English Chess Forum

Inspired by this excellent news from another thread, can people here help with either naming or pointing to any listings of historic chess columns, any dates, any media, any languages, and including ones still running?

(More thoughts after the quote.)

John Saunders wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 29, 2024 5:44 pm

An update: the missing Yorkshire Evening Post chess columns written by Ronnie Ives referred to above have all been traced and can now be found at the URL listed above. Ingrid Ives tracked down some more of them, while Yorkshire Chess History webmaster Steve Mann had the pleasure of finding the last four pieces of this particular jigsaw. Many thanks to both of them, and to the staff of Wakefield Library who were helpful to both.

That's 316 columns in all.

(Britbase YEP chess columns)

As well as the too-obvious-to-name columns in the nationals and periodicals (e.g. The Times, The Guardian, The Evening Standard, The Spectator, The Financial Times, The Telegraph, and so on), are there any major local columns that would be worthy of the same treatment (depending on copyright considerations, though listing the known columns and their dates would be useful in all cases)?

I wonder if there are any statistics for how many chess columns there have been worldwide over the past 150 years or so (syndication is a consideration)?

A more obscure column I came across one time was the one in 'Time and Tide', which I mentioned here:

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=13482&p=296445#p296445

That column was by D. J. Morgan.

Any other suggestions?

Are you aware that Ken Whyld wrote a book called "Chess Columns: A List"? Published by Moravian Chess in 2002. I don't have a copy but it will probably still be available somewhere.

"Chess Columns: A List" is quite expensive now and I think a better use of the money would be Tim Harding's "British Chess Literature to 1914".
https://www.chessmail.com/research/Ches ... dbook.html

Completely unaware of that Whyld work, thanks John! (Should have searched first.)

Am aware of Tim Harding's coverage of chess columns up to 1914 (and should have mentioned it) but more interested in the later 20th century columns.

Does a kind soul have a figure for how many columns Whyld lists and if the scope is universal or just English-language? Or maybe the major languages?

Had a look myself:

https://www.chessbookshop.com/katalog_d ... d=28&ll=en

A comprehensive bibliography of chess columns in non-chess periodicals from the past to the present. About 5,000 entries ordered alphabetically. Each entry consists from following information: title, town, country, language, life span of the periodical, frequency of publication, frequency of the chess column, dates of the column, names of editors, notes.) An important reference work

So my question now would be, which of those 5000 chess columns and columnists are particularly notable or worth looking out for?

A top 100 chess columns?

R J Broadbent ran a very nice column in The Western Morning News. An aunt used to send me cuttings many years ago.

A glance at the paper's website showed nothing. Possibly in a newspaper database.

Roland Kensdale wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 30, 2024 5:33 pm

R J Broadbent ran a very nice column in The Western Morning News.

Which reminds me of Ken Bloodworth's column in the same newspaper. Apparently, it ran for 37 years, so must have started no later than 1974 and finished no later than 2011 when Ken died.

'Chess Columns A List' by Ken Whyld is an excellent book and in a way before its time. In 2002 chess research usually involved visiting a library and not sitting at home using the British Newspaper Library. Nowadays it is much easier to locate chess columns, but one becomes aware of just how many of them there are. Ken's book had 587 pages and listed overseas as well as British columns. Even he was unaware of some columns. At the same time some important columns that he does list are not yet in the British Newspaper Library.

Thank you, Brian. I was wondering myself how much internet research was possible in 2002.

Some, but not as much as today. My first job (which involved doing background research using the internet and printed sources) was from 2000 onwards, and I still remember the sense that the internet (in terms of historical and reference research) was growing in leaps and bounds in that period.

Some of those early websites are no longer with us. Some better databases are now online, and there is far more digitisation of primary sources. I cannot remember when Google Books made its appearance.

It looks like I do need to acquire (or order up at the BL or other suitable location) a copy. I have notes somewhere on a French chess column. Will probably be there, but, as you say, Whyld will have missed some.

I wonder how many new chess columns have appeared since 2002? A digital version of Whyld's database could be queried to find out the most productive periods for chess columns. Presumably the 1970s?

If people could name their favourite obscure chess columns, that would add some detail. I know Gerard finds many games in columns digitised in the BNA and other archives, but never really looked at which ones. The degree of syndication is also not clear.

There are links to a large assortment of resources at Tabanus' page on chessgames.com:

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessuser?uname=Tabanus