Paul Truong
Encyclopedia
Paul Truong is an American chess
player, trainer, promoter, and organizer.
.
Truong learned the moves of chess along with his father at the age of five and played at the National Sports Center (CSS) in Saigon, a center for the chess life of the country. From an early age, he won the annual tournaments organized by the National Sport Center, which were informally recognized as the National Championships of South Vietnam. In all, he won the annual under-21 event four times, starting when he was five years old, and the annual adult event five times, starting when he was eight.
As a chess player, he holds the USCF
title of National Master and Life Master, and the FIDE title of FIDE Master.
A promoter and organizer, he is married to former Women's World Chess Champion Susan Polgar
. He is also Polgar's business manager, and Vice-President of the Susan Polgar Foundation. He organized and/or promoted most of the events in which Polgar has been involved since she relocated to the United States, being the main organizer of most of them. He is Chairperson of the USCF
Polgar Committee, which oversees the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls. In May 2007, Truong become the Director of Marketing and PR of Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) and assistant coach of the Texas Tech University
chess team, with Polgar as the Executive Director of SPICE and head coach.
Truong has collaborated with Polgar on most of her books and videos, and he has co-authored with her numerous chess columns and articles. In 2003, Polgar and Truong won the Cramer Award for Best Chess Column and three Chess Journalist of America Awards for Best Magazine Column, Best Endgame Analysis Column, and Best Chess Promotion column. They also won the 2004 Chess Journalist of America Award for the best endgame column in Chess Horizons.
In 2004, Truong served as the captain and business manager of the U.S. Women's Team for the 36th Chess Olympiad
, which won a Silver Medal after defeating Vietnam
in the last round.
In 2007, one of the defeated candidates for the USCF Executive Board filed suit to overturn the election results. The ensuing litigation led to political infighting and counter lawsuits, and eventually the four members of the USCF Executive Board named in the countersuits issued a statement asking Truong to step down from his position on the Board for "neglecting his fiduciary duties" in failing to side with the USCF against himself and his wife, Susan Polgar, in the litigation.
During the litigation, the Executive Board of the USCF rescinded the memberships of Truong and Polgar. They appealed the revocation to the Board of Delegates of the USCF. In August of 2009, the Delegates of the USCF ratified the previous year's actions of the Executive Board with respect to the litigation. In a closed Executive Session, the Delegates upheld the membership revocations.
The lawsuits eventually were all dismissed or settled, with the end result being that Truong (and Polgar) completely severed affiliation with the USCF, and is now a "playing non-member". As part of the settlement, the USCF's insurer had to pay both the USCF legal fees and $39,000 of Polgar and Truong's legal fees.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player, trainer, promoter, and organizer.
Biography
Truong was born Hoainhan Truong in Saigon, South VietnamSouth Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
.
Truong learned the moves of chess along with his father at the age of five and played at the National Sports Center (CSS) in Saigon, a center for the chess life of the country. From an early age, he won the annual tournaments organized by the National Sport Center, which were informally recognized as the National Championships of South Vietnam. In all, he won the annual under-21 event four times, starting when he was five years old, and the annual adult event five times, starting when he was eight.
As a chess player, he holds the USCF
United States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation is a non-profit organization, the governing chess organization within the United States, and one of the federations of the FIDE. The USCF was founded in 1939 from the merger of two regional chess organizations, and grew gradually until 1972, when membership...
title of National Master and Life Master, and the FIDE title of FIDE Master.
A promoter and organizer, he is married to former Women's World Chess Champion Susan Polgar
Susan Polgar
Susan Polgar is a Hungarian-American chess Grandmaster...
. He is also Polgar's business manager, and Vice-President of the Susan Polgar Foundation. He organized and/or promoted most of the events in which Polgar has been involved since she relocated to the United States, being the main organizer of most of them. He is Chairperson of the USCF
United States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation is a non-profit organization, the governing chess organization within the United States, and one of the federations of the FIDE. The USCF was founded in 1939 from the merger of two regional chess organizations, and grew gradually until 1972, when membership...
Polgar Committee, which oversees the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls. In May 2007, Truong become the Director of Marketing and PR of Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) and assistant coach of the Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
chess team, with Polgar as the Executive Director of SPICE and head coach.
Truong has collaborated with Polgar on most of her books and videos, and he has co-authored with her numerous chess columns and articles. In 2003, Polgar and Truong won the Cramer Award for Best Chess Column and three Chess Journalist of America Awards for Best Magazine Column, Best Endgame Analysis Column, and Best Chess Promotion column. They also won the 2004 Chess Journalist of America Award for the best endgame column in Chess Horizons.
In 2004, Truong served as the captain and business manager of the U.S. Women's Team for the 36th Chess Olympiad
36th Chess Olympiad
The 36th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 14 and October 31, 2004, in Calvià on the Spanish island of Majorca.-Chess...
, which won a Silver Medal after defeating Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in the last round.
Election campaign and subsequent litigation
In December 2006, Truong announced his candidacy for USCF Executive Board, as one of four candidates in the Susan Polgar team. Both Polgar and Truong were elected.In 2007, one of the defeated candidates for the USCF Executive Board filed suit to overturn the election results. The ensuing litigation led to political infighting and counter lawsuits, and eventually the four members of the USCF Executive Board named in the countersuits issued a statement asking Truong to step down from his position on the Board for "neglecting his fiduciary duties" in failing to side with the USCF against himself and his wife, Susan Polgar, in the litigation.
During the litigation, the Executive Board of the USCF rescinded the memberships of Truong and Polgar. They appealed the revocation to the Board of Delegates of the USCF. In August of 2009, the Delegates of the USCF ratified the previous year's actions of the Executive Board with respect to the litigation. In a closed Executive Session, the Delegates upheld the membership revocations.
The lawsuits eventually were all dismissed or settled, with the end result being that Truong (and Polgar) completely severed affiliation with the USCF, and is now a "playing non-member". As part of the settlement, the USCF's insurer had to pay both the USCF legal fees and $39,000 of Polgar and Truong's legal fees.