Dear chess players worldwide,

Thank you for the support you have already shown us. As many of you know, it has been a four-year struggle to restore democracy to chess in the Virgin Islands. On May 17th of this year, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) assigned what they call a “reverse delegate” to visit us and closely observe the truth of what is really happening here. Our FIDE reverse delegate visited the territory in June and witnessed that the majority of VI chess players were being excluded from membership in the USVI Chess Federation as we had repeatedly reported. The story is long and complex but on May 22nd, a VI Superior Court judge ordered a “special election” of new USVICF officers for the benefit of the VI community. The FIDE reverse delegate observed the election and verified that it was conducted fairly. The prior administration was unanimously voted out. But Margaret Murphy, the president who lost the election, is on a campaign to slander and defame the newly elected officers and FIDE executives. We need new signatures on our petition to show FIDE that chess players worldwide, especially VI chess players, support the newly elected officers in their continued fight for democracy, transparency, and integrity.

Please visit our website to see our ongoing activity (https://www.usvichessassociation.org and possibly come and participate in the FIDE rated December tournament in St. Croix. Details are on the website. If you haven’t already signed our petition, please sign it now. And add this comment “I support the newly elected leadership of the USVI Chess Federation.”

The "real” chess players of the Virgin Islands thank you!