all of your readers will understand what you are trying to say. If you are the highest graded player, it is far more difficult to ensure that everyone is comfortable with your analysis and comments.
I hear, first-hand or via JayCee, readers complaining that occasionally Mike Read’ s or my annotations go over their heads. The tone is set by the writers, not the readers, so if those readers start to send in articles of the type that they would like to read, then other writers will follow suit and En Passant will have even more popular appeal.
People will laugh at my attempts at analysis
When I first started writing chess articles, I felt the same way. I was plunging into a big pool where masters and grandmasters were writing( British Chess Magazine and CHESS). Surely, I would be unfavourably compared to them? My highest qualification in English Language was Grade 5 at O level, and my chess grade was way below master level. Right now, I look at those articles again and I can see glaring analytical errors. What negative reaction do you think I got at the time?
None at all. Many readers told me personally how interesting the articles were, even players who were stronger than me, but noone said“ I counted five analytical errors” or similar. Everyone appreciates any attempt to entertain or inform them. They are not searching frantically for faults to pick.
If you really are concerned that your analysis will be faulty, then don’ t include much analysis.
I can’ t think of anything to write about
You might be astonished at how many different possible topics for a chess article there can be. The latest CHESS magazine
6 gives some idea. It contains:
- two tournament reports, with annotated games and episodes- a review of some of the more important tournaments around the world, with some annotated games and episodes-“ My Favourite Game”( by a leading grandmaster)- an article on the role of chess in the lives of several British monarchs and their consorts, from King Arthur to Princess Diana- an article about some old chess books- what happened in the chess world this month 75 years ago- a cartoon strip- a regular humorous column about a fictional chess-playing character- a set of“ Find The Winning Moves” puzzles, with solutions later in the magazine-“ How Good Is Your Chess”- a deeply annotated game in which you guess all the moves of one side( after the opening phase) and receive points for your answers- a chess studies column- a chess problem column- information about new chess books and software- a list of forthcoming chess events.
Many of these articles and columns appear every month, but many are ad hoc. Do they give you any ideas?
I could add:- personal reminiscences about chess( remember Lords Of The Boards by Alec Toll?)- famous( and not-so-famous) players we have met( or admired), including past Norfolk players; A few years ago I wrote a series of articles about Owen Hindle, my material coming from CHESS magazine and British Chess Magazine. Someone could do the same for John Emms, Robert Bellin or Clive Cubitt for instance.