Ryan Velez Withdraws from 2021 Executive Board Election

Dear US Chess Community,

I have decided to remove myself as a candidate in the 2021 US Chess Elections. I will finish out the term to which I was elected, which ends at the conclusion of the delegate’s meeting in August 2021.

The pandemic has been very tough for many chess educators, me included. Before the pandemic, I was intending on shutting down my company, a for profit, and starting up a chess non-profit. The pandemic interrupted this plan significantly. As we slowly crawl, as a country, to the other side of the pandemic, I can see how much work is ahead of me with the new non-profit. Thus, my primary reason for stepping away has to do with building up a new chess company, which is a very time-consuming task.

It has been an honor to serve the chess community on the national scale for these past three years. I have traveled the country and worked on chess projects all because of the opportunities afforded to me by the US Chess electorate. For that, I thank you all. The greatest reward for serving the chess community are the lifelong friendships I have made from New York and Florida to California and Washington.

Sincerely, and with much appreciation for all US Chess volunteers and Staff,

Ryan Velez