2024 WCA President's Report

  • Written by Mike Nietman
  • Published: 31 March 2024
  • Last Updated: 30 April 2024

2024 WCA President’s Report
April 1, 2024

A reminder that US Chess has signed a contract with the Madison Marriott West to host the 2025 US Open! The dates are July 28 – August 3. The first thing to note is that that is only seven days. The 2025 event will be the first of the new seven-day format US Opens. There will still be nine rounds with the Traditional schedule doubling up rounds on two of the first three days. Shorter schedules such as a four day and most likely a five or six-day schedule will also be available. All schedules merge Friday evening in round seven.

I’m impressed by the number of new organizers and events held in the state. We have to work cooperatively however in our scheduling of weekend events. There is a problem with concurrent or adjacent weekend events that are making our players select which events they go to instead of possibly participating in multiple events. Organizers need to work together in setting dates for their events. The way to do that is to contact our tournament clearinghouse (an official US Chess post) who happens to be Guy Hoffman at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. He will let you know what other organizers are planning and let you know if your dates have already been taken. I suggest not signing contracts until you get with Guy.

Striking a blow to our organizational efforts is that UW-Oshkosh’s Gruenhagen Conference Center due to UW-Oshkosh’s financial problems, no longer has any staff to check people in or clean the rooms after the event. Due to this the recent State Scholastic Championship was reduced to a one-day event. For the first time since 1987, it will necessitate us looking for a different location for the Junior Open and Veterans Tournaments. If you have any suggestions for venues for any of our events, please contact a Board member.

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1982 Badger Chess Interview with William Martz

  • Written by Mike Nietman
  • Published: 31 March 2024
  • Last Updated: 30 April 2024
Reprinted with permission of Bill Williams, Badger Chess editor from the October 1982 edition.

This interview was conducted about two weeks after Wisconsin’s William Martz had won the U.S. Open Co-Championship with GM Andrew Soltis.  It took place in the chess room of the townhouse apartment that he and his wife, Norma, dwell in Wauwatosa.  The walls are lined with bookshelves, each one packed with chess volumes on every subject one might wish to examine, and atop the bookshelves are the many trophies he has accumulated in his 20-odd year career as Wisconsin’s leading player.  Also present for the interview (although he declined to comment for publication) was his good friend Dr. Robert Huebner, a name well known to chess fans.  The interview ended abruptly, when the tape recorder used to record his answers ran out of tape—much to the embarrassment of this confused editor.

When and where did you begin playing chess?

I began playing chess when I was a senior in high school at about age 15, and I was brought up on the tournaments in Milwaukee.  It was the custom in those days to hold the Thanksgiving and Fourth of July tournaments at good hotels; either the Plankington or the Schroeder, or similarly good sites. They were quite well organized and playing conditions were very good when compared with modern swiss-system events.  So, I became interested in chess because it seemed a pleasant thing to do. Being competitive by nature, and being a little artistic, one finds chess a good means to express oneself … a good outlet for a competitive spirit.

Where did you attend college?

I attended the University of Wisconsin for three or four years and took a degree in mathematics which I haven’t seen fit to use.

Read more: 1982 Badger Chess Interview with William Martz