ECF Book of the Year? |
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| Wednesday, 02 October 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 By GM Daniel Gormally  Arkell and the Hawk, unfair to miss out? I'm always a bit wary of "awards" as in Oscars, book awards etc. They tend to be less a subjective process and more a case of mates rewarding mates. I once finished second in the British chess federation player of the year award. I must admit, I wasn't even aware I was nominated. The chances of my coming close to winning such an award now, are roughly equivalent to Al-Shabaab winning the Noble peace prize. There is also an ECF "book of the year award". I must admit I was disappointed to hear that my friends Keith Arkell and Jonathan Hawkins were not nominated for their excellent books, respectively Keith's autobiography "Arkell's Odyssey", and Hawkins' equally superb "Amateur to I.M." both of which were debut books. Disappointed, but hardly surprised.  GM Keith Arkell You have to wonder how far these two books got in the selection process and whether they were even considered at all. Doubtless I will never get the answer to this question, as I'd be very surprised if anyone on the selection committee bothered to read this blog. It isn't written by one of their old-school chums, or by someone privately educated, so in their eyes, isn't worth reading. It's true you could argue that if I was on the selection committee, I'd be just as biased in nominating those two books. But it's very unlikely I'd ever be on such a committee, as I tend to be hotheaded and say what I think, and also wasn't educated at Eton or Harrow, rather hampering my inclusion yet further. Of those on the actual final list, the only one I've actually read is Judit Polgar's "How I beat Fischer's record" which admittedly is a superb book, as I'm sure are the rest of the books on the list. That's not the point I'm trying to make, the point is that it's highly unlikely that people like Hawkins or Arkell (or least of all myself) would ever make it on to such a list. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid here?  IM Jonathan Hawkins It's telling that "Amateur to I.M." already won the chess journalists of America award for best book, but didn't even get on the final nomination list in Hawkins' own country. What an absolute joke. I guess it shows that America thankfully is free of the kind of class prejudice that is still rampant in this washed-up land. (The book has also made it to the top-10 of the ACP list - Pogonina.com). GM Daniel Gormally is open for chess lessons. You can contact him using this This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Other posts by GM Danny Gormally: Is being a chess pro worth it - continued? Is being a chess pro worth it? An Elitist Game? Does hard work in chess pay off? World Cup Final preview World Chess Cup Semi-Final preview World Chess Cup Quarter-Final preview World Chess Cup 1/8-final preview Why are Russians so good at chess? British Champs-2013 Ghent and now the British I'll never be fat again! Lessons learnt! The sad case of Borislav Ivanov: Part II Does Anyone Have a Cure for Anger Problems? The Depth of Chess Fundraising in chess Nurturing a Chess Prodigy The Sad Case of Borislav Ivanov 4NCL Impressions: no country for old men - Part II 4NCL Impressions: no country for old men One move, one line - Part II One move, one line Candidates Final Review & Preview of Upcoming World Championship Match Would Carlsen have beaten Capablanca?
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