1) Fact: By its own admission, the USCF is a not-for-profit corporation.

2) Fact: The current USCF Full Adult membership rate is $40 per year.

3) Fact: In every issue of Chess Life, the official publication of the USCF, it states

"$21 of every full Adult USCF membership goes toward your
subscription to Chess Life Magazine."

4) Fact: A subscription to Chess Life alone (without becoming a USCF member) is $45 per year. (Yea, I don't quite understand that either. Why not just become a member and save five bucks?)

So, if it costs $45 per year to receive the magazine, and if, by their own admission, $21 of my membership goes toward this magazine, then shouldn't I have the choice of becoming a USCF member for $24 per year and not receive the magazine if I so choose??!!

I can't. This is not an option! If I wish to become a member, I'm forced to subscribe and pay for their magazine!! This is silly! I may not like the magazine. Shoot, I may not even know how to read! It's beside the point that I do like it and probably would choose to take it even if a non-magazine membership offer existed. But I, and others, should have that choice!!

I personally know of several adult friends and relatives who would love to pay a small fee for the privilege of becoming a USCF member, and the right to play in USCF rated tournaments, if that membership did not cost a full $40 per year. Not everyone enjoys reading about chess, or studying games from a magazine; Many people just enjoy playing.

Forcing a member to pay for a magazine he or she may not wish to read, simply because this individualy wishes to become a member of the USCF and play in OTB rated tournaments, makes absolutely NO SENSE to me.

If...

...the USCF truly wishes to increase their membership...

...$21 truly does go towards the cost of producing the magazine...

...the USCF is truly a not-for-profit corporation...

...then they should offer the option to become a USCF member without receiving the magazine. It's that simple.

Update: Since writing this short webpage, many others have written to me and agreed with this.

The above information is now outdated. According to the May 2001 issue of Chess Life, the USCF now DOES offer the option of a membership and the right to play in OTB tournaments without being forced to pay for the magazine. The membership is known as Internet Regular and is $32 per year. (It's not the $24 per year the above math indicates it should, but at least it's a start.)