2004 Award Winners
Congratulations to this year’s CJA Award Winners!
Fred Cramer Awards Committee for Excellence in Chess Journalism
Joint Announcement
The Chess Journalists of America and the Cramer Awards Committee are pleased to announce the results from the 2004 awards for chess journalism. The two organizations continue their partnership for recognizing deserving chess journalists.
The most distinctive award is Chess Journalist of the Year, won by longtime author and Chess Life columnist, GM Andrew Soltis. This category is decided by a vote of the CJA membership and is endorsed by the Cramer Committee.
The other Cramer categories winners, decided at their July meeting in New York City, are Best Book: Pal Benko: My Life, Games, and Compositions by GM Pal Benko and IM Jeremy Silman; Best Chess Column, Any Media: “Chess” by Jack Peters in the Los Angeles Times; and Best State Magazine: Georgia Chess, Daniel Lucas, Editor. All of these individuals will be awarded a CJA certificate and a marble obelisk, funded this year by GM Arnold Denker’s generous donation.
A number of new categories were added this year, most of them in recognition of the explosion of web-based chess journalism and the advantage web journalists have over print journalists (specifically, not being constrained by length). A new category that proved especially popular was the catchall Category 40, Best General Chess Article, added to replace the confusing Best Chess Promotion category that seemed to receive all entries not fitting neatly into one of the other categories.
A Lifetime Achievement award was also added this year. CJA members were able to nominate and vote. A tie occurred this first year between New York Times and Chess Lifecolumnist GM Robert Byrne and former CJA President and current editor of American Postal Chess Tournaments News Bulletin Helen Warren.
Another exciting development recognizing long-time chess journalists has been announced by Don Schultz of the Cramer Awards Committee: the formation of a Gallery of Distinguished Chess Journalists. The names will be displayed on a large plaque that will be updated annually as new names are added. The intent is to have the plaque on display at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City. If funding is available, duplicate plaques will be produced and placed on display at additional sites in the USA. The initial journalists honored are: Hermann Helms, Burt Hochberg, Frank Brady, GM Larry Evans, Israel Albert Horowitz and Harold Dondis.
Congratulations to all of this year’s hard-working journalists. For links to the Internet winners and all Internet nominees, please see www.chessjournalism.org, and for more information on the Cramer Awards, please see www.chessdon.com.
Respectfully submitted,
Daniel Lucas
Chief Judge, President, CJA
Daniel Lucas, Chief Judge
Cramer Award Categories
Category 1
Chess Journalist of the Year (by CJA vote)
| GM Andrew Soltis |
Category 2
Best Book
| 1st | Pal Benko: My Life, Games, and Compositions by GM Pal Benko and IM Jeremy Silman |
Category 3
Best Chess Column, Any Media
| 1st | “Chess” by IM Jack Peters, Los Angeles Times. |
Category 4
Best State Magazine/Editor, Open Division
| 1st | Georgia Chess, Daniel Lucas, Editor |
Magazine Editor Categories
Category 5
Best State Magazine, Under 1000 Circulation
| 1st | Georgia Chess, Daniel Lucas, Editor |
Category 6
Best Club Bulletin
| 1st | En Passant, Dr. William Hoppmann, Editor |
Category 7
Best Correspondence Chess Magazine
| 1st | The Chess Correspondent, Joseph Ganem, Editor |
| HM | APCT News Bulletin, Helen Warren, Editor |
Category 8
Best New Magazine
| 1st | The Chess Scholar, Matt Guthrie, Editor |
Category 9
Most Improved Magazine
| 1st | Empire Chess Magazine, Cathi Belcher, Editor |
| HM | Chess In Indiana, Kenneth Hamilton, Editor |
Category 10
Best Cover
| 1st | En Passant, November 2003, Dr. William Hoppmann, Editor |
Category 11
Best Layout
| 1st | Chess Horizons, October/December 2003. Mark Donlan, Editor |
Magazine Author Categories
Category 12
Best Regular Magazine Column
| 1st | “Evans On Chess” by GM Larry Evans, Chess Life |
