Dear chess fan,
The Los Angeles Times has replaced my chess column with a syndicated column. The first one appears this weekend.
I think it’s a bad decision, and not just for personal reasons. The Times wants to save money, which is understandable, but a syndicated column cannot provide the coverage of local tournaments that I do. Perhaps some of you enjoy my analysis of recent games or my choice of puzzle positions. I don’t want to brag, but I doubt that the new columnist, Bill Cornwall, will do as well.
Please help. Would you write a letter asking the newspaper to bring back my chess column? The address is:
Editor
Los Angeles Times
202 W. 1st St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
If you prefer to telephone, call the readers’ representative at 877-554-4000.
And please tell your chess friends to write. If you think my column is worth saving, then the next few days are crucial. Convince the Times executives that many readers care about chess.
Thank you for your help.
Yours, Jack Peters
I was distressed to read of the supposed cancellation of Jack Peters excellent chess column in Los Angeles Times.
To me and many other local players, the highlight of the column was always the “local news” where one could find the doings of people you knew, or even see your own name! A syndicated columnist can not replace this.
But when I looked up said columnist, I was stunned, and not in a good way. According to his rating history, Bill Cornwall (supposedly Jack’s replacement) has not played a rated game since 1993, when he was rated as an expert.
In other words, an International Master of stature, and a California resident who plays in and covers Calfornia Chess, is being replaced by a non-playing, once upon a time expert from Florida! Presumably that’s the end of all local news, and all high level analysis.
I have written the Los Angeles Times in support of Jack, and I urge all chessplayers to follow suit. The last line of my letter to the LA Times editor is: “Bring back quality: reinstate Jack Peters.”
The long run of George Koltanowski’s column in the San Francisco Chronicle is well noted as is that of England’s Leonard Barden who has been engaged in chess journalism since the 1950s but for longevity and excellence the collective effort of several columnists for the Los Angeles Times may be without equal. That the Times has a long running column with IM Herman Steiner GM Isaac Kashdan and IM Jack Peters still going strong is well known but that Steiner had predecessors was until recently knowledge to only a few if any.
An enormous error has been made by the Los Angeles Times and milllions of casual players are noticing it immediately…this column from Kashdan to Peters spans a historic flight taken by generations and is now lost. Jude Acers
The long standing tradition of Herman Steiner and Isaac Kashdan should be continued and not sacrificed at the altar of “cost cutting”. The Sunday column of Jack Peters is already a token compared with the tonnage of ink devoted to random trivia and mass consumption. While it is true that chess may not have the frenzied following of Lebron and Lady Gaga, to replace him with a syndicated column is an “in-your-face” marginalization of amateur and professional chess alike. ” Raconteuring” is of a different realm and already rendered well by your tendentious staffwriters. Analysis and in-depth local coverage is critical and this is what Peters provides in an unadorned text and style of writing..
The Los Angeles Times has made a grave (pun intended), bone-headed blunder. Having recently (in September) moved to the state of Washington, and not keeping up with Peters’ column online, I received this news a little late. I often purchased or subscribed to the LA Times primarily for the chess column, and in the distant past (before Internet) used to go to the library and photocopy past columns, both for the tactics problem (diagrammed game position) and for the games with Jack’s excellent analysis. When I was fortunate enough to play a game worthy of his column, I printed a few extra copies!
I sincerely hope the Times’ editor comes to his senses and reinstates Jack Peters and his wonderful column. Such shortsightedness shall surely accellerate the death of the local newspaper.
A month later, and chess journalists are just learning what happened at the LA Times. This didn’t happen overnight, and the passing of chess activists Jerry Hanken and John Hillery make this quite a down “year” or so for the LA chess community!
Peters may well have been given the option (as many experts in various fields) to write “for free” just on the Times website. I get that option, declining to sign a web contract with my newspaper, and allowing them to place my work online gratis for at least the first day.
But I’ll never forget the bold stance that Jack Peters took in 1971 to “save” Chess Horizons, still around today as both a print and on-line publication at http://www.masschess.org.
Until today, I didn’t even know that Tim Taylor was an artist, but now recognize him as a caring chess activist.
Stephen Dann, MA, honorary life member & co-founder, Chess Journalists of America, columnist (since 1975), Worcester Sunday Telegram (www.telegram.com)
Thanks for an excellent comment. I wish you luck with your chess column.
