US Chess Federation and the Oral History Project. Okay, I took the bait recently and responded to Publishing Concepts, a company creating an oral history for USCF. You may have gotten a couple of postcards from USCF about this and read something in Chess Life about its importance. Here's my experience with it.

A very nice lady listened and recorded my retelling of how I got into chess and some memorable games and experiences over the past 60 years. This poor woman listened for almost a half hour to my ramblings. Encouraging me to tell more and more. She seemed truly interested and impressed with my very average story.

At the end, she told me that my audio would be part of the oral history and that I would receive a copy of it along with others they compiled, along with a bound book and some USCF merchandise. The cost? Well, of course there is a cost but it's only $450!

This is not a scam, but it is a truly annoying way for USCF to raise money. In the end, there is a sales pitch. I felt obligated to initially respond but it was a waste of my time and theirs. It may be of value to some who like to see their name in print or listen back to their own words, but as a regular chess enthusiast the product would be just another dust collector.

SaltiNeil