New in Chess keeps getting better!

New in Chess (NIC) has been the world’s premier chess magazine for decades. Its slick layout and improved design has been the staple of players’ libraries and sets the standard for chess journalism. Dirk Jan ten Geuzendem has been leading the charge. When the magazine introduced its new color format years ago (2005, #7), it set itself apart from other magazines that are competing with Internet sites for attention.

As of this point, there is no substitution for NIC. Despite coming out only eight times each year, the anticipation for each issue is coveted and highly-anticipated. In the current issue, one can also see the times changing as Wang Yue is being presented to the chess public as part of the elite.

When Bu Xiangzhi became the youngest GM ever, many thought he would be the first Chinese to break the elite. Wang burst onto the scene with little notice and was the first Chinese to break 2700 followed by Bu and then Ni Hua. Wang Hao, who has been on the cover of NIC, is also on the brink of joining this club. It’s is great to finally see diversity instead of the same 20 players regularly featured.

The magazine has even a bolder look than the first colored issue (2005, #7). The quality of the photographs are much better quality and are more expressive. The layout is superb and the main feature remains the riveting stores and the annotated games by top players. While Garry Kasparov no longer writes his article for NIC, there is still Jonathan Rowson’s entertaining prose and the famous “Just Checking” interviews in the back.

What is interesting about the magazine is its coffee table quality. A non-chess player would enjoy looking at the magazine out of intrigue and to look at the pictures and the strange diagrams. If there was one magazine that can attract new converts, it is NIC. This magazine is definitely worth the subscription price. In a time when the Internet is the main resource for new and information, NIC remains at the top of the heap of chess journalism.