Just saw this posted on the NCFP Board and I guess somebody out there will probably know something about the issue...
There is a US chess player called Hoainhan H. (Paul) Truong who clams the following which I have been unable to verify:
"Growing up in Saigon, Vietnam, I became a chess icon at a very young age. I won the first National Junior (under 21) Championship when I was only 5 years old, unexpectedly. All of a sudden, I became a sensation, a child prodigy. I defended this title for the next three years. At the age of 8½, I stunned the country by winning my first national championship and defended it successfully for four consecutive years. My celebrity status skyrocketed.
I was invited by the late President Marcos of the Philippines to attend
the Fischer vs. Karpov match in Manila in 1975 (which of course never took place). I also qualified for the World Junior (under 21) Championship in Manila that same year. At that time, I thought I had a chance to showcase my talent on a world stage. Then, my life came crumbling down. The communists from North Vietnam took over my country on April 30, 1975. I was no longer allowed to travel. I was no longer allowed to play chess freely."
Does anyone have any information, old newspaper or chess journals perhaps, that can verify Mr. Truong's claims. Mr. Truong is seeking election to the Executive Board of the United States Chess Federation. We are having difficulty substantiating his chess and business background. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Please reply to my email address below.
Thank you,
Brian Lafferty
blafferty1@verizon.net
Either a hoax or a reality, we'll soon find out!
I smell a rat here...sounds like political muckraking...but claims have to be substantiated. I was talking to a club member at my club, Dumont Chessmates, and he told me that he remembers Paul Truong as a student at Dumont High School.He played at our club and for the high school as well. Obviously, this all happened after the time mentioned in this query. So, Truong has some background in chess, but is it as great as he claimed? I don't know. I was still living in the Philippines in the arly 70s, and I don't recall reading about a Vietnamese wunderkind making the news. This guy's best bet are the masters at that time who might remember, people like Cardoso, Naranja, Campo, Torre, and so on ( sorry, don't know if Cardoso is still alive). Naranja is a regualr at the Marshall Chess Club at the present time.
ReplyDeleteI know Paul Truong - new husband of the famous Susan Polgar.
ReplyDeleteThey are both subjects of vicious disinformation of facts to discredit their candidacy for the USCF Board.
So I would not even read that kind of B.S.