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1994-01-05
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EVANS ON CHESS. May 21, 1993
By GM Larry Evans (Copyright)
COPYRIGHTS AND WRONGS
Despite efforts to copyright chess games, they remain in the public domain.
Most opening manuals freely cite the same analysis of the same key games, and
the same errors often are passed from hand to hand like the Olympic torch.
Today's morality play illustrates two maxims: (1) Plagiarism is the sincerest
form of flattery; (2) Let him without sin cast the first stone.
In a recent issue of Inside Chess, associate editor John Donaldson cast a
stone at British grandmaster Raymond Keene, author of some 80 chess books.
Keene in turn reminded Inside Chess of the mote in its own eye.
DONALDSON'S CHARGE
"Examples of plagiarism are not unknown in chess literature, but
Keene has set a new standard for shamelessness. A glance at pages
128-132 of his 'Complete Book of Gambits' (Batsford, 1992) and a
comparison of my two-part article in Inside Chess reveals that
not only did he have nothing new to say about Lisitsin's Gambit,
he could hardly be bothered to change any of the wording or
analysis. What's more, no mention of the original source was
given, misleading the reader as to the originality of his work.
His behavior is absolutely inexcusable."
PUBLISHER'S REPLY
"Full credit was prepared with the manuscript but due to an
unfortunate oversight this became detached and failed to appear
in the book.It will be put right on the second edition (or the
whole piece dropped if you prefer). Keene offers his full apologies
and is happy to offer you, or any nominated charity of your choice,
a share of the UK royalties equivalent to the share that the
section occupies in the book."
DONALDSON'S REPLY
"I would prefer my work be omitted from any second edition. I
prefer a flat payment of $50 per page ($200). I suspect that if
all the other victims of Mr. Keene's 'oversights' are accorded
the same privilege, it will be a slender work indeed."
KEENE'S FAX TO DONALDSON
"This book was several years in preparation. In an endeavour to
be complete, I gathered together a huge amount of source material
to beat a last minute deadline. Inadvertently a planned
bibliography was omitted.
As an editor yourself, you surely appreciate, when under
pressure, how it is possible to inadvertently print material
from someone else's copyright. Let me take an example from your
own magazine. I was most flattered to see my notes to games
already published in the UK appear word for word in two
consecutive issues (4-5, 1991). I was given no credit, you
certainly did not consult me nor offer any payment.
I felt somewhat annoyed, yet decided to let it pass rather than
cause any embarrassment by drawing public attention to what you
had done. But now it must be drawn into the balance. As the most
elegant solution, I propose we pay $200 each to two nominated
charities. Or we can just call it a draw."
Oh, yes. Lest anyone wonder about Lisitsin's Gambit, the initial moves are: 1
Nf3 f5 2 e4!? fxe4 3 Ng5.