Cover Story
The Human Resources Department
Growing a state championship is not complicated, but it does take effort. By FM MIKE KLEIN
232 players. Besides more than doubling in overall attendance, the tournament went from one titled player to more than one dozen. The good news? Growing a state championship, or any five-round weekend Swiss, is not complicated. The bad news? It takes a lot of effort. The formula for growth in North Carolina typifies local chess in the United States: take two competent chess lovers with business acumen, remove any profit motive, mitigate their financial risk, work them tirelessly for a few months and especially doggedly for one weekend, and presto, your state championships will unmagically be a resounding success. North Carolina Chess Association (NCCA) President Gary Newsome and Vice-President Walter High have performed this feat in their state for the last two years. “A successful business person doesn’t always
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take little tiny steps, sometimes you take quantum leaps,” Newsom said. Newsom runs a chauffeured car service in Charlotte and brought years of accounting and contractual skills to his efforts. He has played chess for 37 years and ran for association president three years ago. Newsom saw a diminishing flagship tournament in his state and wanted to bolster its numbers, and by extension, its importance.
26 Chess Life — January 2012
uschess.org
orth Carolina has 1,588 residents who have played a USCF-rated game in the last year. Back in 2009, after years of declining attendance, only 108 players showed up for the state championship, and about one-quarter of them were from another state. In 2010, almost one hundred more attended. In September, 2011, the North Carolina Open convened with
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