2008 Chess Journalists of America
Awards Announcement

The following list of prize winners in this year's CJA Awards program was provided by Jonathan Hilton, Chief Judge of CJA and Chairman of the Awards Committee.

Original CJA Awards Program Announcement
All Entries Received
Chess Journalist of Year nominations

Note from Chief Judge:

Special thanks to the judges: R. A. Hernandez, Betsy Dynako, Mark Capron, Myron Lieberman, Ira Lee Riddle, Dan Heisman, Rachel Lieberman, Joe Fogarty, Franklin Campbell, H. Lerman, Glenn Petersen, Eric Johnson, Robert Karch, Eric Schiller, John Donaldson, Mark Donlan, Hal Bogner, Nigel Eddis, Bill Cornwall, Tim Just, Alan Kantor, Fred Wilson, Michael Goeller, Daren Dillinger.

CJA Judging Results for June 1, 2007 through May 31, 2008
Jonathan Hilton, Chief Judge

"HM" indicates Honorable Mention
The "Score" column shows the judges' voting/maximum.

 

Category 1 ... Chess Journalist of the Year  (by CJA vote)
Macauley Peterson (see the Nominating Statement)

Category 2 ... Best Chess Column
Place Entry Score
1st "Chess to Enjoy" by GM Andy Soltis, Chess Life magazine 37.7/40
HM "Novice Nook" by NM Dan Heisman on Chess Cafe site: Col 1, Col 2, Col 3 35.1/40
"Chess" by David Sands, The Washington Times 32.0/40

Category 3 ... Best State Magazine
Place Entry Score
1st Georgia Chess by David Woolf and Mark N. Taylor 39.5/40
HM Chess Horizons by Mark Donlan 36.0/40

Category 4 ... Most Notable Achievement In Correspondence Chess
Place Entry Score
1st "Team USA Makes Olympiad Finals" by FM Alex Dunne, January 2008 Chess Life, page 18 30.7/40

Category 5 ... Best Layout
Place Entry Score
1st Chess Life for Kids N/A

Category 6 ... Best Chess Art
Place Entry Score
1st Chess is Cool Comic Series by Kosteniuk et al 31.5/40

Category 7 ... Best Photograph
Place Entry Score
1st "Chess Photo of Maryam Mansur" by Diego Garces, July 2007 Black & White Magazine, B&W, Color 35.1/40
HM Photo of Irina Krush October 2007 Chess Life Cover by Jeffrey Weiss and Frankie Butler 33.0/40

Category 8 ... Best Tournament Report
Place Entry Score
1st "US Championship" by IM John Watson, August 2007 Chess Life, page 16 49.0/55
HM "Akobian Continues Stellar" by Jerry Hanken, October 2007 Chess Life, page 34 47.5/55
"Gold for Naroditsky" by Aviv Friedman, February 2008 Chess Life, page 32 47.0/55
"2007 Closed & Class Champs" by Tim McEntee and Mark Capron, Iowa Chess News En Passant, Volume 47, Issue 3 44.5/55

Category 9 ... Best Regular Newspaper Column
Place Entry Score
1st "Chess" by Lubomir Kavalek (Washington Post) 35.0/40
HM "Chess: A Knight's Tour" by Bill Cornwall (Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel) 33.5/40
"Chess" by David Sands (The Washington Times) 33.0/40

Category 10 ... Best Regular Newspaper Column of Local Interest
Place Entry Score
1st "Chess: A Knight's Tour" by Bill Cornwall (Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel) 33.5/40

Category 11 ... Best State Website
Place Entry Score
1st Massachusetts: http://www.masschess.org by Tiffany Wang N/A

Category 12 ... Best General Website
Place Entry Score
1st USCF - United States Chess Federation N/A

Category 13 ... Best Chess Blog, Video, or Podcast
Place Entry Score
1st Best Video/Podcast: Free ChessVideo Podcasts by Kosteniuk 27.0/30
Best Blog: The Kenilworthian by Michael Goeller 27.0/30

Category 14 ... Best Historical Article
Place Entry Score
1st "Chess Expert Jailed" by Olimpiu G. Urcan, July 2007 Chess Life, page 46 33.5/40

Category 15 ... Best Interview
Place Entry Score
1st E.Vicary on Chess, Girls, and Genius by Jennifer Shahade, Chess Life Online (June 26, 2007) 29.0/30
HM "Interview with Robert Hess" by Jerry Hanken, June 2008 Chess Life Magazine 24.0/30

Category 16 ... Best Editorial
Place Entry Score
1st "Greg on Chess: The Swiss is Terrible" by Greg Shahade, Chess Life Online (September 10, 2007) 34.5/40

Category 17 ... Best Review
Place Entry Score
1st "Watson: The Sequel" by Pete Tamburro, November 2007 Chess Life, page 14 37.0/40
HM "Tactically Toothless" by Jonathan Hilton, February 2008 Chess Life, page 14 34.5/40
“Matchless Match Book” by GM Joel Benjamin May 2008 Chess Life, page 12 32.5/40

Category 18 ... Best Analysis
Place Entry Score
1st "Deep Analysis Lecture" by Alexandra Kosteniuk, Swiss Chess Review 25.9/30
HM “Korchnoi Explains the French” by Harald Fietz, September 2007 Chess Life Magazine
 25.2/30
Pete Karagianis, 53rd Iowa Open, Iowa Chess News En Passant, Volume 47, Issue 4
 24.6/30
Crushing the Dragon by Jason Juett, Iowa Chess News En Passant, Volume 47, Issue 4
 24.0/30

Category 19 ... Best Instructive Lesson
Place Entry Score
1st "How Wojo Won: The Sicilian" by Jonathan Hilton, Chess Life Online (September 27, 2007) 27.6/30
HM "How Wojo Won: the King's Indian Defense" by Jonathan Hilton, Chess Life Online (April 30, 2008) 27.5/30
“Hook and Ladder” by Dana Mackenzie, July 2007 Chess Life Magazine
 25.9/30
“Implode” by Dana Mackenzie, May 2008 Chess Life Magazine 25.2/30
"Beginner Misconceptions" by Dan Heisman, ChessCafe.com
 24.8/30
"Getting the Edge" by Dan Heisman, ChessCafe.com
 24.6/30
"Trading When Ahead or Behind" by Dan Heisman, ChessCafe.com
 24.5/30
"Don't Allow the Floobly" by Dan Heisman, ChessCafe.com
 24.0/30

Category 20 ... Best Humorous Contribution
Place Entry Score
1st Diary of a Samford Scholar: European Fall Part II by IM Josh Friedel, Chess Life Online (December 19, 2007) 37.2/40
HM "East and West" by Jerry Hanken, May 2008 Chess Life magazine (page 22) 33.7/40

Category 21 ... Special Recognition Award
Place Entry Score
1st "Get Ready for the Next Generation" by Macauley Peterson, June 2007 Chess Life, page 16 35.1/40
HM 64 Square Tour by Bart Gibbons, Chess Life Online (December 17, 2007) 34.9/40

Category 22: Excellence in Chess Writing, Mainstream Media received no entries this year.

Category 23 ... Best Human Interest (3-way tie)
Place Entry Score
1st “Sunday in the Park” by C. K. Damrosch December 2007 Chess Life, page 32 32.0/40
“In Memoriam: Gilbert F. Gosselin” by George Mirijanian Chess Horizons, July - September 2007 32.0/40
"Farewell to Boris" by Jerry Hanken, May 2008 Chess Life magazine 32.0/40

Updated: 20-August-2008

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