Chess columns in newspapers
Encyclopedia
The earliest known chess column appeared in the Lancet
in 1823, but due to lack of popularity disappeared after less than a year.
in 1834 which survived until 1873. From February 15, 1845 onwards it faced competition from Howard Staunton
's column in the Illustrated London News
, a column which outlived Walker's, but only by 5 years. During this time a chess column also appeared in the Pictorial Times lasting from February 1845 to June 1848.
In 1882 Henry Bird in his Chess History and Reminiscences estimated that there were 150 chess columns. Less than thirty years later in 1913 Harold Murray in his History of Chess
estimated there existed at least 1,000 chess columns worldwide.
In September 2003, the Associated Press
's long-time chess column was cancelled in response to the controversies surrounding the split World Chess Championship between 1993 and 2006, and the disorganization demonstrated by FIDE.
's column appears daily in The Times
and Sunday Times
. Ex-world championship finalist Nigel Short
wrote each Sunday for The Daily Telegraph
(taken over by the daily chess columnist, Malcolm Pein) but has switched to The Guardian
.
The Lancet
The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
in 1823, but due to lack of popularity disappeared after less than a year.
Historical development
The first column to establish itself was that of George Walker in Bells LifeBell's Life in London
Bell's Life in London, and Sporting Chronicle was a British weekly sporting paper published as a pink broadsheet between 1822 and 1886.Bell's Life was founded by Robert Bell, a London printer-publisher....
in 1834 which survived until 1873. From February 15, 1845 onwards it faced competition from Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton was an English chess master who is generally regarded as having been the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Saint-Amant. He promoted a chess set of clearly distinguishable pieces of standardised shape—the Staunton pattern—that...
's column in the Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
, a column which outlived Walker's, but only by 5 years. During this time a chess column also appeared in the Pictorial Times lasting from February 1845 to June 1848.
In 1882 Henry Bird in his Chess History and Reminiscences estimated that there were 150 chess columns. Less than thirty years later in 1913 Harold Murray in his History of Chess
History of chess
The history of chess spans some 1500 years. The earliest predecessors of the game originated in India, before the 6th century AD. From India, the game spread to Persia. When the Arabs conquered Persia, chess was taken up by the Muslim world and subsequently spread to Southern Europe. In Europe,...
estimated there existed at least 1,000 chess columns worldwide.
In September 2003, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
's long-time chess column was cancelled in response to the controversies surrounding the split World Chess Championship between 1993 and 2006, and the disorganization demonstrated by FIDE.
Current day
Raymond KeeneRaymond Keene
Raymond Dennis Keene OBE is an English chess Grandmaster, a FIDE International Arbiter, a chess organiser, and a journalist and author.p196 He won the British Chess Championship in 1971, and was the first player from England to earn a Grandmaster norm, in 1974. In 1976 he became the second...
's column appears daily in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
. Ex-world championship finalist Nigel Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
wrote each Sunday for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
(taken over by the daily chess columnist, Malcolm Pein) but has switched to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
Sources
- The main bibliographical source for chess columns is Ken Whyld's 'Chess Columns: A List' (Caissa-90, Olomouc, 2002).