Dear Readers,

 

It’s been a while. Since our last regular, single issue, it has been more than two years. Farzad Abdi, who graces the cover, is the first person on the cover of legal voting age in over three years. And when was the last time we had two annotations from the state’s top juniors? You would have to tell me. 

 

There’s some exciting material in this issue. As I alluded to, pieces from Carissa Yip and IM Samuel Sevian are featured games here. GM Alexander Ivanov, who was on the wrong side of both of these, also gets a rebuttal, showcasing the game that gave him a share of the 74th New England Open in early September.

 

Larry Christiansen also returns, with some excellent chess problems for you to solve, right on the opposite page here. I’ve also thrown in a bit of chess trivia, which I thought might be a fun addition. 

 

It was quite a challenge figuring out how to work in all the great content I receive into a 24-page issue. No longer viable are the 6-7 page game collections which were highlights of my last two efforts. Kingshakers will return in the next issue, as it had to make way here for Mark LaRocca’s excellent U.S. Chess League feature here. 

 

As always, feedback is welcome, and I want to hear what you want to see in future issues. As this is only my third issue (or fifth, I suppose, if one counts double issues as two each), there is still constant evolution in the structure, style, and substance of this publication. A great part of my mission here is to re-establish the brand of Chess Horizons, building this to a reliable reflection of reader demand. I look forward to hearing from you!