This is a shame. Peters does an exemplary job !
I buy the Los Angeles Times mainly to read Jack Peter’s chess column. I couldn’t believe it when I started reading the column this morning and realized that it wasn’t written by Jack Peters. The article is so bad. It is not written professionally. I will contact the LA Times to complain.
I DID already complain to Los Angeles Times. I was the third junior player in Russia in 1969. I don’t play now, but Mr. Peters made GREAT CHESS COLUMN. They made HUGE mistake to replace chess player Peters by some shmuck, who knows NOTHING about chess… SHAME!!!!!!!!!!
I was very unhappy when LA Times replaced Jack Peters with Bill Cornwall. Cornwall’s articles are very dull. Moreover, often he appears to be completely “disoriented”. For example in his last article “Another Champion Returns” appeared in the last Sunday (July 31, 2011) LA Times issue, Cornwall states
that Ukraine was winner in this year’s World Team Championship. Please note that Armenia was the winner. China came second. Moreover, I also noted that Armenian tema was not even mentioned in the paragraph devoted to the World Team Championship. Very strange.
james tatoian
Having followed Mr Peters’ column since he started in the 80′s, I was sad to hear last December that the column would be written by someone else. I hope that Mr Peters will continue a column online or in another paper. OC Register is hurting for local coveage like this. More than the local news, I enjoyed studying the puzzle of the week and replaying recent games that Mr Peters included.
Even so, I hoped that the new column would be worthwhile. I check it every week and have found very little info that keeps my attention. The local info on 9-4-11 is fine. However, as usual, the chess problem is pointless: White has a rook, knight, bishop and 2 pawns. Black has 2 knights and a bishop. Find white’s mate in 3. Who cares? Duheeeee…..
To Mr Peters — where are you posting current articles now? I don’t check this message board, so anyone can send me an email at guvbob2003MY-HAT@yahoo.com. Remove MY-HAT from email address.
Being unable to find mention of anything about Jack Peters online anywhere, I have to conclude that LA Times must have had a good reason to change columnists. Neither Mr Peters nor anyone else has posted here or contacted me saying otherwise. Only heresay about “LA Times is cheap” — there is a nother side to this.
Why doesn’t one of you budding chess writers contact the Times editor and send a few proposed articles. Cornwall’s contract is likely up for renewal and you’ll be giving them an alternative. Just tell them you’ll do it for 25% less than Cornwall. Then next year, if it’s any good, you can raise the rate.
My thought is for a chess writer with local LA connections to contact the Times and offer to write the column. That should be pretty simple since Mr Cornwall is continuing with his pattern of covering Norweign chess and ignoring the many S Calif events. Can’t blame Cornwall – his articles are written for the Florida paper where he lives.
And now…. the Daily Cornwall review….
Today (10-16-11) is a good example of how any chess player can write a column. Just pick a player in Europe, list their bio and post a recent game of theirs. No need to bore readers in LA with local or regional chess news. We love reading about Norway. LOL!!!!!
And another blue ribbon chess puzzle…. Mr Cornwall continues his tradition of positioning one side (white this week) with overwhelming force or position, and then saying “White mates in 2.” Come on, Bill, you can do better than that. For those who didn’t see it, White has K-Q-N-N-B-P. Black has K-B-B-N-P-P. What a challenge.
Puzzles do help your skill, but these ridiculous setups are not. Need to put in real chess postions from real games, like Mr Peters always did.
My contact: guvbob2003MY-HAT@yahoo.com. Remove MY-HAT from email address.
Dear Mr. Cornwall, if you can’t find any US chess news worthy of your column, please consider turning the column over to someone else.
Ref. LA Times, Sunday, Nov 27, 2011. (1) Generic instructional info; (2) Pointless chess problem (see below); (3) No local, regional or national chess news. Game and info from Women’s World Championship, (China vs India), however nothing about any US competitors if any, other entries, etc.
The puzzle is probably the worst ever — here’s the premise….
“White mates in two”.
White: Queen, 2 Knights, 2 Bishops, 2 Pawns
Black: 1 Knight, 1 BIshop, 1 Pawn
Is that a complete waste of time or what. Come on, Cornwall, wake up. Use some real games or at least give both sides somewhat equal strenght.
The Los Angeles Times has made enormous error by canceling Jack Peters column. Reinstate Jack
Peters and his wounderful column now!