Today around the nation chess players and fans are celebrating National Chess Day! The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis will be hosting a tournament this weekend to celebrate along with many other clubs around the country. In addition, Pawn Sacrifice is still showing in theaters so moviegoers can also get their fix of chess today! To celebrate National Chess Day I am happy to share this absolutely hilarious meeting between World Champion Bobby Fischer and Bob Hope!
Month: October 2015
Chess Informant is a publication that I look forward to getting in the mail several times a year. Yesterday after clearing up some delivery problems (forgot to update my address when we moved over the summer) I received the latest volume: Chess Informant 125 Enigma. Also known as Informant, this periodical is not like any other chess magazine out there. It skips the drama and the social elements that surround the fame of being a top chess player and focuses attention to the action on the board. Various articles cover topics such as openings, tactics, strategy, and key moments in the top tournaments from around the world.
Informant 125 introduces some small changes that many people might not notice, but those of us who relish in the advancement of the digital chess age appreciate them. For Informant, one of its main selling points with customers is the universal nature of access to its information. It is available in print form (pictured above), download in Chessbase and PGN formats, or a combination of the two. The Chessbase format enables users to browse the articles and play through the games using many of the same tools utilized in Chessbase Magazine. The PGN files open up the articles to any platform with a basic PGN viewer. For me, that is perfect because I enjoy reading in each of the formats, but the mobile nature of my work makes reading the articles on iOS much more convenient for me. Why is CI 125 so different? It all has to do with the formatting…
In previous editions, all of the games and articles came in a single PGN file which required foreknowledge of the magazine’s layout. In CI 125 the creative minds in Serbia have divided the digital edition into multiple PGN files that are separated exactly like the content in the print edition. This may not seem like much, but it completely eliminates the guesswork for anyone wanting to access CI 125 from a standard PGN reader. In addition, the Chessbase version has also been subdivided into categories that mirror the print edition.
Because Informant carries so much information it can be overwhelming at times. These small changes are effective game changers because it subdivides the information into digital categories that make it much easier to access, analyze, and digest.
Personally I enjoy reading the print edition and playing through on my travel set, but playing along in Chessbase or a PGN viewer is a great way to quickly explore variations or to try new ideas along with the professional analysis in the magazine. For the digital chess fan CI 125 is a great way to get started with the periodical. The universal access of the information eliminates many of the proprietary boundaries that limit the audiences of publications like Chessbase Magazine.
It is so hard for me to believe that it is October already. So much great chess has already happened in 2015 and just as quickly as it began it will soon be coming to an end. However, before that all comes to pass we are approaching my single favorite holiday of the year: Halloween! It is always fun to get dressed up and run around pretending to goblins, spooks, and other characters. Having small children I have gained a renewed appreciation for the holiday because I not only get to decorate the house but I also get to take my kids Trick-or-Treating to get candy that I can share with them.
Where to go from here?
After some careful thought and consideration I have decided that I am going to take a short break from making regular blog posts on tournaments or other current chess events. There are plenty of fantastic websites out there that cover live chess events such as Chessbase, Chess.com, Chess24, and Chessbomb. I am not quitting blogging nor am I quitting blogging about tournaments but I am down to the final two terms of my Master’s program and I am also working to finish a professional certification at the same time. Suffice to say that times are wonderful, but busy! Until I overcome some of the other demands weighing me down I will primarily be blogging about chess education, my games, and other topics that do not require me to follow tournaments with intricate detail and attention. For that kind of coverage, check out The Week in Chess, a site that is the King of tournament reports.
In addition I also have plans to add a plethora of new content to the site. My vision is for Campfire Chess to slowly evolve from a simple blog into a free resource for chess enthusiasts and students of the game to find information that can help them learn more about the game’s history, its methods, and its future. I will continue to update the Campfire Chess Facebook page and Twitter feeds as often as possible, but allowing myself some time to focus on my school and my own personal chess studies will allow me to also work on the new site content and on the greater strategic vision for the future of Campfire Chess.
In the meantime, check out this amazing video of IM Marc Esserman playing chess in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts: