American Chess Magazine

[Hans Jung]

When I was a kid there were only 100 GMs and it was likely to have played through a game of all of them. Who are these people? And how many have written a chess book of their best games? Does there need to be a new title for the top 100? Even 100 GMs in the US, and we can only get a couple to play in Canadian events. Maybe we need to make a list of medium-low rated GMs to tour in several norm tournaments across Canada.

If I was still organizing tournaments the first one I would invite is the Fed. I dont think we have any trouble getting American GM's (when their schedules are open), we just need more organizers.

[Aris Marghetis]

If I was still organizing tournaments the first one I would invite is the Fed. I dont think we have any trouble getting American GM's (when their schedules are open), we just need more organizers.

Hi Hans, if I may suggest, it might be more needing event(s) vs. needing Organizers. I've been mulling over ideas for new greater events, and The Fed's name has been proposed by an impressive series of people. I appreciate you mentioning him here specifically, that adds wind to my sails. OTB chess in Canada in 2022 might become tremendous?! Fair warning: I'll also be inviting YOU!!

[Hans Jung]

Thanks for giving me time to prepare. But my FIDE rating may be too low for your requirements.

[Aris Marghetis]

Thanks for giving me time to prepare. But my FIDE rating may be too low for your requirements.

I wasn't emphasizing norm events ... just implying your popularity! :)

[Hans Jung]

Thanks. That made my day.

[Erik Malmsten]

I wasn't emphasizing norm events ... just implying your popularity! :)

I think Hans would be an excellent host, interviewer, and commentator for internet broadcasts of tournaments. He could also be the media liason, the person to explain to the press the event and players. As well as his knowledge of historical chess champions and decades of playing against masters, he has a friendly, warm and positive disposition. Great for tv.

[Aris Marghetis]

I think Hans would be an excellent host, interviewer, and commentator for internet broadcasts of tournaments. He could also be the media liason, the person to explain to the press the event and players. As well as his knowledge of historical chess champions and decades of playing against masters, he has a friendly, warm and positive disposition. Great for tv.

Erik, brilliant!
Hans, this is the perfect setup for engaging you for a future Closed/Zonal?!
arismarghetis at rogers dot com

[Hans Jung]

Erik, brilliant!
Hans, this is the perfect setup for engaging you for a future Closed/Zonal?!
arismarghetis at rogers dot com

Thanks Erik its a good thought.

Aris, assuming you are doing it I would still rather play, especially the next one.

[Aris Marghetis]

Thanks Erik its a good thought.

Aris, assuming you are doing it I would still rather play, especially the next one.

Excellent! A part of me expects the first big OTB events after the pandemic will be huge!

[Hans Jung]

Another big reason American Chess is such a great magazine is its classy gestures. In the current issue (#19, end of 2020) on the inside front cover they have a full page picture of Beth Harmon (actress Anya Taylor-Joy) inscribed; Thanks Beth for bringing chess back into the limelight. Best wishes, American Chess Magazine Very classy!

[Wayne Komer]

American Chess Magazine

April 13, 2021

Contents of the American Chess Magazine, Issue #20, No. 1, 2021

Cover Photo: Thomas Brodie-Sangster

1 Editor’s Letter – Chess is Blooming and Blooming!
2 FIDE Ratings on March 1, 2021
3 Interview with Thomas Brodie-Sangster aka Benny Watts by Milan Dinic
4 Rogue or Romeo? By Pete Tamburro
5. Beth Harmon has become our Chess Darling by Josip Asik
6. 2020 US Championship by Jeffery Xiong
7. 2020 US Junior Championship by Grayson Rorrer
8. A Conversation with a 10-year Author Oliver Boydel by Pete Tamburro
9. The Spice Cup Open, St. Louis by Illia Nyzhnyk
10. Scoring against the Scandinavian by Aleksander Mista
11. Storming the Barricades of the French with the Advance Variation by Patrick McCartney
12. All-Round Training by Jacob Aagaard (continued)
13. The Importance of the e4 Square by Vladimir Belous
14. Endings – A Rare Queen-down Fortress with all 16 Pawns by Peter Prohaszka
15. Chess Fiction – The Last Ruy Lopez by Alexis Levitin
16. Challenger to Readers – Combinations
17. From Times Gone By..Her Problem Scene III 1897
18. Chess Tech – Novelties, Repertoire, Surveys and More by Jon Edwards
19. Fresh Leaves from the Bookshelf by Carsten Hansen

Reviews of these books

1. Timman’s Triumphs – My 100 Best Games by Jan Timman
2. The Life and Games of Vasily Smyslov Vol 1 1921-1948 by Andrey Terekhov
3. Sherlock’s Method by Elshan Moradiabadi & Sabina Foisor
4. Bobby Fischer and His World by John Donaldson
5. How to Become a Candidate Master by Alex Dunne
6. The Chess Endgame Exercise Book by John Nunn
7. Adolph Anderssen – Combinative Chess Genius by Robert Johnson
8. Chess Improvement – It’s all in the mindset by Barry Hymer et al
9. Petrosian – Year by Year Vol 1 (1942-1962) by Tibor Korolyi
10. The Greenbecker Gambit by Ben Graff

20. Where Grandmasters Advise Young Players by John Fedorowicz

98 pages

[Hans Jung]

and from the editor regarding The Queens Gambit: we had incredible feedback from our last issue that even surpassed reader's interest in our bestseller #12 with its "Fischer Magic". Incredible!

[Wayne Komer]

American Chess Magazine

August 16, 2021

I received ACM Nos 21 and 22 today. There was a mix-up in my subscription renewal and other subscribers got their magazines a month or more before.

