Subject:
      Site review - Chess Lore
Date:
      1999/09/21
Author:
      Mark Weeks <100046.2106@compuserve.com>

This review, the ninth following the Chess History bookmarks, is for the 'Chess
Lore' column by Edward Winter. The timing for the review is unfortunate, as
the column, which ran on Hannon Russell's award winning 'Chess Cafe' site
(http://www.chesscafe.com) for more than two years,
has just been discontinued.

The latest column was due to appear 15 September, but instead, all traces of
Winter's articles have disappeared from the site. The
references from the Archive page
(http://www.chesscafe.com/archives/archives.htm) are missing, the text
versions of previous articles are no longer available, and a request for the ZIP
file containing all Winter's articles produces the dreaded '404 Not Found'
message, the bane of all Web searches.

If you are reading these words, then you are interested in chess history. If you
are interested in chess history, then you probably know who Edward Winter
is. If you don't know who Edward Winter is, then please see another Chess
Cafe article, the 'Hermit of Geneva' by Hans Ree
(http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hans05.txt). where you will learn why
some call him 'The Omniscient'.

Even before the column disappeared, I hadn't planned to reference any of
Winter's material on Chess Cafe. His knowledge of chess history is
encyclopedic, his reference library must be one of the best in the world, & his
conclusions are generally beyond reproach. There is nothing more to say. The
one critical remark I'd intended to make was to point out his failure to take
advantage of Web technology -- his columns were written for the paper
medium.

That observation is, however, true for all the columnists on the Chess Cafe,
which is an electronic publication based on the model of a traditional
periodical. Its most novel use of Web publishing is its update cycle, where
columns by different authors are replaced at different times of the month. This
ensures a steady stream of fresh material for the frequent visitor. Other
features on the site use Web technology more extensively, but my post is not
about the entire site.

Not wanting to review Winter's 'Chess Lore', I decided to write about 'Winter on
the Web'. This post looks at some of the Web resources which shed light on
the most popular chess historian of our time.

---

First, a search of Amazon.com
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/Author=Winter%2C%20Edward) lists
four
titles by Winter:-
- Kings, Commoners and Knaves: Further Chess Explorations
- Chess Explorations: A Potpourri from the Journal Chess Notes
- Capablanca : A Compendium of Games, Notes, Articles, Correspondence,
Illustrations and Other Rare Archival Materials on the Cuban Chess Genius
Jose R
- World Chess Champions

An AltaVista advanced search on '((edward NEAR winter) AND chess) AND
NOT host:chesscafe.com' says 'AltaVista found about 84 Web pages'.
Heading the list is http://www.audiophileusa.com/R2D4.HTM, which shouts,
'STEREOPHILE'S RECORDS TO DIE FOR AND RECORDINGS OF THE
MONTH'. This is AltaVista's top page because 'Steve Earl Train A Comin'
(Winter
Harvest)' is listed with 'Edward Elgar Enigma Variations'. On the same
*audiophileusa* page there is a listing for a Muddy Waters tune on Chess
records. So much for search engine technology -- that's what you asked for &
that's what you get!

Most of the Web references for '(edward NEAR winter)' of chess history fame,
are book reviews...

--- Chess Explorations

http://www.chesscafe.com/text/explor.txt
http://www.insidechess.com/silman/silce.html
http://www.chessmail.com/bookmar97.html
http://www.chessmail.com/books/wicbk_14.htm

--- Kings, Commoners, and Knaves

http://www.chesscafe.com/catalog/catalog02.htm
http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kck.txt
http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/jwatson15.html
http://www.bcmchess.co.uk/reviews/bcmrev9904.html

... The *insidechess* and *chesscenter* are critical reviews by American IMs
who also write for a living. Silman asks unexpectedly, 'I wonder what his day
job is?'. It's chess history, isn't it?

AltaVista also provides many references to summaries of Winter's columns for
'New in Chess' (NIC) magazine (http://www.newinchess.com/mag/). The
columns themselves are not available online. Ditto for the American Chess
Journal (ACJ) (http://www.h3.org/pub/acj/2/), which ran Winter's
'A Review of Six Books on Fischer-Spassky 1992'. Winter's 'Forum' column is
also mentioned in connection with 'Kingpin', a British chess magazine (e.g.
http://www.chessmail.com/books/elburg2.htm).

As soon as I post this review, I'll remove the bookmark to 'Chess Lore'. It's a
pity. It was one of the most interesting chess history resources on the Web.
Now that it's gone, 'Winter on the Web' must wait for a new source of material.
Let's hope it's being planned.

Respectfully,
Mark Weeks