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Jason:

First of all, thank you for joining the Charlotte Chess Club! We always do our best to make each member feel as welcome and as comfortable as possible. We charge $2 more, because we provide more! Just look at our website every Thursday morning! Besides, of the 30 players reported to have participated at the QCCA last Tuesday evening, only a handful were adults. Of the 26 players who showed up at the CCC, only one was a scholastic player!? As I have said all along, the QCCA would do best to concentrate their efforts on serving the scholastic community and direct their remaining few adults to the CCC where they can interact and participate with other adults. In fact, 2 weeks ago, a gentleman brought his 9 year old son to the CCC whereupon I recommended that they visit the Tuesday night club, so his son could interact with other kids!

As for your first question, let's just do the math: Though they reported 59, the USCF printout indicates that there were 57 players who participated in Reverse Angle 31. 57 X $25* = $1,425. They "unconditionally guaranteed" $845 but actually paid back $897! (This time they went out of their way to increase the payback to a whopping 63%!?; in their last event they paid back 59%? *Furthermore, it is difficult to actually know how many players paid $20 instead of $25 since that info is never provided) Regardless of how you spin it, they still made a net profit of (approximately) $528!? Without their generous $25 increase to $150, the organizer pocketed 4 times more than the clear 1st Place winner of the Top Section?? Some believe that to be excessive. (I am told that the QCCA pays nothing for the use of the room at UNCC). Furthermore, it was reported to me that the person who personally advertised their event and seemed to be "totally in charge of directing the tournament" isn't even currently a Certified USCF Tournament Director nor was his name even listed on the printout as an assistant??

On the other hand, both Senior TD NMLF and Asst. TD PMc possess "current" USCF credentials. Furthermore, the CCC uses a payback system which is designed to maximize the return to all participants, not just the top guys!? The 10 man section system guarantees that an exact 75% is paid back in each section! Two sections of 10 players each would generate a revenue of 20 X 20 = $400. The payback would be $100-50 per section or a total of $300! (Note: Non-members who pay $25 to participate in CCC Saturday events receive $5 credit toward membership for each event entered!) After expenses: payback $300, room fee $60, rating fee $20, gas $15, food $10... well, I believe you can see where I'm going with this... True, if we had more participants, we would make a greater profit. That's what we're hoping for in the future! But, we would still pay back 75%! (By the way, the Asheboro Open, Tom Hales, President, often pays back 90-95% ...he brings his own lunch!)

And, why shouldn't we have more players? Our facility at the Dowd YMCA is far more accessible than UNCC!? The 7th floor room is well lighted and very quiet; direct parking, many restaurants within 5 minutes, lower entry fee, much fairer payback, strong competition, friendly participants who actually carry on quiet conversations in the wings, and NM Leland Fuerstman waiting to greet you with a smile! Unlike other websites which only post the USCF printout, the Charlotte Chess Club website includes images, annotated games and a colorful narrative of what transpired round by round. Plus, an honest accounting - which proves that we do little better than break even! Some folks do it for the money. (Quote by new member). I do it for the love of the game and the chance to socialize with my many chess friends! It is fitting to echo the quote; "Charlotte chess players vote with their feet!" -- The Charlotte Chess Club currently has 76 paid members making us the largest and most active "adult" chess club in the 2 Carolinas!

Now, the answer to your first question is, "NO." To the best of my knowledge, other than for major national and regional events where large cash prize funds are advertised, there are no guidelines of control for Saturday 3 round events. And, as for the $69 entry fee for scholastic players, you haven't been around long enough to know that I have vocally protested this for many years. Unfortunately, the "powers that be" have taken no steps to attempt to control nor correct this trend. And, that is very disappointing... So, if you're expecting the people who are supposedly in charge of our state organization to address these problems, don't hold your breath...

Hope to see you at Knights Templar I on March 2.

NM Leland Fuerstman