Contents of the American Chess Magazine, Issue #21, 2021

Cover Photo: Irina Krush

1 64 Squares – News on Susan Polgar
2 FIDE Ratings on May 1, 2021
3 Editor’s Letter – Chess Keeps Going!
4 Interview with Irina Krush by Dusan Krunic
5 A Knack for Winning Critical Games by Irina Krush - U.S. Women’s Championship
6 Wijk aan Zee 2021 by John Burke
7 The Classical King’s Indian by Patrick McCartney
8 First Online World Amateur Team Championship by Pete Tamburro
9 Interview with Steve Doyle by Pete Tamburro
10 Endings by Alex Fishbein – Bodycheck in Chess
11 All-Round Training by Jacob Aagaard
12 Chess Puzzles
13 Strategy – Knight Maneuvers in the Hanham Structure by Boroljub Zlatanovic
14 Endings – A Rare Queen-Down Fortress with all 16 Pawns by Peter Prohaszka
15 From Times Gone By..Midsummer Meeting at Murray Island 1897
16 Youth Chess – New Jersey wins against Dublin by Nicholas Katz
17 On the Rise – Grandmaster to be – Barrington Hardaway by Grayson Rorrer
18 Michael Wilder by Joel Benjamin
19 Chess Tech – Neural Nets to a Computer Near You by Jon Edwards
20 Chess Fiction – Beneath the Bougainvillea of Folegandros by Alexis Levitin
21 Fresh Leaves from the Bookshelf by Carsten Hansen

Review of these books

1 My Chess Stories by Vlastimil Hort
2 Your Jungle Guide to Chess Tactics by Peter Prohaszka
3 Attacking the Strongpoint by Igor Zaitsev
4 The Chess Saga of Fridrik Olafsson by Oystein Brekke and F. Olafsson
5 Opening Repertoire: The Iron English by Simon Williams and Richard Palliser
6 Steinitz in London by Tim Harding
7 He’s Got Moves by Oliver Boydell
8 Masterpieces and Dramas of the Soviet Championships Vol 1 (1920 – 1937) by Sergey Voronkov
9 The Exhilarating Elephant Gambit by Jakob Abling-Thomsen
10 How to Beat Magnus Carlsen by Cyrus Lakdawala

22 Where Grandmasters Advise Young Players by Melikset Khachiyan

98 pages

[Wayne Komer]

American Chess Magazine #22

August 17, 2021

This is a Marshall Tribute Issue

Contents of the American Chess Magazine, Issue #22, 2021

Cover Photo: Frank Marshall

1 64 Squares – Shankland in Prague, RIP Carol Jarecki
2 FIDE Ratings on July 1, 2021
3 Editor’s Letter – A Much-Loved New York Chess Colossus
4 Why Marshall Matters by Andy Soltis
5 Marshall’s Best Games by John Burke
6 The Marshall Chess Club from 1915-1944 by Pete Tamburro
7 The Marshall Chess Club Today by Noah Chasin
8 Jay Bonin – A Living Icon of the Marshall by Pete Tamburro
9 Frank Marshall – An Artist in Chess by Jacques Mieses
10 Tributes from Great Players, Rivals and Friends
11 Marshall in 1917 by Eduardo Bauza Mercere
12 Chess Puzzles (from Marshall games)
13 The Marshall Attack by Patrick McCartney
14 The other Marshall Attack by Pete Tamburro
15 Books authored by and written about Frank Marshall by Carsten Hansen
16 Viewpoints – Marshall’s Legacy
17 The Last True Chess Romantic by Boroljub Zlatanovic
18 Endings – Master of the Swindle by Alex Fishbein
19 Marshall’s Notable Games by Slobodan Mirkovic
20 Treasures from the Marshall Vault
21 Useful Hints for Book Collectors (Marshall material)
22 Fresh Leaves from the Bookshelf by Carsten Hansen

Review of these books

1 Edgard Colle – Caissa’s Wounded Warrior by Taylor Kingston
2 300 Most Important Tactical Chess Positions by Thomas Engqvist
3 Beat the French Defense with 3.Nc3 by Pentala Harikrishna
4 To Exchange or Not? The Ultimate Workbook by Eduardas Rozentalis
5 Tactical Training by Cyrus Lakdawala
6 The Chess Endgame Exercise Book by John Nunn
7 Sicilian Warfare by Ilia Smirin
8 Selected Games of Peter Romanovsky by Sergei Tkachenko
9 Zlotnik’s Middlegame Manual by Boris Zlotnik
10 The Exchange French Comes to Life by Alex Fishbein

23 Where Grandmasters Advise Young Players by Andrew Soltis


98 pages
_________

Notes: On page 93 of this issue, there is an inscription in Marshall’s handwriting:

Montreal, Canada
Dec 20^th 1919

To Master Willie H. Rawlings

For the fine game of chess he played at the Montreal Chess Club on Friday Dec 19^th.

With Frank J. Marshall’s Compliments

Frank was resident in New York City where he had founded a chess club a few years earlier. This looks very much like reference to a simul game with a boy.

A chess friend wrote this to me the other day, “Marshall mementoes – W. Rawlings is the subject of one. He was an old maybe original, member of the CCCA.”

I have been able to find a W. Rawlings who played in the 40^th Canadian Championship in Montreal, September 1935, standing 12^th. The winner was Maurice Fox.

It would be interesting to know more about Mr. Rawlings.
_________

In 2017 there was discussion about Jay Bonin, mentioned in this issue:

https://forum.chesstalk.com/forum/ch...rdo#post167510

See Post #14

[Hans Jung]

I finally read this issue and thoroughly enjoyed it. Of all the articles I enjoyed "The Last True Chess Romantic" by IM Boroljub Zlatanovic the most. An amazing detail further in the magazine is that IM Jay Bonin will be a member for 50 years (coming up shortly) and he gets paid by the club for lectures and teaching.