In the chess world, there are many websites championing the virtues of chess and perhaps the era of the chess magazine is not what it used to be. However, one new magazine has emerged hoping to carve out a niche ignored by other chess magazines. SQUARES is dubbed "The Chess World's Picture Magazine" because it features a mélange of trivia, history, captivating chess photos, and classic games.

The handsome 64-page magazine has a very readable font, high content, and is chock full of intriguing stories such as "Louis Paulsen: Early Father of Hypermodern Chess?," and thought-provoking articles such as "A Good Game without the Politics: Iraq vs. Scotland."

If you think this is a stodgy magazine of boring chess lore, think again. In the premier issue, there is coverage of the 2002 Imre König Memorial in San Francisco with excellent annotations by Grandmasters Suat Atalik, Alex Yermolinksy, and Yuri Shulman. Bob Long, a long-time book vendor is the publisher and states,

"Before you is our attempt at not only a new chess publication in the United States but one also for the whole world of hobbyists, sellers, intellectual pursuers, educators, professionals, trades' people, and so on. We hope that at least a small smile will appear on your face, an eagerness to see what is inside, and a chance to find out if you've been missing anything."

Mr. Long can be contacted for more information. Subscriptions are $30.00 for four issues and can be ordered by contacting him at the information below:

Posted by The Chess Drum: 27 April 2003