PROJECT ORANGE

CXR's new pricing structure, approved back in October, is effective immediately. The "new player Set-up Fee" is eliminated; the "new affiliate Set-up Fee" is gone with the wind; the "game reporting fee" (rating fee) of 50 cents a game has been scrapped altogether. We are keeping it simple with just one fee, namely, the annual dues. The adult rate will be $12 per year. The scholastic rate will be $5 a year. CXR affiliates are currently responsible for collecting and remitting player dues. However, we expect to give individual players the ability to pay their dues directly to CXR. We'll announce the details soon. Our new pricing structure is a BONANZA for TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS, as we will be rating tournaments FREE of charge, as long as all players have current CXR memberships. Individual games against non-CXR opponents may still be reported via the "REPORT GAMES" feature on the Administrative Control Panel (club officials only).

CXR has captured one percent of the ratings market in the USA, with more than 900 players now in the system. We have 5 shareholders, three programmers, four French hens, and we have doubled our membership two years in a row (our competition is losing members). There are now more CXR players in Hawaii (thank you, Frank!) than there are members of that other service (you know who). We welcome new affiliates in: North Carlolina (World Chess Academy; and the Ellenboro Tigers) and in Hawaii (Assets School; Maryknoll Chess Club; and the Hawaii Inter- Scholastic Chess League) and in Chicago, Illinois (Scott Joplin Elementary School Chess Club. Among our largest affiliates, the New York Masters (NY, NY) has grown to 186 players; Windward Chess Club (Kaneohe, Hawaii) boasts 113 members; and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Scholastic Chess Association (North Carolina) currently has more than 100 children enrolled with CXR. Our Goals for 2005 include: 1000 members by March; 2500 by yearend; rollout of "Project Orange" (see article below).

Chess Express Ratings has rolled out several new features recently, and has plenty more in the pipeline. Club officials (and deputies) now have the ability to include in their club rosters, players who pay their dues through another affiliate. Many players visit more than one club, and until recently, such players could only appear on one club roster (the club where they pay their CXR dues). Now, using the "IMPORT PLAYER" button on the Administrative Control Panel, club officies can include such players on their rosters as well. A good example of the need for these feature is the Hawaii Interscholastic Chess League, which includes kids from many different schools and clubs. HICL has over 100 CXR players on its roster -- ALL of whom were "imported", as HICL does not collect CXR dues.
 
We also implemented a feature to protect the identity of youngsters. The "Privacy Mgmt" button allows you to replace references to first and/or last name by an initial, for any players on your roster. For example, Pippy Longstockings can be displayed in full, or as any of the following: P. Longstockings, Pippy L., or just P.L. Chess Express is the only chess ratings service with this feature.