Friday 11 February 2011

Chess Magazine at War


The latest CHESS is out now. If you go to this link at The Week in Chess, you can get a taster of what's in the magazine, including a free download of my complete 'Chess Magazine at War' article. It is about chess in the UK during the Second World War and more specifically gives some insight into how the then editor of CHESS magazine, BH (Baruch) Wood, coped with the task of running a magazine during that terrible time.

BH (Baruch, "Barry") Wood, founder of CHESS magazine

As someone who has edited both the UK's leading chess periodicals, I know only too well how tough the job of editing a chess magazine can be, but I can only guess at how difficult it must have been for BHW at that extraordinary time. And yet he continued to turn out regular monthly issues whilst doing war work, touring the country to give simuls and also bringing up a young family. Oh, and defend a major legal case, and squabble with the national chess federation (yes, some things never change). Amazing guy, Baruch Wood - I take my hat off to the man. Anyway, do have a read of my article - I really enjoyed researching it and hope some of this enthusiasm comes through in the writing.