Regular readers may have noticed some changes to the user interface here on the site as well as times when the site was simply unavailable. I have been working on retooling the interface and customizing some elements that were sorely neglected after the site launched in the summer. Chief among those is the replacement of the original pink color for the hyperlinks and title elements with a soothing green color, which is reminiscent of green chess tournament boards used in USCF tournaments around the country. The final elements were replaced with the new site color late this afternoon.

The next big project was to focus on the site’s usability on portable devices. Every day, more and more chess players are turning to tablets and smartphones for their fix and my desire for this site is to be right there in the middle of the mobile revolution. A major problem with WordPress sites is the sidebar where my information as well as links to important elements of the site are stored. These sidebars tend to cause design problems on mobile devices. Now, for anything less than the resolution of an iPad w/retina display will not display the sidebar in a vertical position:

iPad Air in vertical position without sidebar.

Turning an iPad horizontally will reveal the site’s main JavaScript slider as well as the full sidebar. Tables and PGN games have also been modified to adapt to mobile screens and should not cause problems for tablets with retina resolution or higher.

iPad Air in horizontal position with full sidebar.

Unfortunately, smartphones remain a challenge and are not yet fully compatible with the site. The sidebar and slider will not display on a smartphone regardless of its orientation. This is a function that I hope to add in the coming months.