8-2-10 To All North Carolina Chessplayers: I try not to hold grudges. And, I believed that enough time had elapsed to let byegones by byegones and move on to more productive things. So, after one year, I was all for compromising and putting an old issue to rest. That is exactly the reason why I removed all of the previous messages pertaining to the 2009 Scholastics as well as messages containing criticism of the NCCA officers. I even published an apology to the organizer. Paradoxically, after warmly welcoming me to their club by individually approaching and shaking hands, each with a big smile on his face, 2 days later, the QCCA/NCCA, Gary Newsom, President, mysteriously changed their minds?? More disconcerting is the fact that Newsom and Wheeless have continued to publish hate mail with personal slurs and misleading statements on their QCCA Message Board and more recently on the NCCA Message Board on August 3, 2010 entitled "Scholastic Organizers Deserve Better Than This" which seems to already have been deleted. (but, not before we saved a copy) However, at their last QCCA meeting held on July 27, according to one of their own "disgusted" members, an "inquisition" was held designed to rake NM Leland Fuerstman over the coals?! (apparently, they are not bound by the "legal adviser's" current  gag order?!) Statements and questions by various dissenting members were quickly dismissed. And, again they sought to censure me with their own set of rules which they seem to make up as they go along?! - There is certainly nothing published in their QCCA/NCCA Rules which indicates that a person who "renounces" his membership can not be reinstated?! What they still don't quite seem to understand is that there is only one set of rules. And, they may be found in the USCF Official Rules of Chess, 5th Edition, McKay Chess Library, p. 232, (6) "USCF Code of Ethics." As affiliates of the USCF, they are required to honor those rules; not make them up to suit their own selfish purposes? And, then they should be required to abide by rulings such as USCF Executive Director Bill Hall's statement to them that they should "allow me to participate," which so far, they have defied?! (Here, may I recommend that the NCCA/QCCA appoint a Chairman of the "Rules" Committee; like almost every other organization in the world has, who could actually obtain a copy of the USCF Rulebook and attempt to interpret the meaning and proper application of the rules. - I nominate Patrick McCartney?!) What ever happened to a fair and impartial trial? What ever happened to the right to face your accuser? What ever happened to the right to know what you are being charged with? What ever happened to the right to defend yourself from the intentional slander of your accuser? The very idea of having a meeting designed to personally attack one individual without his actually even being present is surely un-American and patently unfair. Have they no decency? (Subsequently, it was brought to my attention by my "legal adviser" that according to USCF Rules, "state and local chess organizations have absolutely no power to censure anyone, and that if they wanted to file a complaint to the USCF Ethics Committee, they needed to have done that over a year ago; not wait until now in order to conveniently prevent me from participating in the NC Open!?") And, now, they are attempting to bar me from participating in all NCCA events? --- A clearly illegal action for which I have filed a formal complaint to the USCF. (In their advertisment in the Chess Life Magazine for the upcoming NC Championship, it states EF: NCCA members $59. Non-members $69?! Well, since I'm a non-member, should I not be allowed to pay the extra $10 and play "as advertised?" Better yet, if the non-members simply pay $5. to join the NCCA, they would save $5! LOL - How ridiculous!!?) Let me make this perfectly clear. I have never "accused" Randy Wheeless of anything. If my opponents dare continue to make such misleading claims, I demand that they be more precise and provide the exact words to which they refer, ie. "LF stated, to wit," ...................." and the message number from which it came. If they are unable to do that, then shut up! Since I was "tricked" again, (as I was afraid would be the case), all of those messages may again be found on the CCC Message Board for your reading enjoyment, beginning with Message #370, where Wheeless asks me to post his tournament information on the CCC website! On the other hand, if my rhetoric in various messages seemed to imply wrongdoings by Wheeless, then all he was required to do was simply answer the questions that we asked, which, after our initial conversation, he failed to do. I refuse to rehash the entire Wheeless episode again, but I can truthfully tell you that everything which I stated and all of the information which I published came directly from phone conversations with Charles R. Wheeless, himself, and Sarah Foster of the Blake Hotel. What was I supposed to think?! I've promoted chess tournaments for more than 30 years. No reasonable businessman would guarantee 200 room nights and pay $4,100 on top of that?? It just doesn't make good business sense.  (The NCCA "Legal Adviser" attempted to communicate with Blake Hotel management who refused to give him any information - so, how could he deduce that what I was reporting was not accurate?) The point here is that Wheeless claims that he didn't make any money from the event? However, even if he actually did pay the Blake Hotel $4,100, the balance sheet which he ultimately submitted indicates that he did. Because, 2 weeks later, he presented a bill for $4,100 to NCCA Sec/Treasurer Gerbin Hoekstra who promptly paid him?! Yet, his own receipt indicated that he had already collected that money? If each of you were to read CCC Message #385 and carefully analyze the balance sheet which Wheeless presented, all which I stated above may be deduced. That doesn't even include the 30 free entries ($1,000+) which he "gave away" (but, doesn't remember to whom he game them, or why?!) nor revenues from other team rooms which he did not originally report. Wheeless originally stated to me that "he had money coming out of every pocket..." and admitted that his "accounting wasn't very good." - That was his financial statement 9 months later, not mine! I only published that which he reported. Furthermore, the contorted garbage which he has recently posted on the QCCA Message Board describes a distorted version of the facts. The first thing he told me in that phone