December 1973 & 1998 'On the Cover'

Last month's post about U.S. chess magazines 50 and 25 years ago, November 1973 & 1998 'On the Cover' (November 2023), had an arty portrait on the right. This month's post has a different sort of art.

Left: 'The World's Top 60; FIDE Annual Rating List; Reflects all performances through July 1, 1973'
Right: '"No Cheating", James Todd, 1998'

Chess Life & Review (50 Years Ago)

Professor Elo's latest calculations. See [inside] for the complete list.

'Inside' had a two and a half page alphabetical list of rated players. The introduction said,

The following list, approved by the FIDE Congress at Helsinki. Finland, in September 1973, is the official list by which FIDE categories of international tournaments are determined. The list is revised annually, the next will be approved in June 1974. We thank Professor Arpad Eto for providing a copy for Chess Life & Review.

I have a copy of the list on my own domain. For background, see FIDE Historical Ratings 1971-74 (January 2008; 'The 1974 file is missing almost all women.'). For the list itself, see FIDE historical ratings (m-w.com). The file, 1973.zip, lists women, although they are missing on the CL&R pages.

Chess Life (25 Years Ago)

You won't find "No Cheating" in "The Art of Chess Calendar" (2999A, $10.95). However, if you like the work of James Todd, it doesn't matter where you come across his efforts -- in the USCF catalog (page C21) or on the cover of Chess Life, or at his website: jtstudio.com

The web site, JT Studio, is still active. Todd's work has been seen before on the 1996 side of May 1971 & 1996 'On the Cover' (May 2021; 'James Todd - What Price Victory'). The calendar and catalog references in the introduction relate to an insert distributed with the October 1998 CL. The text promoting the calendar said,

The Art of Chess Calendar • This 16 month calendar is filled with stunning chess artworks. James Todd, who has won numerous awards including Artist of the Year in 1992 by the St. Lotus Ad Assoc., is one of the most talented chess artists we've ever seen. The imagination and detail inherent in all Todd's works are sure to impress and please you with each new month of the coming year.

The lead story inside the December 1998 CL was a report by GM John Fedorowicz on the 1998 Olympiad.