USCF Affairs
October 23, 2009

Membership Options


With the goal of providing our members maximum choice, the USCF has been offering new membership options for the past year. These categories will enhance your membership benefits.


Premium or Regular?

You are now able to join the USCF as either a “Premium” or “Regular” member. Premium membership provides all of the benefits of Regular membership, but you will also receive a printed copy of Chess Life (or Chess Life for Kids), just like current members always have received. Regular membership provides all the benefits you are used to: playing rated events, receiving a USCF rating, and access to members-only content on uschess.org. However, it also allows you to receive online access rather than a printed copy of Chess Life magazine (or Chess Life for Kids magazine for Regular scholastic members).

Chess Life has been available online since 2006 and Chess Life for Kids for the last year. In addition to the online version you are used to, we have begun to offer an online viewer that allows you to “flip” through the pages of the magazines in a “virtual” manner. From the viewer, you can continue to download .pdf versions of the magazines to keep for yourself. These .pdf files will include all pages in the magazine, including advertisements, that are not currently available in the html (web) versions. Adobe Acrobat offers a free download of a reader that will allow you to read .pdf files at: adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

To see all of your membership options, please see the ad on page 5 of this issue or visit our uschess.org webstore by clicking on the “Join/Renew” link at the top right of the home page. To view the online versions of Chess Life, click on the “Chess Life Magazine” link on the left side of the home page.

To view the online version of Chess Life for Kids, click on the “Scholastic/College” link on the left side of the home page, then the “Chess Life for Kids” link on the left side of the page.

The USCF is committed to keeping up with evolving technological changes and enhancing your membership by providing the new Regular and Premium memberships as a key component of this commitment.


Special Election For Two USCF Executive Board Seats


Due to the revocation of the memberships of Susan Polgar and Paul Truong which took place at the USCF delegates’ meeting this past August, there will be a special election in June to elect two board members to one-year terms. Deadline for receipt of nominating petitions is midnight, January 11, and they should be sent to Cheryle Bruce at the USCF office, P.O. Box 3967, Crossville, TN 38557. Petitions must include 30 signatures of USCF voting members, and the filing fee is $250.

You can read more about the membership revocation on Chess Life Online at uschess.org, August archives.


The USCF Mission
USCF is a not-for-profit membership organization devoted to extending the role of chess in American society. USCF promotes the study and knowledge of the game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, but also as a means for the improvement of society. It informs, educates, and fosters the development of players (professional and amateur) and potential players. It encourages the development of a network of institutions devoted to enhancing the growth of chess, from local clubs to state and regional associations, and it promotes chess in American society. To these ends, USCF offers a monthly magazine, as well as targeted publications to its members and others. It supervises the organization of the U.S. Chess Championship, an open tournament held every summer, and other national events. It offers a wide range of books and services to its members and others at prices consistent with the benefits of its members. USCF serves as the governing body for chess in the United States and as a participant in international chess organizations and projects. It is structured to ensure effective democratic procedures in accord with its bylaws and laws of the state of Illinois.