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 .