25th Canadian Chess Challenge

John Upper's picture
Submitted by John Upper on Sun, 05/26/2013 - 01:37

The PDF here is a photo report on the 25th Canadian Chess Challenge, held in Ottawa May 18-20. It is also a sneak peek at the new format for the CFC Newsletter (CCN).

Here are a few remarks about the design.

Executive Summary
The CFC newsletter is an online journal and should be designed as such:

    • screen-shaped format
    • sans serif fonts
    • more colour and graphics
    • clickable links

In more detail:

The old layout -- 8½"x11" letter-sized paper -- makes sense if the CCN audience prints the Newsletter and reads it on paper. If not, then the layout should be changed to fit the CCN's use. I suspect most CFC members read it on screen, and very few send the PDF to their printers so they can read it on paper. After a few months of tinkering with the new design, we'll do a survey to find out which format the readers prefer.

New Design

  • Shape: assuming the CCN is read on screen, a screen-shaped format makes more sense than the 8½x11 “letter” size. This more efficiently uses screen space and reduces the need to scroll up and down when reading a story. The new "A4" size is a cross between laptop-screen and iPad shape.
  • Font: Most printed magazines and newspapers use sans serif for headlines and serif for text body because on paper it's easier to read. But reading text on computer screens is different: computer screens have a much lower resolution than paper, so serif fonts “shimmer” when on screen, making them harder to read. Assuming the CCN is normally read on screen in PDF format, it should have fonts that maximize legibility: almost entirely sans serif.
  • Games should be screen-friendly: more diagrams, and the moves should be in bold with variations in the default font, complex variations should be formatted for clarity.

Of course, the PDF sample here doesn't have any games in it (yet), but the June issue already has 33 annotated games and exerpts -- and that's without all the contributions in yet -- and they look as good as any chess games I've seen online or in books or magazines.

CFC members can expect to get the June CCN around June 5-7: there are a lot of events ending near the end of May, and I'm trying to squeeze all of them in. 

Wish me luck.

- John Upper

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