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There are now 7 Gothic Chess players who are in the top 50 of the US Chess Federation's October 2003 rating list.
Most of the members of the older organization (GCA) were under the age of 16. Our goal was not to skim Grandmasters from the USCF and get them to convert. What good what that do us, since there are only 36 Grandmasters in the USA??
The goal is to appeal to the young, who will one day be older and be able to support the organization as they are more financially independent.
There is one 17 year old player from Pennsylvania who will beat any FIDE 2100 player in Gothic Chess game after game. He is an incredible talent and I know his interest and enthusiasm will probably surpass me on the way to the 2500 mark. He is that good.
Players such as this are a tribute to our success, not Grandmasters who are already established. GMs have too much invested in the 8x8 game to play Gothic more than just casually.
My aim is to create a member-based organization equivalent to the USCF. Imagine with 50,000 members the kind of tournament we could have every year for the national title!