremonies exhibition

For Vaughan's latest exploit, see Bobby Fischer to be made a SAINT! on kevinspraggett.blogspot.com. For more about the man behind the WCF, see Stan Vaughan on tartajubow.blogspot.com. Some people have characterized Vaughan as a humorist. While there might be some tongue-in-cheek in the WCF news, I believe he is serious about his chess and I might come back to some of the more controversial of his missives.

(*) WCF = World Chess Federation