CLEARANCE - American Chess Magazine - Issue #37

American Chess Magazine is "the chess magazine that the chess world needs and deserves!". The winner of six awards and five honorable mentions by the Chess Journalists of America in 2018, this large, beautifully produced magazine not only brings a slew of articles on events with deeply commented games, but includes columns by such legendary players as Seirawan, So, Shahade, Benjamin, Sokolov and many more! If you're interested in American Chess, look no further than American Chess Magazine.

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American Chess Magazine #37: Jacob Aagaard - This is Sparta! 

Featuring the celebrated chess coach, Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard, on the cover of issue #37. Dive into a thought-provoking interview where Aagaard offers a unique perspective on elite chess.

Traditionally, each New Year starts with the Pan-American Intercollegiate and this year’s edition will surely be remembered for the University of Missouri chess team’s first overall victory at this youthful event. Leader of their gang was the highly motivated and charismatic coach, Cristian Chirila, and, as team members GM Luka Budisavljevic and GM-elect Josiah Stearman are pleased to report, thanks to his enthusiastic support and guidance they eventually galloped through to victory. U.S. juniors have also been fully engaged at the North American Junior Championships. Carissa Yip has had a fantastic past year, winning the U.S. Women’s Championship, sharing first at the World U20 Girls’ Championship and then claiming the NAJ title — but in the Open Section! The winner of the NAJ Girls’ Section was none other than ACM Contributing Editor, Zoey Tang, who has duly written a wonderful report for us on both tournaments, followed by an exclusive interview with Carissa, who shares many personal thoughts on all sorts of topics relating to chess and life…

More U.S. junior successes come from the prestigious SPICE Cup, where 13-year-old IM Andy Woodward finished in bold style to emerge as the sole winner. Read Andy’s exclusive annotations to his decisive game in the tournament as well as a personal narrative from Saint Louis by FM Nathan Resika. Andy has just completed his quest for the GM title and is now the youngest grandmaster in the world! Those who hardly have a vacant slot in their calendars are chess coaches. Probably one of the busiest in the business is GM Jacob Aagaard who is not only a chess trainer but also an author and publisher. In an exclusive interview for ACM he shares his forthright views on all three of these different disciplines. In addition, his regular ACM column in 2024 will feature attacking chess, illustrated in each issue by a dozen carefully chosen examples and with clear explanations of key elements.

The New Year has seen FIDE make sensitive changes in its system of calculating ratings, which prompted us to interview renowned chess statistician Kenneth Regan for his objective expert assessment. Similarly, Dylan Loeb McClain comments on FIDE’s highly controversial handling of the process of qualification for the 2024 Candidates Tournament, together with updates on the latest ramifications that we witnessed at the turn of the year. Following on with more hot topics, Pete Tamburro presents his personal perspective on our cover story from issue #35. New contributors, GM Rahul Peddi and WIM Tarini Goyal, colleagues at the University of Texas in Dallas, then suggest ways to tackle the sturdy Nimzo-Indian Defense, exploiting new ideas culled from recent practical trials by the dynamic Azeri GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. In their respective regular columns, GM Illia Nyzhnyk deals with the links between middlegame and endgame, while GM Alex Fishbein pays tribute to Nimzovich’s monumental book My System also from the viewpoint of endgames. In between and true to his unique style, GM Sarunas Sulskis dissects several magnificent games that caught his eye, while World Correspondence Champion Jon Edwards explains how he makes the best use of chess engines.

Meanwhile FM Grayson Rorrer reviews the most interesting recent tournaments played in the U.S. and abroad; Dr Corey Butler discusses legitimate psychological warfare over the chessboard; and GM Bartek Macieja reveals nuances and hidden beauties which justify the categorization of chess as an art form. Finally, our guest in 5x5 is NM Evan Rabin, one of the most active chess educators in the U.S.