MC Decides To Move Ahead!

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MC Decides To Move Ahead!

– Despite all odds but with great faith –

 

It’s April 7/14.  Where are we?

  • Do we have sponsors?  No.
  • How many registrants do we have as March 31/14?  76.
  • Are we far away from our targets?  Yes.
  • Are we taking heavy financial risk?  Yes.

But, is Millionaire Chess Open happening?  Yes!

We are going to take a leap of faith and go ahead with the tournament regardless…  This means that the million dollar prize is now guaranteed.  What brought about this decision?

 

Three to five years from now, I look back to my 2014 and what possible “negative” outcomes do I see?  Regret for not having tried, not having known what the future could have been?  Or lost time and resources for having tried and failed?  The latter is the real me – exerting all my effort at something I believe in totally and, if I fail, not regretting it. I don’t know what the future holds for us, but I do know that not going ahead today will always leave me with room for feelings of regret, and I don’t want to die with any regrets at all.

 

Reflecting on the situation more deeply, we are moving forward because of:

1.  The people around me.  Maurice is Maurice; there’s no changing that.  He has built his reputation in the chess community and there is no way that we are going to put that at stake.  The MC team who has been behind us, rooting for us.  Their enthusiasm, passion, positive energy have been very inspiring and motivating.  My small group of (highly successful) people in my inner circle has always taken time out to hear me out and give me their opinions and suggestions.  I feel very grateful.

2.  Faith.  Belief is more than logic, and faith is more than belief.  Faith does not put aside logic.  It can actually be based on it. Our faith is based on the reality and facts around us.  Why would we give up something we believe in so strongly?

3.  The strong supporters from the chess community who definitely outnumber the naysayers.

4.  The future technologies. We are working with the Media Lab at MIT. They will change the way chess gets presented to the public.

5.  The collaboration we have with the US Chess Federation.  We are going to cross promote each other, and their reach is vast.

6.  The timing.  If we don’t change chess now, the next generations of players will lose the opportunity to be rewarded for their brilliance.

7.  Confidence. We are very passionate and confident about taking chess mainstream. We believe it can be done.

 

Our integrity has been doubted.  Our real motives have been questioned.  To those doubters, I say, “Thank you.”  Thank you for giving us the platform to prove ourselves.  Thank you for making us realize who among the chess players are one with us in believing that chess has its own important place in the world of intellectual sports.  Some may see us as stubborn and hardheaded. Others see us as confident and determined.  You can’t please everyone, and it’s great to have support.

 

Besides, there will always be differences.  We acknowledge this. Differences in points of views give dynamism to a lot of aspects in life. We embrace those with different opinions because they motivate us, and they also show us ways to improve what we are trying to do. It’s all about delivering the highest quality product in the end.

 

The fact that I am not well practiced in chess does not mean that I don’t appreciate the game.  Not all basketball fans play basketball but, like me, they are passionate about the sport.  The Millionaire Chess Open may be seen as “just” a tournament, but there’s a business side to it and, despite all odds, I still believe there’s enormous potential to be tapped. I view this as an exciting new venture, and I know I am in it for the long term.  My ambition is way beyond one Open Tournament a year, and my target area is not just the USA.  I consider the money I put in as a long term investment in an enterprise that I see potential in on top of being passionate about.  I am totally prepared to take the financial risk, just I have in the other businesses I’ve been involved in.

 

We have decided to move ahead. Maurice is spending his time and exerting efforts to make his dream come true.  I have decided to put my investment on the line and I am not even a chess player!  These are exciting times!

 

 

21 thoughts on “MC Decides To Move Ahead!

  1. Bravo to you both Amy & Maurice for moving forward and sharing then same philosophy for and about Chess Culture and Future History.

    1. Thanks Samuel for your support. This is a team effort. We need all chess players to step up and make the most of this opportunity… 🙂

  2. Wow. Amy, these are exciting times indeed. I must salute you for resolve and perseverance to see this through.

    I wish you all of the best for the way forward. I am fully in support of MC.

  3. There is such a buzz in the air now since you have taken this step forward. Tonight after teaching a chess class I had the owner of a coffee shop come to me and offer to help sponsor a local tournament. MC Chess is going to open so many doors (provided it receives the proper coverage). I really hope to see it blossom into more than this one event, but indeed a whole series of professional events in major cities. Please consider the idea of a circuit of tournaments with 100k prize pools that promote chess and and act as qualifiers to the main event in 2015! I commend you for bravely jumping into the deep end of the pool and making a big splash. I can feel the energy of the playing hall now as I write these words; pin drop quiet with over 1,000 minds broiling in one room; deadly geometry shifting across the checkered space…See you in October.

    1. I look forward to seeing you in Vegas. Please inbox me on FB. I want to talk to you about “qualifying tournament” suggestions which is a topic I discussed with Keith Dunbar yesterday. Thanks Carl…

  4. Thank you, Amy for pushing the army forward!
    I will be sharing this on every online media social networking outlet I am a subscriber to and encourage all chess players to do the same regardless if you will be entering this tournament or not. Support chess and
    Maurice and Amy’s vision!

    See you in Vegas!
    Evan Stone

    1. That’s great to hear Evan, thanks for your support! The depth of support is overwhelming now that we are moving forward and the more players who get on board the greater the opportunity is to move chess forward.

  5. Because of the courage and perseverance that you showed, I’ll be joining the tournament. I just have to save a little more money for the tournament fee. I have no doubt the tournament will be a huge success because of your leaderships. Many chess players will be signing-in in the next couple of months for sure, now that they know the tournament is a “GO”.

  6. Amy, I commend you and Maurice for moving forward. I am a chess advocate, player and fan. If I may paraphrase from the King James Version of the Bible, Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” and so may your vision bear fruit and the chess community multiply and feast upon its success.

    1. Hello Greg. Thank you for commenting and thank you for wishing us well. Do continue to follow us and do continue to pray for our – yours and ours – success.

  7. I’m definitely joining the tournament. Just procrastinating on the registration since I have until July 31 until the price goes up. 🙂 But I’m going for sure. This tournament gives me something awesome to look forward to this year. Thank you, Amy.

    1. Thank you for your mail, Jazon, and thank you for deciding to move forward with us. I just learned that there are many out there like you: decided but waiting up until the last minute… 🙂

  8. I am really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, its rare to see a great blog like this one nowadays

    1. Thanks for your comment. This was a custom theme. I use Odesk to help build this website. But it was my design 🙂

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