| HM | “Chess in the Breakdown Lane” by Tim Hanke, Chess Horizons |
Category 13
Best Magazine Tournament Report
| 1st | “The Little Sweden Chess Festival” by Irwin W. Fisk, Chess Life, May 2004 |
Newspaper Author Categories
Category 14
Best Regular Newspaper Column
| 1st | “Chess” by David Sands, The Washington Times |
Category 15
Best Regular Newspaper Column of Local Interest
| 1st | “Chess: A Knight’s Tour” by Bill Cornwall. Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel |
Category 16
Best Newspaper Tournament Report
| 1st | “Sherzer, Smetankin Shine: 30th Annual Eastern Open” by David R. Sands. The Washington Times, January 3, 2004 |
Web-Based Categories
Category 17
Best State Website
| 1st | www.georgiachess.org Bill Noyes, Webmaster |
Category 18
Best Internet Chess News Site
| No entries | Special Chief Judge’s Award: www.thechessdrum.net, Dr. Daaim Shabazz, Webmaster |
Category 19
Best General Chess Web Site
| 1st | www.geocities.com/lifemasteraj/, A.J. Goldsby I, Webmaster |
Category 20
Best Web-Based Review (tie)
| 1st | “First Anglo-Pacific Invitational Chess Championship” by Volker Jeschonnek, at correspondencechess.com/campbell |
| 1st | “Survivor: 64 Squares” by NM Dan Heisman, at www.chesscafe.com |
Category 21
Best Web-Based Analysis
| 1st | “Janowsky-Marshall; Cambridge Springs 1904” by A.J. Goldsby I, at www.angelfire.com/games4/lifemasteraj/ |
Category 22
Best Web-Based Instruction
| 1st | “Learning From Dr. de Groot” by NM Dan Heisman, at www.chesscafe.com |
Category 23
Best Correspondence Chess Website
| 1st | The Campbell Report, J. Franklin Campbell, Webmaster. correspondencechess.com/campbell/ |
Category 24
Best Web-Based Interview
| 1st | “Ian Wilkinson” by Dr. Daaim Shabazz. at www.thechessdrum.net |
General Author/Artist Categories
Category 25
Best Press Release
| No Entries. |
Category 26
Best Human Interest Story (TIE)
| 1st | “Family Chess: How to Foster Competitive Play Without Creating Sibling Rivalry” by Cathi Belcher, Empire Chess, Winter 2004 |
| 1st | “How the Development of the Queen Led to Women not Playing Chess” by Kalev Pehme, Chess Life, May 2004 |
Category 27
Best Historical Article
| 1st | “The Champion of the North: James Jellett’s Adventures in American Chess” by Neil Brennen. At correspondencechess.com/campbell |
Category 28
Best Interview
| 1st | “Kramnik Reflects on Draws, Kasparov, and the State of Chess Today,” by Vladmir Barsky, Chess Life, June 2004 |
Category 29
Best Editorial
| 1st | “Reflections on the Dilemma of Professional Chess” by GM Larry Evans, Chess Life, April 2004 |
Category 30
Best Humorous Contribution
| 1st | “Measure Your Chess Aggressiveness” by Robert Morrell and Daren Dillinger. California Chess Journal, April/May 2004 |
Category 31
Best Review
| 1st | “Chess Strategy In Action” by Chris Chambers. Georgia Chess, November/December 2003 |
Category 32
Best Analysis, Openings
| 1st | “Cheapo Chess Openings” by Daren L. Dillenger. Squares, Winter 2003 |
Category 33
Best Analysis, Endings
| 1st | “The Beauty of the Endgame” by GM Susan Polgar and FM Paul Truong. Chess Horizons, April/June 2004 |
Category 34
Best Analysis, Other
| 1st | “There is Time to Look Back to the Human Truth” by GM Jaan Ehlvest, Chess Life, May 2004 |
Category 35
Best Instruction
| 1st | “Understanding the Sacrifice” by IM Angus Dunnington. Chess Horizons, July-September 2003 |
Category 36
Best Cartoon
| 1st | “Try a Transfusion of Empire Chess” by Jovan Prokopljevic. Empire Chess Summer 2003 |
Category 37
Best Chess Art
| No Entries | Special Chief Judge’s Award: “Garry Goes Deeper into the Matrix” by Kathleen Merz and Claudia Bonforte. Chess Life, February 2004 |
Category 38
Best Chess Photograph (TIE)
| 1st | “John Curdo” by Tony Cortizas, Jr., Chess Horizons |
| 1st | “Frank Johnson, Chess Photographer” by Frank Johnson, Georgia Chess |
Category 39
Chess Journalist Lifetime Achievement Award (TIE) (by CJA vote)
| 1st | GM Robert Byrne |
| 1st | Helen Warren |
Category 40
Best General Chess Article
| 1st | “The Challenges of Online chess Journalism” by Dr. Daaim Shabazz. www.thechessdrum.net |