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On chess...
Jul. 16th, 2014 08:54 amI ran across my old U.S. Chess Federation membership card a couple of months back, and decided to call and find out whether my Life Membership (bought in 1968 on a "sustaining" basis, i.e., ten bucks a year for ten years) was still effective, or whether, by some parliamentary finesse, I had been deleted from the rolls based on having been absent from the organization's "view" for likely more than a decade. As it turned out, the voice I spoke to on the phone sounded happy to hear from me, I'm still a member, and will now again be receiving the organization's monthly publication, Chess Life.
Among the things I've noticed in the magazine are, of course, the new columnists, as the ones I was used to reading have either passed or retired. There also seem to be fewer listings of upcoming tournaments in the back of the magazine, at least of tourneys not affiliated with the "Grand Prix" circuit (where, in addition to whatever prizes a tournament might offer, winners are awarded points that are tallied over the course of the year for an additional set of Grand Prix prizes).
However, the most striking change I've seen is an ad for a tournament billing itself as "Millionaire Chess," advertising a $1,000,000 "guaranteed" prize fund. That's certainly a step up from the old days, where a top tournament might offer a $40,000 prize fund.
More as I get into the magazine, maybe.
Right now, work calls.
P.S. And no, there is no way I would pony up $1,000 (the entry fee) to play in a tournament like "Millionaire Chess."
Among the things I've noticed in the magazine are, of course, the new columnists, as the ones I was used to reading have either passed or retired. There also seem to be fewer listings of upcoming tournaments in the back of the magazine, at least of tourneys not affiliated with the "Grand Prix" circuit (where, in addition to whatever prizes a tournament might offer, winners are awarded points that are tallied over the course of the year for an additional set of Grand Prix prizes).
However, the most striking change I've seen is an ad for a tournament billing itself as "Millionaire Chess," advertising a $1,000,000 "guaranteed" prize fund. That's certainly a step up from the old days, where a top tournament might offer a $40,000 prize fund.
More as I get into the magazine, maybe.
Right now, work calls.
P.S. And no, there is no way I would pony up $1,000 (the entry fee) to play in a tournament like "Millionaire Chess."
