| |  Welcome, folks, to what I hope is a regenerated Chess Horizons. This particular issue may be a bit rough, and I’ll certainly take responsibility for that. I’m sure you’ll note we’ve had a lot of threads to pick up after a year of non-publication.
As our fans (I’m sure we have a couple!) know, we have had a hard time of late getting Chess Horizons actually published. My largest goal as Editor is to get us back on a regular, quarterly schedule. As such, Chess Horizons will be seasonably labeled now. You’ll notice that you now hold the Summer issue in your hands. Next, in late September, you’ll receive the Fall issue. My goal, since I’m an Astronomer in real life, is to publish Chess Horizons on or about the Solstices and Equinoxes, if only because those are the easiest dates for me to remember.
So, who is your new Editor? Well, as the byline above says, I’m Doc Kinne. I’m a chess player, but not a very good one. I started playing 25 years ago in central NY state, and, along with many, many others, largely quit when I went to college in 1983. After college there was the requisite need to find a job and largely find my life and career. Part of that career was a large change of jobs and living places 7 years ago. Now living in the Greater Boston area, one of the great city areas of the nation, I looked back to my childhood for some comfort and an anchor - and found myself taking up Chess again in one of its greatest historical environments. I joined the Boylston Chess Club, started playing again, and re-took up Tournament Directing. Here, also, oddly enough since the opportunities never presented themselves in NY state, I found myself drawn to chess politics and found myself on both the BCC and MACA Boards. It is said, usually falsely I find, that “those who can’t do, teach.” Well, in this case, those who are bad chess players - I’m currently a very high Class E - go into chess politics.
So, what can you expect to see from a new Chess Horizons editor? What kind of experience do I have? I have professional writing credits in the magazine trade, mainly in computer and writing publications. I have academic writing credits in the field of astronomical history. I also spent a year editing and publishing a small magazine something like Chess Horizons in format about 20 years ago.
I think that you’ll recognize the Chess Horizons you’ll be reading this quarter. Chess Horizons has been an award-winning magazine in the past, and I have a policy that, “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” You can also expect some changes, of course, with a new Editor. I believe that the core of our Chess community are its players and its clubs. I’d like to start a series that concentrates on, and introduces us to, the various USCF clubs in our Commonwealth.
In this age of instant publishing via the web, what is the value of a print publication such as Chess Horizons? Indeed, this was a large discussion amongst the MACA Board as we struggled to figure out what to do with Chess Horizons in view of its troubled times over the past two years. Print publications as a whole are going through this type of review process as they all struggle to find a niche in what is very much a new environment. I see the value of print publications to be that of both thoughtful analysis - hopefully deeper than you’ll get from a web site - and an historical record. As a technologist, I find the web is still struggling with historical records. Being current is the strength of the web. Historical records, I find, are still a strength of print publications, and this is why I fought to keep Chess Horizons as a print publication, with an electronic (PDF) component.
With all that being said, I’d like to introduce you to the Chess Horizons Editorial Team as it is now: Max Sewell will remain as our Layout and Photography Editor. Max, I think, is one of the main reasons why Chess Horizons has won awards, and I would be dumb to not take advantage of his experience and talents.
Nathan Smolensky will be our new Games Editor. I once harbored the thought that I’d be able to beat Nathan over the board. Now, not so much. While not a titled player (yet!), I trust Nathan to be able to edit games, and perhaps try his hand at analysis should that Muse strike him.
Bob Messenger will be on staff as Associate Editor. While a lot of this changeover in Editors was to get things off of Bob’s plate, having him on staff to provide continuity with regard to procedures and recent history will be invaluable.
I’m hoping that the most interesting addition to Chess Horizons will be you! In order to make any publication work, it needs writers, and this is where you come in. With Chess Horizons, hopefully, on a more regular schedule we can entice you folks to become writers and contribute to the future of chess writing in MA. I hope to welcome you aboard soon!
Finally, I wanted to say something with regard to what will be happening with MACA memberships with regard to Chess Horizons after not publishing for a bit over a year. To compensate Chess Horizons subscribers and MACA members receiving Chess Horizons for missed issues, MACA has extended their expiration dates so that they will receive four issues of Chess Horizons for each year of dues. The last issue that was published was the November-May 2011-12 double issue, which was published in May 2012 and counted as October-December 2011 and January-March 2012. The issues missed would have been: June 2012 (counting as April-June 2012), July-September 2012, OctoberDecember 2012, January-March 2013, and April-June 2013. In terms of the old naming system this issue, Summer 2013, will count as July-September 2013.
The new expiration dates are posted in the Membership section of the MACA website. And away we go!
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