Changes in the Website, Changes in the Magazine

All Things Chess
1

I like the new design of the website, but I wish it were more obvious how to get to the forum.

I liked the old look of the magazine, with the “Chess Life” title relatively small and dignified, in the upper left corner. But the new look is nice too.

My USCF membership will end in October. I won’t be renewing it. The issue is more “me” than anything about the USCF. A year ago when I joined I was very excited. I had this vague notion that I would be entering into a vibrant community where I would be exchanging ideas and swapping stories with others, entering tournaments and playing chess online and maybe joining a club here in Cleveland, somewhere on the east side where I live.

But the forum is not very active, so forget about the “community” part of it. And I never got around to going to or entering any tournaments. Because of my wife’s work schedule, it’s hard for me to go all the way over to the west side, near the airport, where all the tournaments in this area seem to be, and then get back in time to pick her up. Also, I just don’t have the money to enter tournaments. And, to be honest, I feel a bit intimidated about entering a tournament and getting my clock cleaned in less than 20 moves. The minuses of entering tournaments seem to outweigh the pluses. I always wanted to get a rating, but never got around to it.

I’m a player who is returning to the game after being away from it for about 30 years. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I dislike algebraic notation, that I find it to be very cumbersome and non-intuitive. It feels like a different language, and at age 58, with a very intellectually intensive job, I don’t have the energy to learn a new language. My wife found a Radio Shack 1650 chess computer at a thrift store recently, and that has algebraic notation along the side, which is great. But back in October and November 2014, when I was grinding away trying to get used to algrbraic, I really got frustrated and wondered why the game I love was feeling more like work than a game. That bad taste lingers even today. I know some of you are probably sick of hearing me complaining. Fair enough.

In the September 2015 issue of the magazine there was a letter, “Staying the Course,” by Bob Probasco. I identify very strongly with what Mr Probasco said about being a “returning” player who often finds things “frustrating and even embarassing.” He was absent from the game for 14 years. I wonder how he would feel if he were trying to re-enter the world of chess after 30 years.

I wish I had encountered more people like Mr Probasco over the last year. He said in his letter that the stories of people like him “aren’t interesting,” but I think they are. I wish Chess Life told some of those stories.

I know there is a lot of justifiable interest in the stories of players at the top of the chess world, but I can’t identify with folks like Carlsen and Anand and So and Krush and Nakamura. I can’t identify with child geniuses. I don’t learn anything from game analysis that compares alternate lines in exhaustive detail. Instead, I wind up with a headache. So often, as I’ve said before, Chess Life reads like a group of experts talking to each other.

For what it’s worth, in the September 2015 issue of the magazine I really enjoyed the review of Boris Gelfand’s book “Positional Decision Making in Chess.” I also liked GM Andy Soltis’ article “Defeated.” The article on Pawn Sacrifice was very good, as was “The Marshall Chess Club Turns 100.” I wish the magazine had a lot more historical articles. And biographical articles–I really want to read the Walter Browne memorial article. I also enjoyed the article “A Chess Fairy Tale.”

Well, anyway, thank you to anyone who read this far.

2

Try checking out the chess clubs list for Ohio that are on this website. You should visit some of them, especially the Dayton Chess Club. I know that is pretty far from you, but go do a day trip some weekend to watch a tournament, look at the artwork, have dinner at the nearby Spaghetti Warehouse, and enjoy some casual games with the club members. It might re-energize your enthusiasm. There are a bunch of clubs in Ohio that are relatively close to you. So you don’t play in tournaments. So what? There is more to chess than tournament play. Some of the people you meet will likely send you to other clubs that are not listed.

Our chess club in Monroeville, Pa. has a number of players who just like to play the game. Some of them have come back to learn and play after a long hiatus. One older gentleman comes to practice so that he can beat a cousin at a yearly family reunion! They are not particularly interested in tournament play or becoming USCF members. That’s okay. They are having fun playing. They listen and swap stories. Little by little, they are becoming accustomed to the “rules”, both Official and unofficial about how to play chess. They are leery of clocks, don’t understand and don’t care to learn about delay and increment time. When they hear the name of an opening they just played, they are nonplussed. They marvel at the kids and the kids have learned to respect their play. Do not despair, Mr. Morgan, there is a club and chess that is right for you.

3

I would urge you to stay a while longer - because there are many of us who understand that we need to continue to find ways to reach out to returning players.

There are some things we can’t change. The widespread use of algebraic notation in books and magazines won’t change. The new types of time control won’t change.

But what we can change are ways to communicate it, and ways to better connect. But to do that successfully, we continue to need your feedback.

I hope you’ll hang in there a bit longer.

4

Maybe you would like the Mischief and Faces articles on page 11, the game by the 1597 player on pages 18-19, the Pandolfini article on pages 46-47, and the Heisman game on page 72.

