Photos are available from the 2005 ICCF Congress held in Argentina. Please take a look at the Congress 2005 photo page!

Please take a look at the reports from the 2005 ICCF Congress held in Argentina. The general reports can be found at http://correspondencechess.com/congress/ while Ruth Ann Fey has provided us with some interesting commentary at the link: "Congress Report by Ruth Ann Fay"

and at the ICCF-NAPZ home page!

The 2005 ICCF Congress is starting in a few days - please note that Ruth Ann and Max will be "out of the office" from Oct. 26th until November 11.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the people affected by Hurricane Katrina... It is a great tragedy...

ICCF-NAPZ has launched it's web-site to compliment those by Africa/Asia and Europe. While still in the "under-construction" phase, you can find the page at:

http://www.iccfus.com/NAPZ/

Please let the web-master know if you find any problem or would like to make a suggestion!

Med Samraoui has just published the ICCF - Africa/Asia web page: http://www.iccf-europa.com/aa/index.htm  The page is still under construction, but already contains much information on the Africa/Asia Zone of ICCF. Also note that ICCF-Europe already has a page and can be found under the links tab.

(June 15, 2005)

The 10th North American Invitational CC Championship (NAICCC) will officially start on the 1 July 2005 and will be played on the ICCF server (www.iccf-webchess.com). This is one of North America's most important CC events. It dates back to 1971. When the tournament was first started, the winner qualified for the World Championship Final. This was Victor Palciauskas’ route to the WC Final. Under current ICCF Rules, the top 3 winners qualify for the World Championship Cycle based on the Tournament Category. The “Invitational” in the name is somewhat misleading. It was designed as the “Continental Championship” under the old ICCF Rules. The qualification to the WC cycle is based on this history. 

The NAICCC X is a Category VII and the top 3 winners will qualify for the Candidates section. Players from Canada, the USA and Mexico are participating. Once again the event is a strong one, Category VII, with 3 SIMs and 5 IMs, average rating 2417. The event will start out with no live coverage. Once each game has reached at least 20 moves, the tournament will be switched to live coverage, with a 3-move delay. Ralph Marconi, IA is directing the event for the 3rd time.

Below is the list of participants in seeding order:

Category 7, Norms: GM=9˝ SIM=8 IM=7

TD: IA, Ralph P. Marconi (CAN)

1.  (USA) Michelman, Peter (2285) (CCLA nominee)

2.  (USA) IM Brandhorst, Wesley T. (2421) (USCF nominee)

3.  (CAN) IM-elect Ruben, Gary (2467)

4.  (USA) SM Weisskohl, Jerry (2522)

5.  (USA) IM Skeels, James B. (2413) (APCT nominee)

6.  (USA) IM Millstone, Michael (2411)

7.  (CAN) Douziech, Richard (2335)

8.  (CAN) IM Demian, Valer-Eugen (2420)

9.  (MEX) SM Aldrete Lobo, Jorge (2503)

10. (CAN) Akwei, Loving (2333)(Canadian CC Champion)

11. (USA) White, David (2374)

12. (USA) SM Bokar, Dr. Jason (2577)

13. (CAN) Maurer, Serge (2365)

For those who wish to follow the progress of this event go to "Tables and Results" under the System header, then scan down to "Memorials and Invitationals events" then click on 10th North American Invitational CC Championship at the ICCF server (www.iccf-webchess.com)

The following page has an article about the history of the NAICCC written by John F. Cleeve. http://correspondencechess.com/marconi/naiccc.history.htm

Previous NAICCC winners:

USA finishes 2nd in the 5th North Atlantic Team Tournament

The United States finished second with 58 points.

Tied for third and fourth were Canada and Spain with 57 1/2 points.

The complete field of teams also included Ireland, Iceland, England, Scotland, Wales, Norway and Portugal. Many thanks to USA Team Captain N. Eric Pedersen for his help and guidance throughout the match!

DIRECT ENTRY ADMINISTRATOR NEEDED

ICCF is looking for a new DE Administrator as well as Deputy Administrators. We are looking for responsible, proactive people.  Familiarity with current email, word processing, and spreadsheet programs is required.  Multiple language skills is a plus, but not essential.  In addition to the above, the DE Administrator must be able to process payments via PayPal and other online brokers, and receive Wire and Bank transfers and Western Union money transfers, and make payments to ICCF accounts.

The Direct Entry Office will consist of a DE Administrator and three or four Deputy Administrators who will help the DE Administrator process entries and queries from different geographical regions. 

