Illinois Chess Bulletin Julio - Agosto 2002 | Page 6

President Podium

The ICA provides several key functions in Illinois.
These functions include:
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Governance
Tournaments and titles
Documentation and advertising
Tournament calendar and clearinghouse
Illinois tour
Scholastic programs
Other key programs, (Illinois Banquet, etc.)

Although the Illinois Chess Association does not directly
run the grade school and high school championships, it
does confer the titles awarded in those events. ICA will
sometimes also run other tournaments, for example, in
2000 it ran the All Grade state championship, in which
the champion for each grade is determined.

So EVERY CLUB in Illinois should realize that this
organization is here to serve you. It is one of the best
ways to advertise your events, because many of the
most active tournament players in Illinois are members of
the ICA. It is also a way that clubs can document their
history. Want to document who won the club
championship in 2001? Write a story and provide a
couple of games for the Illinois Chess Bulletin, and the
results will be documented.

Governance
The ICA is also a governance organization. Did your son
or daughter win the K-3 chess championship? Well the
title is official only because the ICA recognizes it as
such. Because the ICA is the official Illinois state affiliate
of USCF, that is one of our functions. The ICA either
holds tournaments or recognizes the winners of specific
events as the Illinois Champions.
The ICA also serves as a political tool within USCF. A
little more than a year ago USCF made a substantial
increase in Tournament Life Announcement rates. The
ICA, acting in concert with other key organizers, helped
to negotiate a less significant increase in those rates.
While this increase was still significant, the ICA is seen
as one of the most active state associations and is
therefore very representative of the will of chessplayers.
The ICA can be a very effective way for organizers to
increase their political voice.

Tournaments and Titles
The ICA holds at least two tournaments annually, the
Illinois Open, and the Illinois Class. The Illinois Open
crowns the state champion, and at 250 players is the
most important “statewide” perennial tournament.

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Documentation and Advertising
ICA is also the primary means for Illinois tournaments to
enter the historical record. It also is a great way to
advertise tournaments to active tournament players.
Both of these functions are accomplished primarily
through the Illinois Chess Bulletin.
The Illinois Chess Bulletin thrives on publishing Illinois
Chess news, whether a major tournament, minor
tournament, or a club event. If you want to document
your tournament, send an article to the editor of the
Illinois Chess Bulletin The article will be even better if
you can include a photo and games from the even.
Although we are happy to accept any format, please
keep in mind that formatting and producing a 64 page
magazine on a part-time basis is a tremendous
undertaking. Therefore, we can save work, and cut
down on errors, if you submit the article, games, and
photos in an electronic format. Instructions on how to do
this are available elsewhere in the magazine, or online at
www.illinoischess.org.
The ICA provides organizers a means to advertise
tournaments. It does this in four ways:
1. We include a tournament calendar both in the
ICB and online at www.illinoischess.org. This
calendar often includes local events that might
not be included in Chess Life, because the
organizer may have been trying to save dollars
on tournament advertising. Being listed on the
ICA calendar is free, and if your club is an ICA
affiliate, details may also be listed for free.

Illinois Chess Bulletin