John C Fernandez's candidate statements also appear in the Chess Life issues under which they are listed below.
April Statement:
It was a great honor to be elected to the US Chess Executive Board two years ago, and I’m humbled to be a candidate for re-election to the US Chess Executive Board this time around. Being on the EB has been extremely rewarding, working hard with a fantastic Executive Board, Executive Director, delegates, committee members, and of course, our excellent staff, as well as helping us realize our mission as well as achieve a level of financial stability not seen in our recent history.
I’ve been the liaison to several very successful committees, from the brand-new Chess in Education Committee to the award-winning Accessibility & Special Circumstances Committee, to FIDE Events and Top Players Committees.
In the next two statements, I’d like to recap some of the achievements of the past two years and what I’d like to achieve in the next four years to build on that success.
May Statement:
The pandemic brought about a terrible hardship for many of the critical institutions which make up US Chess. Our world of OTB play was stopped entirely, from national tournaments to the everyday quads and Swisses all over the country, all of whom felt the pain of either a complete shutdown or very limited, creative ways to get together over the board. Similarly, our scholastic programs, the primary driver of new members, were stopped entirely.
Three years later, we've seen a significant resurgence in chess in the United States. While COVID-19 harmed much of the existing infrastructure, technology helped drive an outlet for chess in this "new normal" we talked so much about. Of course, we always had online play. Still, we've been able to add entertaining and educational content creators who both share knowledge and promote the game, whether on Twitch, Podcasts, or social media.
In 2023, we get the best of both worlds. With tournaments overfilling capacity and enormous interest in the game, we're witnessing a US Chess environment never seen. Our recent milestone of eclipsing 100,000 US Chess members shows this.
I've had the honor of working with esteemed EB members, our brilliant executive director, dedicated committee members, and diligent staff on several projects which helped us grow our mission. In Chess in Education, we started as a small task force to figure out how to carry out our mission above and beyond our scholastic community's fantastic work. From defining how best to approach chess as an educational tool to finding thought leaders from across the country to share their stories, we now have a regular cadence of webcasts to educate our community, as well as a resources section to share content that educators around the country can use to build chess programs in their classrooms.
Another major effort is US Chess' mission-critical technology infrastructure. As someone with a quarter century of software experience, I know the importance of a reliable and robust technology platform. From our membership database to the rating server to the e-commerce platform, our organizers, coaches, and players need us to be there for them. We've made crucial hires and started to build the foundation for a stable and functional platform for the next decade.
In many ways, though, we're just getting started. Next month, I'll share three concrete things I plan to help us all achieve in the next four years.
June Statement:
The next four years will require us to make significant progress in the following three areas if we take advantage of the fantastic position US Chess finds itself in today, from our robust membership to rock-solid financial footing. With swift, decisive action on these three items, we can build on that foundation to serve hundreds of thousands of members supported by tens of millions of dollars in funding:
- Safety. No item right now is of more paramount importance than ensuring that our members are safe from any untoward acts. The recent shocking and horrible news of sexual assault should give us all pause. We’ve been way too tolerant of bad behavior by players at our tournaments, our clubs, and online, from on-the-board to off-the-board offenses. That stops now. Absolutely zero tolerance, lifetime bans, and improved training and resources, both preventative and investigatory, must be our absolute #1 priority. You can't enjoy chess if you can’t feel safe at a chess tournament. We must ensure that every member, regardless of who they are, can enjoy every chess interaction without any concerns for their safety or well-being.
- Infrastructure. The most critical business projects that will take place over the following years are long overdue and necessary. We are a service organization, and serving our membership from processing registrations, rating events, handling payments, and the website are needed. The ongoing technology projects must succeed. As a software executive with 24 years of experience, I know what it takes to get that done and delivered.
- Marketing. We can best serve our mission by promoting chess within our great nation. More work is being done to promote the game of chess from our state affiliates, organizers, gaming sites, and content creators than ever before. We need to grab a piece of that pie to continue to spread our mission and grow the game we all love and enjoy. I’m someone who has done that at the highest levels and will do for US Chess now and in the future.
I believe I’m uniquely qualified to support US Chess in these three areas over the next few years. As the youngest and highest rated player running for the board, I believe I have the energy, understanding, and passion to succeed in promoting our mission. I thank you for participating in the US Chess governance process and greatly appreciate your consideration as a candidate.