5

i think i lost to mr probasco in a correspondence event years ago. black side of a sicilian. welcome back, bob!

…scot…

6

Good points that you’ve made. I’m heading out to our club here in Lyndonville, VT this evening where I’ll be seeing a number of former USCF players who now just play for the enjoyment of the game. A couple have come back after years away and their skill over the board got much better over time. The USCF and rated tournament play are clearly not the heart and soul of chess here or anywhere else.

I think you’ll find that algebraic notation is easier to use than descriptive, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t record your games in descriptive. I think you can even enter them into Fritz programs that way if you like. As for chess news and history, you might surf the Internet. There’s a lot out there. One place to start is EdwardWinter’s site chesshistory.com/winter/

There are many books as well on all aspects of history, of US chess and beyond. You might consider starting a chess history discussion group in your area using a site like meetup.com

Ultimately, chess is what you decide to make of it. It can be USCF related or not. The main thing is to get out and play with others who enjoy playing the kind of games you enjoy–non-rated or rated. And if you want to use an old INSA analogue clock, do so. Run a non-rated analogue tornament of your own once you connect with a few regular buddies. You might also consider volunteering to do chess at a local prison or juvenile facility. And then there’s correspondence chess with the USCF, or ICCF. Good chess to you!

7

Re organizing a small tournament, I remember entering one about 20 years ago that was held in a senior center’s recreation building. The prizes were small (I think one of the top prizes was a surplus appliance from the senior center), but it was designed to be a win-win for everyone involved:

  • Players: An inexpensive USCF-rated tournament.
  • Senior center: Tournament held onsite, no travel necessary. Free entry to residents of the center.
  • Organizer: Free tournament site. Chance to pick up one or two (senior) USCF memberships. Good PR for USCF (or the nearest chess club).
8

I don’t know that you can get many senior centers free these days.

Alex Relyea

9

Re: senior center

A couple years ago, I made contact with the local parks and recreation about adding programming to their after school program/topping it off with the open to all club. Nothing came of those discussions at first. Then out of the blue recently, they contacted us because they had taken over a new location and wanted to add programming to their new youth center.

So we are getting a pretty good location vice the church we were using and for free. They get the structured programming they want without having to paying anyone additional. Hopefully our players will find it as much of a win when we start meeting next week.

So you never know what might come from networking. I am really hoping this grows into a strong partnership with the city.

10

Some senior centers are looking (almost begging) for activities aimed for seniors. If you have one near you like that then you may be able to get a free site. One big issue is that it would only be for the period that the center is already open and such centers may close by 6 PM on weeknights. Weekend usage is more likely to already be full and may require renting (or something else) to get the space. My son’s weekend Eagle ceremony (chess-related Eagle project) was held in a senior center that we only got for free after he donated his time to do chess classes for seniors for a couple of weeks in the summer.
Maybe the occasional weekend tournament can be done by regularly and freely running a weekday club for seniors.

11

The Billerica, MA club plays on Friday evenings when the center is closed. Contact the organizer to see how he arranged for that.

12

That was one I was thinking of. It’s been meeting forever (I first played there fifteen years ago) and the cost back then was something like $250 per year. It’s gone up a lot. Maybe someone with the MetroWest CC can share his experiences.

Alex Relyea

13

I have vague recollection that he pays something like $25 a night. The entry fee for the monthly tournament basically covers the rent.

14

Agreed. But when I asked to RENT space at our local Park District for chess events I was told I could not because it would be a contractual conflict with their after-school chess program provided by a for-profit third party.

So a city resident that supported the park district through taxes was unable to rent park space because an out-of-town for profit provider had a contract with the Park District. I found that - troublesome.

15

Getting ready to go to chess club this evening. Our “community” will be preparing for next week’s party to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the club. I am going to ask the members to bring their favorite foods. The club will buy refreshments. We will look at old pictures, reminisce, and play chess. We like parties and have a bunch of them during the year. Too bad Mr. Morgan does not live around here. He might enjoy our club.

16

The title of the thread says one thing, but the OP covers a number of issues. Respondents have picked and chosen what part of the post they considered of interest. To me it appeared that at that heart of the post was a disappointment that he felt with not finding the “vibrant community” that he expected, either on the forums or in his personal experience with chess and chess tournaments. The expectations and fears he faces are the same that I, and perhaps we all, see when players who have been gone from the game for a while come back to it.

Much has changed in chess. We use algebraic notation, digital clocks, and even different chess sets than we did 30 or 40 years ago. There are big tournaments with very high entry fees. More GMs playing in regional and even local events. Lots more kids. Computers and phones have changed the way we study and communicate. A player who is just coming back is naturally daunted by all that he sees around him. I am pretty sure he feels that chess has passed him by. The seeking of a niche or comfort zone is what we all wish sometimes. That is perhaps what he seeks.

