Back in November, I mentioned that I had submitted an article to Chess Life based on my lecture “Eight-Dimensional Chess,” which they accepted and tentatively scheduled for spring of 2008. Now, alas, I find out that I will have to wait a little bit longer. The editor told me that the U.S. Chess Federation is having budget problems. He has to slash 8 pages from the March issue, and 16 pages from the April-June issues. That’s 20 percent of the magazine! And it’s even worse than that, because there are some sections, like the tournament announcements, that you can’t make any shorter.
So my article will be pushed back later in the year, although the editor still likes it and wants to print it. Eventually.
I can’t say that I’m too surprised about the budget crunch. There are warning signs all over the magazine in recent months — photographs replaced with two-tone illustrations, advertisements of a sale on membership dues, which suggests that they are having trouble getting enough income. Sadly, the USCF chronically seems to be either in political turmoil or financial turmoil, and sometimes both at the same time. So, what else is new?
If any of you are lapsed USCF members, please consider joining up again (at the new reduced rates!) so that they can keep putting out a quality magazine and print my article.  You can tell them that I sent you. Thank you! 😎
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
WCM Claudia Munoz
10 years old
http://womancandidatemaster.blogspot.com
I remember reading about the budget crisis somewhere else on the Web. Why don’t they put all the tournament announcements on their Web site? There’s unlimited space there. In 2008, there’s no excuse to have all the tournament announcements in hardcopy. The Web is a much better medium: cheaper, more navigatable, more up to date, more space (we don’t have to be subjected to crazy abreviations), etc.
Dana, I think you can blame the Sloan-Truong debacle for your article’s postponement. That lawsuit seems to be taking its financia toll on the federation.
They have an article on Chess Life and the problems of the USCF on Gambit-The NY Times chess blog, with lots of interesting comments as well.