A while ago I sent in a submission to Chess Life for their column “My Best Move,” which appears on the last page of every issue. In this column, famous and semi-famous players share their favorite moves from their entire chess careers. I felt a little bit presumptuous putting myself in the company of players like Walter Browne, Alex Onischuk, Ben Finegold, and Irina Krush… but hey, why not? Non-presumptuous people never get anything published.
Besides, as ChessLecture fans know, I had a really good candidate for “My Best Move,” and I’m not talking about my queen sacrifice against David Pruess. (That story has already been told.) If you’ve seen my 100th ChessLecture, you’ve seen my favorite game-winning move.
Today I got the news from the Chess Life editor that they are putting my contribution in the next (June 2013) issue. I was in the right place at the right time; an anticipated submission from some other (presumably more illustrious) player didn’t show up on time, and my submission was there to fill the gap.
This brings the number of articles I’ve written for Chess Life up to five. For anyone who might be interested, here are the previous four.
“Chess in Russia: An amateur’s impressions of chess life, Soviet style”
Chess Life, August 1981, p. 15. (Note: This was written under my previous name. It’s also the first paid article I ever wrote for any publication. I was so naive back then that I didn’t even realize that Chess Life paid for articles, and I was shocked when a check arrived in my mailbox!)
“Sac Your Queen on Move Six! (A New Anti-Computer Variation)”
Chess Life, March 2007, p. 30
“The Hook & Ladder Trick”
Chess Life, July 2007, p. 44
“Don’t Just Reassess Your Chess — IMPLODe It!”
Chess Life, May 2008, p. 37
