It has come to our attention that Hoffer’s Chess Academy Tournaments are dead. Here is the reason why, so his student can win a gam (sic) that are (sic) already over by time loss. He first says that there is a 5 second increment on the clock that was NEVER stated in the tournament email or mentioned at the start of the tournament, because nobody used the added time control in the tournament except during the act of cheating a 13 year old boy. And to top it off, mike (sic) decided to set up the position to where his student had a clear advantage. Now mike’s student can now correct an error he made in the game. The 13 year old boy that won the game outright has now been given a 20 point loss because he would not continue to play the second game. We invite Tampa chess players to come to St. Petersburg Chess Club for tournaments run by the U.S.C.F. rules and regulations with complete fairness! "

Apparently, G. Randolf cannot bother to check his grammar, spelling or facts before making a post on the chess club's website!

First off, Mike Hoffer is getting blasted for a decision that I made! Mike agreed with the decision, but I made it and the USCF has backed my decision! In the past, Mike Hoffer was inconsistent in how he enforced the rules and this has lead to some people accusing Mike of "catering to the Bulgarians". Part of the reason that I took over running his chess tournaments is because he would do stupid things like switching pairings if some cry baby complained about them. Now, the cry babies go to Mike to get him to persuade me to switch pairings! In one tournament about a year and a half ago, Mike let Lyubo do the pairings and I ended up getting three blacks in a row! It is not a coincidence that the third Black was against Lyubo! Now, Lyubo has the audacity to accuse Mike Hoffer of cheating! I have lost track of how many times I have had to talk with both Timo Gospodinov and his son Lyubo about not following the rules! Yet, they claim to be tournament directors that know these rules!

Mike Hoffer and Lybomir Gospodinov are both certified by the USCF as chess tournament directors at the "Club" level. All one has to do to get certified at the "Club" level is to sign a form that says that you understand the rules and have access to a copy of the official rule book! I, on the other hand, am certified at the "Local" level. I am certified at a higher level because I had to pass a test that shows that I know and understand how to apply the rules! Neither Mike Hoffer nor Lybomir Gospodinov has the authority to override my decisions because I am certified at a higher level than they both are!

In the disputed game in question, Mike Hoffer did fail to announce in advance that a five-second delay was to be used on all clocks. However, Lyubo knows that this is required in chess tournaments that I run even if they are not announced in advance! Mike Hoffer was the organizer, but I was the TD in the 2012 Guavaween Open. All decisions on how to enforce the rules were made by me. Before deciding to penalize Lyubo two minutes for not setting the clock correctly, I did consult with Mike Hoffer about this. The continuation of the game would have Lyubo up 26 minutes on time and up a pawn in a Bishop and pawn endgame with both bishops on the same color. Lyubo had a protected passed pawn on the h file. I could have beaten Bobby Fisher up a passed pawn and 26 minutes! Yet, Lyubo refused to finish this game because Roshan knew his strategy of trying to run Roshan out of time! I did not buy that excuse then and I still do not buy it now!

This is a picture of the final position taken by Roshan's father. I testify that is is an accurate representation of the positon that Lybomir Gospodinov claimed he could not win and thus refused to play on in.





Mike Serovey, MA, MISM