In collecting, provenance is important.  Knowing who you deal with is very important.  Being able to examine what you are thinking of buying is very, very important.  Buying any collectible more valuable than old Yu-gi-oh cards on ebay sounds completely crazy.

Ah the juicy underground world of the chess society. I tell ya, they're worse than the Chinese Triads in their ruthless forgeries of the Fischer .

Uhh, I'm sure Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the French reformer, was from the 18th century.... Unless we're talking about a different Rousseau here. 

Erik,  here it is. 

RED HOT USCF FORGERY SCANDAL by Larry Parr

     The scandal surrounding the forging of Richard Peterson's signature
on a bogus contract for the 1999 National Elementary Championships has
grown red hot. A source(s) states there is a secret investigation now
taking place at the New Windsor office.

     USCF President Donald Schultz has described the forgery as "very
serious" and is refusing further comment. Resignations and an arrest
or arrests could be imminent.

     This reporter has learned that a top-secret working group comprised
of members from the Policy Board, Scholastic and Finance committees is
investigating whether an attempt was made within the USCF office to
forge Mr. Peterson's signature so as to procure more favorable financial
terms for the Federation. According to a source(s) within the investigating
group, a conclusion has been reached that the signature on the contract
copy sent to Mr. Peterson by Executive Director Mike Cavallo is NOT
that of Mr. Peterson.

     Mr. Peterson claims publicly to have the original National
Elementary contract on U.S. Chess letterhead with the original
signatures and his emendations to reflect the terms of his bid.  He
further states he has repeatedly requested a copy of his original
bid from the USCF office.  One source states that the USCF office may
soon reveal that in addition to its copy of the original contract, it
has also "mislaid" Mr. Peterson's original bid.

     While Mr. Peterson's signature on his copy and on the contract
sent by the office differ radically, the signature of USCF Scholastic
Director Beatriz Marinello is exactly the same on both contracts.  
Which is to say, a photocopy of the original.

     The fact that the signature of Ms. Marinello was a photocopy of the
signature on the original contract suggests either that she did not
forge Mr. Peterson's signature to the bogus contract because she could
have signed her signature on the bogus contract for herself -- or it
suggests that she cunningly carried out the photocopying to deflect
suspicion from herself.

     Executive Director Cavallo in a message of June 22, writes: "I
have interviewed Beatriz Marinello and Sharon Brunetti and they have
both specifically denied forging Richard Peterson's name to this
contract or to any other contract."

     In a further development, this reporter has learned that copies of
the forged contract, which was supposedly signed by Mr. Peterson, were
sent out in June 1998, four months after he supposedly signed the
document. On these documents, Ms. Marinello's signature -- the
photocopied one -- is present.  However, Mr. Peterson's signature is
absent from a contract that the USCF office claims he had signed four
months earlier.

     In a series of mailings to numerous addressees, Mr. Peterson has
provided what he says is documentation for his claim that he repeatedly
made requests for a copy of the contract upon which the New Windsor
office was making its claims against him.  This contract, the forged
one, was sent only after several requests.  Here is what Mr. Peterson
says is his fourth such request, sent on May 28, 1999:

     <<Beatriz,

     You should now have both the pictures and story for the
     national elementary. Please email or fax me if that is not true.  
     I have the tracking information.

     This will now be my fourth request for financial information
     since the national elementary. Please email or fax me a list of
     who was paid what out of your account. In addition, I need to
     know how much in entry fees the office received.

     Please inform Norwest Bank that I will need a copy of all deposit
     and check records for the account. Please fax me a copy of the
     contract we signed for the 1999 National Elementary and the 2000
     National Elementary.  My fax number is 480-951-9490.

     I can only make a full and complete accounting if I have a full
     and complete accounting from you.>> -- Richard Peterson

     One source says that another mystery surrounds the "dog that didn't
howl."  Eric Johnson, a long-time critic of Mr. Peterson's handling of
the National Elementary, has lapsed into what was described as
"deafening silence."

"The forged signature was to procure more favorable financial terms for the United States Chess Federation."

do tell more! i'm curious.