New In Chess: The First 25 Years - free download

   It is probably just as well that I never married, as remembering anniversaries has never been my forte. Thus, it came as a complete surprise when I was approached by New In Chess in the early spring of this year, and asked whether I would like to edit a compilation of the best of the magazine, to mark its forthcoming 25th anniversary. My first reaction was one of shock, that the magazine I had been reading almost since its inception, had really been going that long. Another of the nowadays almost daily reminders of my advancing age, I thought.

   My second reaction was one of delight, at receiving such a flattering offer. For, without any desire to appear to be pandering to my publisher's vanity, I am in no doubt that New In Chess has been, and remains, by far the finest chess magazine in the world, over the past quarter century. No other publication is read in so many countries, and by almost every serious chess player, from Garry Kasparov down to the average club player. And no other magazine has been able to boast regular contributions from every leading grandmaster over the period. The result has been a publication which has maintained outstanding quality throughout its entire period of existence, and continues to do so to this day.

   It may be appropriate here to say a few words about the history of New In Chess. The story starts in 1968, when a group of young Dutch players decided to respond to their dissatisfaction with the Dutch chess federation and its official publication, by launching a magazine of their own. Led by Wim Andriessen, they started the Dutch-language magazine Schaakbulletin. It was a highly propitious time in Dutch chess, at which to launch such a magazine. Two particular associations came together to make the magazine what it was. In the first place, the inimitable Jan Hein Donner was then in his heyday, both as a player and a writer. Thanks to his involvement with Schaakbulletiti, it quickly became characterised by the quality of its writing. The second big factor was the emergence around that time of Jan Timman, as The Netherlands finest chess prospect since Dr. Euwe. Timman had been influenced when young by the books of Botvinnik, and perhaps for that reason, has always been an inveterate analyst and annotator of games, both his own and other players'.

   The combination of top-class prose and top-class analysis soon established Schaakbulletin asati exceptional magazine, but the Dutch language meant that it could not be widely read outside its own country. In 1984, however, the Dutch publisher ELsevier approached Wim Andriessen, with the idea of a range of chess products, including an English and a Dutch magazine, Yearbooks following the latest developments in opening theory, all this based on a brand-new database system (initially there were also plans for a New In Chess Quarterly, but this never saw the light of day). New In Chess started out as a monthly magazine, but as from 1986 the frequency was reduced to 8 Issues a year, with some 90-100 pages in each. The Dutch edition was discontinued in 1986, although for two further years a special edition appeared for the Dutch market with a central section in Dutch. Ever since 1988 the magazine has been exclusively in English.

Author: Steve Giddins
Title: "New In Chess: The First 25 Years"
Released: 2009
Format: rar/pdf
Quality: good
Number of pages: 397
Size: 80 Mb