The DE Administrator will report to the Finance Director and will interact regularly with the Membership & Services Director, the World Tournament Director, the Title Tournament Commissioner, the Non-Title tournament Commissioner, as well as other tournament office officials.

Anyone interested in applying should notify Ruth Ann Fay at ICCF-US, zprchess@aol.com. ICCF needs to fill these DE Office positions, as soon as possible, so the Executive Board can proceed with the analysis and selection of the most appropriate nominee.

The implementation of the Direct Entry Programme is subject to the availability of a DE Administrator.

NEW RATING LIST IS AVAILABLE!

The new ICCF rating list is out (see ICCF Home page for full details ). However, you can find the US top 51 list here on ICCF-US. Please follow the Player Ranks link to the left or follow this link!

ICCF-US is pleased to announce that Randy Schmidt is the 14th USCCC Champion. He completed the Final with a score of 11 1/2 out of 14 games.  His ICCF rating will cross over 2500 with this last result. This accomplishment has taken over 6 years. The 14th Postal USCCC preliminary sections started in October 1998. Randy also had a score of 11 1/2 in his Preliminary section out of 12 games.

The crosstable for the 14th USCCC Final is at http://correspondencechess.com/campbell/us14/usccc14f.htm
Note that 2nd and 3rd places are not yet determined. SIM Dr. Jason Bokar, John R. Menke, and IM Keith A. Rodriguez are tied with 9 1/2 games, but Dr. Bokar has 1 game remaining. SIM Edward Duliba has 9 points and 1 game remaining. This has been a hard fought tournament.

Randy Schmidt has earned both a trophy and a nomination to the ICCF World Championship Semi-Finals. Randy Schmidt is a Life member of USCF.

Please join us in congratulating him on this accomplishment.

Amici Sumus
Max Zavanelli
Ruth Ann Fay

CC Grandmaster Joop J. van Oosterom (Netherlands) has become the 18th World Champion!

Congratulations to Joop J. van Oosterom (NED) on clinching the title of 18th World Champion in the WC final round with the outstanding score 11-3 (8 wins, 6 draws, no losses). See crosstable. He is also the top-rated player on the ICCF rating list at 2754. He gained the grandmaster title in 1993.

See ICCF Announcement
Download ChessBase cbv file of van Oosterom's games

Another Special Tournament Announcement

THE INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENCE CHESS FEDERATION

CHARITY MATCH

AJEC / Asia vs. Rest of the World

If you are interested in playing in this event - please see the order form. All entry fees will go to a charity organization.

Special Tournament Announcement!

Foglar Veterans Invitational Tournament
The Czech Federation is inviting players who are over age 50 with ICCF ratings over 2300 to play in a special email tournament honoring Mr. Stanislav Folgar. Contact ICCF-US if you are interested in playing. Earlier entries will receive preference. Entries close 20 March 2005. Please click on the link above for more details!
 

Important contribution to USCCC Game Archive!

A big thanks goes out to Chris Ferrante for providing the games from the 6th USCCC preliminary round. Chris did an admirable job of entering these moves using the old Chess International magazine as his source.  Thanks to Chris (and to Franklin for his continuing efforts to provide us with this wonderful contribution to US CC players!) for his outstanding job.  Please take a moment to visit the archive page!

Franklin asks that if anyone notices any credits missing on the archive page or if someone should be added to the list of credits ... please let him know.

Rate Change Announcement:

ICCF has increased the entry fees it charges to member federations as of January 1, 2005. This required a restructuring of our entry fees. We also had to take into consideration that the US dollar has dropped 17% against the Swiss Franc in the last 2 years. This is currency in which we pay the USA's ICCF membership dues and entry fees.

ICCF is now offering tournaments on its own WebChess Server. This means that ICCF now has development and certain fixed maintenance costs. Previous transmission methods, post, fax, and email, did not have these costs. Server development was needed for ICCF to remain the premier international correspondence chess organization.

The good news is that we have reduced fees for World Tournament Postal sections. We thank all our postal players for their years of support. Your fees, which have not increased since before 1991, have paid for USPCF's ICCF membership dues and entry fees. Many players have continued postal play in spite of the lower email "introductory" fee.

The World Tournament Promotional sections will have the same entry fee for post, email, and server. We expect the server to completely replace email play. We believe that there are many players that still want postal play, and we hope this fee structure attracts them.

Thematics tournaments have not increased. For those that just want some non-book line fun, Fischer Random Tournament sections are remain free for 2005.

Please refer to the Order Form for further information.
 

PLAYERS NEEDED!!