Unfortunately, what I see sometimes when a player like him or even a novice tries to enter our “community” is an immediate attempt to pound the fresh meat rather than welcome him in and introduce him to all of the aspects of the game while allaying his fears. People are put off by the overly competitive attitude of some of the people they meet. They receive little empathy, but laughter at their attempts to make sense of their experience. All too often, these novices find the USCF members they meet to be cold, haughty, know-it-alls who roll their eyes at their questions. Maybe that is why they left the game in the first place. To come back to that same attitude is really unnerving for them. It is not just the many changes, it is also they people they have to deal with.

When I started to play, the only notation that was used was English Descriptive. All of the books I could find were written in that notation. The instruction sheets in the books and what was provided at the chess club provided only a cursory description of algebraic, if it covered it at all. There were arguments about the two notation systems in Chess Life as the magazine was transitioning to algebraic. It took a long while to change over. Even today, some books are reprinted using English Descriptive notation. When I play now I try to use algebraic, but in increasing time pressure, I find myself slipping back and using English Descriptive. Sometimes I use a blend of both as it is easier to write “NxP” than “Nd4” because it the former shows a capture has been made which is a lot easier to see when reviewing the game. The kids mix up the letters and numbers, so that I see them write “Ne4” when they should have written “Nd4”; a couple of them have said they like English Descriptive even better. So I can understand the OP discomfiture of having to use what may seem to him a whole new language. But the world changes and we adapt as we can.

Most of the changes to the website and to the magazine have been for the better. I can say that from having experience with both over a long period to be able to make a comparison. When you haven’t been looking for a while, it can be jarring to see the changes. My only real beef is that the print seems to be getting smaller, especially in the TLAs. It should not take a microscope to be able to read the letters. My older eyes cannot be readjusted to increase the print level like you can using Word when changing a document. Increasingly, I use the website to find tournaments, but in a rush still grab the magazine to take with me to read even with its teeny tiny letters.

As far as the “drift” to finding a senior center for a chess club or a tournament, I have a lot of experience in that area. It used to be easier to deal with senior centers before 2008. The crash and the attendant economic problems have had a decided effect on many senior centers. Local budgeting has been slashed. State funding for local communities has taken a hit in many states with the inevitable “trickle down” to local boards of commissioners who have to find the money to run all of the programs. Some programs and centers have been cut, others had their budgets trimmed substantially. As a result there has been greater variability in the degree of professionalism of the management of these centers. In one community I deal with, the tax base is very good. Its senior center is well funded. In my own community, the quality of the management is, ahem, rather dodgy after budget cuts slashed funds for the combined local library and senior center complex. They found money for new police cars and a military assault vehicle, but no money for the library. At least the seniors still have bingo and an oldies dance to help fund some of the senior activities. The cost to use the large hall they use for bingo has tripled, which makes holding chess tournaments there unworkable. They yearly library chess tournament for the kids has been cut in spite of entreaties of volunteers.

When I was forced to find a new home for our chess club after the collapse of the Borders Books chain, I found one senior facility to be helpful, but unfortunately too small and with very little parking. The other senior center was fine about chess, and was a great facility in every way, but they said no kids and everyone who participated had to be above 50 years old! The Parks Dept. of the locale could offer us a free outdoor pavilion, but that meant being shut down 6 months of the year, and out by dusk, not exactly meeting any of our needs. It took a while, but we did find a new site in a church with a school. What I learned from the experience of finding a new site was priceless. Most of it concerned the attitude you need to display and the work to provide a proper presentation to those who administer facilities. Maybe if some are not successful at getting what they want it is not about the site, it is about their own approach and demeanor. Of course, this is all outside the scope of the OP. If he had started back in chess by trying to set up a chess club, he would have been even more overwhelmed by his experience. And then he would have to run the club. Well, that is another kettle of monkeys entirely…

17

Sounds like it. Good ideas.

18

I agree with your points above, which was one (of several) motivators for the thread I started in the Issues Forum: Bringing New Members into a Community

I’d appreciate your thoughts there.

19

I don’t know if this is likely to make much difference, but on Jan 28, 2015, Randy Bauer wrote, “when I was a kid (10 or 11) playing in USCF events for the first time, I just wanted to PLAY. I didn’t care if I got smoked or not”. He seems to have stopped playing about five years ago, but, at that point, his rating was up to 2303. I think most of us go through one or more getting-smoked phases while trying to improve.
Subject: Is The USCF Becoming a Scholastic Organization?
Perhaps a USCF/ICC tournament would be appealing.
Subject: USCF Online Play