Last year, in The Last Shall Be Least, I noted that there was no award given for 'Chess Journalist of the Year'. This year the award went to Chess Life's Mike Klein. An example of his work is featured in this month's CL: 'Two Weeks of Theater' by FM Mike Klein. Here's the lead paragraph:-
Sports movies insist on an underdog for drama. But at the 2012 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship, the top four players produced the kind of tension that even a screenwriter could appreciate. The two weeks of theater, held from May 7-20 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, ended with GM Hikaru Nakamura overcoming the late points lead of GM Gata Kamsky to win his third title. IM Irina Krush, only seconds away from an extension of the tiebreaker with IM Anna Zatonskih, slipped past her rival in a messy affair to capture the women’s crown for the fourth time.
For more about the winner, see USchess.org's Interview with Mike Klein, Chess Journalist of the Year.
The last category I like to recognize each year is 'Best Chess Art'. In 2012 the award went to 'Winding Down' by Caroline Kaye. After a little research I discovered that this was the cover for the April 2012 Chess Life, pictured on the left. During the same research I noticed that Kaye was also credited for the cover of the March 2012 CL, a photo of GM Gregory Kaidanov, winner of the 2011 Eastern Open.
Congratulations to all of the 2012 CJA award winners!
The best blog is GM Kevin Spragget chess blog. I just don't know how the judges miss this one. this blog is a must read for me. maybe the result is tainted.
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