3rd E-mail U.S. Championship to be played on ICCF's Websever!!

The 3rd E-mail US Correspondence Chess Championship will be played on ICCF's Webserver. This will be an excellent opportunity for US players interested in trying out this new way of playing correspondence chess! If you are interested in knowing more about the ICCF server, please visit the ICCF web pages: www.iccf-webchess.com. Please note that you still must send your entry to ICCF-US.

FYI: International Arbiter and Tournament Director Allen Wright is moving! Please take a note of it - particularly if you are playing in one of the events in which he is the TD.

He is currently directing the finals of the 14th USCCC and 15th USCCC and the NAPZ Master Class events. His mailing address is now:

      Allen F. Wright
      8923 Shenandoah Run
      Wesley Chapel, FL 33544

Please also note that his email address will not change.

ICCF-US is proud to announce the following new title holders awarded at the ICCF 2004 Congress in Mumbai, India:

Grand Master:  Robin Smith, John C. Timm
Senior International Master: Timothy J. Murray
International Master:  Timothy J. Murray, Robert Rizzo
International Arbiter:   J. Franklin Campbell

Additionally, Christopher T. Sergel earned his Senior International Master Title during the year and will receive the medal and certificate at the 2005 Congress in Villa la Angostura, Neuquen, Argentina.
 

Congratulations to our fellow players and all the best luck for many more achievements!

Join the Dream Team!

Join the Dream Team!
Is it your dream to play the reigning ICCF World Champion? Guess what? He wants to play you too! At the ICCF Congress in Mumbai, Tunc Hamarat volunteered to take on all comers. See the full announcement to fulfill your dream on the "Rest of the World" team. By the way, he's chosen the white pieces.

More Information here (Word Document) or RichText!

U.S. Correspondence Chess Championship Archive (USCCC) Update!

Franklin Campbell has just added a new database to the USCCC archive for the 15th USCCC Preliminary round. The old database had 179 games. The new version has 628 games. Many thanks to N. Eric Pedersen for his huge contribution by manually entering all the previously missing games, and to Franklin for all his effort to provide this valuable record of our games! The archive can be found at: http://www.iccfus.com/games/usccc.htm

Franklin also requests that if anyone has any information on the USCCC 5th Championship preliminary round, please contact him!

Photos from Congress!

Ruth Ann Fay has provided us with a glimpse of the ICCF Congress that was held in Mumbai, India (30 October until 5 November). Please take a look here: ICCF Congress 2004! Although a lot of hard work was done, it does appear that everyone enjoyed themselves very much!

Olympiad XIII - U.S.A. Team Announcement

The U.S. Team is announced for the upcoming Final for Olympiad XIII! The final is set to start on November 25th. We wish good luck and good chess to our team!!

1. GM Palciauskas, Victor Vytas
2. GM DeMauro, Joseph A.
3. SM Edwards, Jon
4. SM Duliba, Dr. Edward P.
5. IM Sergel, Christopher T.
6. IM Sunna, Hisham N.

Team Captain: Alex Dunne

3rd E-mail U.S. Championship to be played on ICCF's Websever!!

Just announced by Ruth Ann Fay - The 3rd E-mail US Correspondence Chess Championship will be played on ICCF's Webserver. This will be an excellent opportunity for US players interested in trying out this new way of playing correspondence chess! If you are interested in knowing more about the ICCF server, please visit the ICCF web pages: www.iccf-webchess.com. Please note that you still must send your entry to ICCF-US.

1^st ICCF WEBCHESS OPEN TOURNAMENT!!

ICCF has announced the first Webchess (Webserver) Open tournament. This tournament is open to all correspondence chess players worldwide, also for those without any previous ICCF experience.

Interested? Please click here for the announcement, and contact ICCF-US office if you would like to participate!

The ICCF is delighted to announce the start of regular class tournaments on the ICCF Webserver. With immediate effect the ICCF is accepting entries for the Open Class, Higher Class and Master Class tournament sections to be played on the new ICCF Webserver located at www.iccf-webchess.com. Read all about it at the ICCF homepage!

ICCF-US Players: Please note that we have updated the ICCF-US order form.

ICCF joins in mourning with our Spanish Friends over the terrorist attack in Madrid on 11 March 2004. In respect for their grief, ICCF grants a Special Leave during which no time will be charged for Spanish players for one week, 12 to 18 March.

Please join with us in offering our condolences to Spain for their losses.

I am making this announcement on behalf of the Executive Board and President, Josef Mrkvicka, who is traveling this week.

Amici sumus,
Max Zavanelli
ICCF Deputy President