conversation was that he was running the tournament for "himself!" But, of course, it was later reported that he had conducted the event for the NCCA? Yet, they have no "relationship agreemant" nor legal contract to prove it?! Unfortunately, a similar scenario took place this year in a scholastic tournament which commanded as much as a $50 entry fee and generated a gross revenue of over $25,000 where every 7th player won a cheap plastic trophy!? And, the winner, Will Campbell has not even been paid his $1,500 yet? The problem there is little or no oversight of what has become the biggest money tournament in the state! By the way, the promoter of the 2010 Scholastics event told me in a phone conversation that in addition to 300 room nights, he was required to pay $10,000?!! ...a claim which was difficult for me to comprehend. (I believe that it would have been in the best interests of the NC scholastic community to pay a bit more attention to the conduct and accounting of the richest tournament in the state!?) Whether you are aware of it or not, there are a certain number of members in North Carolina who believe that Wheeless simply got caught with his hand in the cookie jar... they are just afraid to step forward and voice their opinions for fear of reprisal similar to the public ridicule they have directed at me and the CCC. As for who is telling the truth, if the NCCA is willing to foot the bill, I would be happy to accompany Mr. Wheeless to the polygraph examiner of their choice.  In fact, I will go further than that and volunteer to submit myself to the test without him in order to prove my veracity! The QCCA/NCCA are clearly overstepping their boundaries by attempting to censure me for "political and personal reasons." It is a healthy thing for every organization to have an outspoken critic to keep them honest, and I just happen to be that person. This is America, every man has a right to his opinion and I am no exception. However, last week was my first official visit to the QCCA chess club, and to my knowledge, I did not violate any rules. To censure me one year later for previously criticizing the procedures by which various officers of the QCCA/NCCA operate does not fall within the "time limit" guidelines which have been established by the USCF, nor did they ever submit a formal complaint to the Ethics Committee. Because, apparently, none of them had ever actually read the rules!? They have a right to criticize me, as they have vehemently done, but they are still invited to participate at the Charlotte Chess Club. We don't exclude people just because they have a difference of opinion!? Furthermore, the humorous article which I published about their VP screaming from the top of the bench was based on a report by one of their own officers, my good friend Mike Eberhardinger. Wasn't he telling the truth?! And, as for the claim that I called UNCC about running a chess tournament, that is correct. That was as a result of E-mails which I received from the UNCC Chess Club inviting me to do so. We did discuss the QCCA event but I did not complain that they were charging money! On the other hand, according to the manager of the Independence Branch, Wheeless called the library and complained that we were charging $10!? which violates their rules. But, wait a minute; hasn't Newsom recently promoted chess tournaments at a local public high school as well as the Cone Center at UNCC and charged a $30 entry fee and paid out hundreds of dollars? Wouldn't that technically violate the misuse of public property rules as well? (Consider yourself lucky that, being the good citizen, Wheeless hasn't dropped a dime on you...  Seems like another obvious double standard to me). As for the CMSCA, it is no secret that for many years, among other issues, I have loudly complained about the high entry fees for scholastic players. Again, we attempted to observe records of a non-profit organization which is public information but were stonewalled. Finally, a copy of their 2008 tax return was furnished but no other questions were answered. Particularly the question of why the entry fee for young beginners is $30 to play a few games of chess instead of $5 or $10 even though they receive an annual funding of over $120,000 from Mecklenburg County!? Furthermore, the CMSCA continues to sanction events like the 3rd CMSCA Scholastic Championship on 5-22 which had an entry fee of $25-30? Like the NCCA, no accounting of any of their events is ever published, so how does anyone ever know where all the money goes? Those figures should not be secret, they should be readily available for all to see by being quickly posted. Likewise, the NCCA should freely allow their books to be observed by anyone who has a desire to see them, for any reason. Just exactly what do they have to hide? (I heard that all they actually have is one simple checkbook?! The assertion that a professional accountant would charge $5,000 to audit their "books" is ludicrous). Other issues, such as my complaint that Georgia promoter Thad Rogers only payed back 60%, and the necessity for all promoters to pay back at least 75% seem to be improving considering the benevolent design of the upcoming NCCA event! (a cash payback for which I have lobbied for years for a "closed" event. But, since the event is "open," some alouf foreign Grandmaster will probably take the money back to Moscow... instead of our own North Carolina players who deserve it!) This entire episode began with a few friendly messages on the CCC Message Board where questions were asked and none were answered. In fact, after a lengthy "gag order," their response came in the form of personal attacks and groundless accusations? I consider myself an investigative journalist. I have the same rights to the freedom of speech as every other American citizen. And, they have no right to muzzle me or any other member of the United States Chess Federation. We all have a right to our opinion, and as a result of their most recent unfriendly actions, I will surely continue to voice mine. Considering the fact that I have been a member of the NCCA longer than all of the current officers combined, and I am a past President myself, there are many other issues which I would be happy to discuss with our next administration of NCCA officers that would significantly improve things for all future members.  I look forward to getting back into the mix... with a new, honest administration of open and fair minded leaders who are knowledgable of, and follow the USCF rules. NM Leland Fuerstman