Is Informator going down the tubes??

[Matt Mackenzie]

Got the latest (no 104) copy of "Chess Informant" a few days ago, and I have to say I am a bit disappointed

The number of games in each issue has been in long term decline, but the latest issue takes it to a new low - one short of three hundred The number of games annotated by the players themselves is also steadily declining.......

The split of those games that remain into two halves ("top 50" and the rest) seems a completely pointless gimmick

As does more than forty (!) pages just cut 'n' pasted from the ECO (no doubt) on the B33 Sicilian, an opening very few players below GM level will be interested in playing (IMVHO) Just a cheap way of filling space that could and should have been devoted to more games instead!

Most shocking for me though is that they can't even be bothered to give all the Anand-Kramnik games in full!! WTF?

That is simply *not* good enough!!

Comments, anyone??

[IM Jack Rudd]

For those of us who don't have the ECO codes at our fingertips, by the way, B33 is the Sveshnikov (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5). It's not exactly a desperately rare opening; I faced it as recently as nine days ago.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Yeah, maybe I should have made that clear

Still, I can't claim I see it played much by anybody below (say) 200 BCF strength. But this is distracting from my main point - that those 47 (count 'em) pages could have been more profitably used

I mean, Informator used to produce opening monographs (I have one myself - B22* - out of date now but still useful) They would be better off still doing that IMO.......

(* no doubt Jack will know what opening that refers to, but how many others?)

[IM Jack Rudd]

I'm the sort of person who might well memorize the entire set of ECO codes, but as it happens, I have not done so.

[Alex Holowczak]

I mean, Informator used to produce opening monographs (I have one myself - B22* - out of date now but still useful) They would be better off still doing that IMO.......

(* no doubt Jack will know what opening that refers to, but how many others?)

I wrote a game up I played about four years ago the other day, and it was B22. It's the 2. c3 Sicilian, apparently.

[Jonathan Bryant]

I remember getting a copy of Informator (#40-odd) 20 years ago or more as a birthday treat for myself.

I didn't need it - and it wasn't in anyway useful for my chess as I wasn't anywhere near strong enough - but it was interesting to see all those top games annotated. There wasn't anything else similar at the time. Now with the internet and DVDs (particularly chessbase) and so forth I'm surprised Informator is still going at all.

[John Upham]

An easy solution now available with ChessBase 10 is to update the database on-line via the "New Games" feature. This combined with a subscription to the superb "New in Chess" provides a great service.

[Geoff Chandler]

I remember when this was a 'must have item' I asked for and was
given Vol.25 (1978) as a Christmas present from my Mum. It has 760 games.

I played over every game that had a diagram in it as these tended to
be more interesting.
I then played over the games without diagrams but had a !! in them.

I tried and solved most of the puzzles in the Combinations Section;
('cept of course those in the Endgame Bit).

I still have it.

I took this book everywhere. I even indexed a list of all the type the
of combinations I have seen playing over the games.

542 - positional Queen sac.
322 - overloaded Queen etc etc.

Just had a look.
A certain player called Kasparov has two games in it.
I must have played one of them out as I have written 'great game'
on game 290 Kasparov v Rojzman, USSR 1978.

Did it do me any good?
Yes & No. I would have skipped through the games looking for the 'juicy bits',
'the kill' and the preceeding play, the instructive stuff, would have passed me by.
But certain things must have stuck. The tactical shots and ideas.

Ah... The good old days....

So if you are in a Pub Quiz and the topic is the 'Chess Games on 1978' I'm your man.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Yup, Informator was probably at its peak from the late 70s until the early 90s........

I am not as dismissive as Jonathan is above about its future though, despite my criticisms. Maybe the problem is that it needs some new blood - most of its "central" staff have been there for decades now

[Matt Mackenzie]

and it was B22. It's the 2. c3 Sicilian, apparently.

Yes I know

[Jonathan Bryant]

Yup, Informator was probably at its peak from the late 70s until the early 90s........

I am not as dismissive as Jonathan is above about its future though, despite my criticisms. Maybe the problem is that it needs some new blood - most of its "central" staff have been there for decades now

It may be that since I'm not in the 'frequent buyer' group that I'm underestimating its popularity but I wonder if there is anybody who buys informator regularly now who didn't make their first purchase in the 90s.

{edit:- I meant 80s ... that was a typo


... but while I'm here:-

I shall be forever grateful to Informator for teaching me the Swedish (if memory serves) for "good move" is "bra drag"

[John Hickman]

I shall be forever grateful to Informator for teaching me the Swedish (if memory serves) for "good move" is "bra drag"

I think if you try the bra drag move, you're likely to get a slap

[Ian Lamb]

i think informator had its day now with so many datebases and chess engines arround i cant see that many people buying informater any more.

[Matt Mackenzie]

If people will forgive me bumping one of my old threads

I have the latest Informator (No 106) and there is a slight problem..........

Pages 97 and 128 have been printed incorrectly, so that the bottom few lines (2-3) of the game scores are missing from both of them - not satisfactory

I wonder if anybody could do a scan of these two pages - or the relevant bits thereof?

[Matt Mackenzie]

Just got the latest (no 109) issue.......

Absolutely delighted to see that the utterly pointless splitting up of games into "top 50" and the rest has been ditched

More games than in recent issues, and more annotated by the players too.

The "theoretical surveys" are short and snappy, rather than the indigestible wodge of theory referred to in the original post.

In short, a definite improvement. Keep it up