Chess Informant
Encyclopedia
Chess Informant is a publishing company from Belgrade
(Serbia, former Yugoslavia) that periodically (since 1990, three volumes per year) produces a book of the same name, as well as the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
, Encyclopaedia of Chess Endings, Opening Monographs, other print publications, and software (including electronic editions of most print publications). Aleksandar Matanović
and Milivoje Molerović founded the company in 1966 for the purpose of offering the rest of the world the sort of access to chess information enjoyed by Soviet players. The company has sold three million books in 150 countries, according to its website.
Chess Informant published two issues per year in 1966–1990, and since 1991 has published three issues per year. Each issue offers several hundred games or fragments of games from master play, many annotated by the players themselves. A board of leading players selects the best games of each issue, and these are republished in the next issue often with more extensive annotations. Each issue since Chess Informant 5 has included a combinations section with problems from recent play. A similar endings section has also become a standard feature.
Previously, the main games were presented in full, showing all the moves played. More recently, many of the main games are in fact game fragments, where the coverage ends around move 20 to 30. Reviewing the Informant for The Chess Cafe, Carsten Hansen viewed this as an improvement, since the sudden death time control
s often lead to hasty play at the end of game due to time pressure. He was more critical of truncating the game after the opening or early middlegame in a 2009 review.
For two decades prior to the emergence of computer databases, Chess Informant publications were a leading source of games and analysis for serious chess players. The publication routinely appears in the bibliography of texts on specific chess openings and other chess texts.
The Chess Informant system of codes for the classification of chess openings, and its system of symbols have set the international standard for organizing chess information and communicating this information across language barriers. The system of codes is explained in ten languages on the front of each issue of Informant, the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
, and other publications. Former world champion Garry Kasparov
asserted "We are all Children of the Informant," and then explained that his own development as a chess player corresponded with the ascendance of Chess Informant's popularity. Other world champions, including Anatoly Karpov
, Vladimir Kramnik
, and Vishwanathan Anand, attest that Informant is central to their tournament preparation.
On April 1, 2008, Informant issued its one-hundredth issue.
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
(Serbia, former Yugoslavia) that periodically (since 1990, three volumes per year) produces a book of the same name, as well as the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings is a classification system for the opening moves in a game of chess. It is presented as a five volume book collection describing chess openings...
, Encyclopaedia of Chess Endings, Opening Monographs, other print publications, and software (including electronic editions of most print publications). Aleksandar Matanović
Aleksandar Matanovic
Aleksandar Matanović is a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was born in Belgrade.Awarded the GM title in 1955, he was junior champion of Yugoslavia in 1948 and Yugoslav national champion in 1962 , 1969 and 1978...
and Milivoje Molerović founded the company in 1966 for the purpose of offering the rest of the world the sort of access to chess information enjoyed by Soviet players. The company has sold three million books in 150 countries, according to its website.
Chess Informant published two issues per year in 1966–1990, and since 1991 has published three issues per year. Each issue offers several hundred games or fragments of games from master play, many annotated by the players themselves. A board of leading players selects the best games of each issue, and these are republished in the next issue often with more extensive annotations. Each issue since Chess Informant 5 has included a combinations section with problems from recent play. A similar endings section has also become a standard feature.
Previously, the main games were presented in full, showing all the moves played. More recently, many of the main games are in fact game fragments, where the coverage ends around move 20 to 30. Reviewing the Informant for The Chess Cafe, Carsten Hansen viewed this as an improvement, since the sudden death time control
Time control
A time control is a mechanism in the tournament play of almost all two-player board games so that each round of the match can finish in a timely way and the tournament can proceed. Time controls are typically enforced by means of a game clock...
s often lead to hasty play at the end of game due to time pressure. He was more critical of truncating the game after the opening or early middlegame in a 2009 review.
For two decades prior to the emergence of computer databases, Chess Informant publications were a leading source of games and analysis for serious chess players. The publication routinely appears in the bibliography of texts on specific chess openings and other chess texts.
The Chess Informant system of codes for the classification of chess openings, and its system of symbols have set the international standard for organizing chess information and communicating this information across language barriers. The system of codes is explained in ten languages on the front of each issue of Informant, the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings is a classification system for the opening moves in a game of chess. It is presented as a five volume book collection describing chess openings...
, and other publications. Former world champion Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
asserted "We are all Children of the Informant," and then explained that his own development as a chess player corresponded with the ascendance of Chess Informant's popularity. Other world champions, including Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
, Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
, and Vishwanathan Anand, attest that Informant is central to their tournament preparation.
On April 1, 2008, Informant issued its one-hundredth issue.