A Personal Loss

I have just learned that chessfriend Calvin Olson, of California, USA, author of The Chess Kings Volume One, has passed away suddenly.

I met Calvin (via email) when I reviewed his book for the Chessville web site.

Of Chess Kings Volume One, subtitled History, Politics, and the Fine Art of Mythmaking in Chess my review noted

Olson, a chess teacher, Correspondence Chess Master and historian, is a good choice to tackle this topic. He is well-read on the topic, having a personal chess library of over 3,000 volumes. His chess writings have been published (School Mates, Gambit) and he has edited a chess newsletter (The Orange Knight). Incidentally, he has served as proofreader for chess books (including several for Random House). The Chess Kings Volume One is the result of 30 years of studying chess, followed by 10 years of research and writing.

It was not surprising that The Chess Kings received the the Perry PawnPusher Awards Was There Chess Before Fischer? Award.

Calvin was amused to receive the award, and we both smiled when his publisher, Trafford, mentioned it on its site.

According to Calvin's wife, Gail, he was working on the last chapter of Volume II the day he died. John Watson has agreed to finish the last chapter using Calvin's notes and intent. As she noted

I hope that this volume is available soon so that others can appreciate his talent and what he wanted to give back to chess for all the years of pleasure that it gave him.

To which I can only add: Amen.