"YEAR OF THE OTB PLAYER" ENDS

The latest Chess Life magazine, dated December but issued in November, was the second consecutive issue to say nothing about the "Year of the Over-the-Board Player."  Good riddance!

Regularly featured on the cover until the last two issues, the "Year of the OTB Player" was seen by many players and organizers as a cynical attempt by the previous Executive Board to cover for anti-OTB policies, such as the big TLA fee increase (now rescinded by the new Board), the "reduction to basic items" of USCF's book and equipment inventory, and the six figure expenditures on US ChessLive at a time of fiscal crisis.

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