Editors of Northwest Chess
Every editor since the first Puget Sound Chess News in September 1946 — and who edited the most issues.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Jeff Roland, now the most prolific Northwest Chess editor of all time with 167 issues, as of October 2026! (Jeff took the lead in December of 2021.)
167issues edited by Jeffrey Roland — the most of any editor
Most issues edited
945 issues by 31 editors since November 1947 (the Puget Sound Chess News isn’t counted). Full ranking
The editors list
The WASHINGTON CHESS LETTER (WCL) was started in Nov 1947 under the editorship of Lawrence Taro of Everett. A list of all the people who have been editors was compiled in February 2009 by Russell Miller and John Donaldson from their magazine collections. It is only a small list of the names of many people who have made chess news of activities in the Pacific Northwest available in printed form every month since 1946.
The publication of chess news started as a one page sheet in September 1946 PUGET SOUND CHESS NEWS, became a several page monthly in 1947, WASHINGTON CHESS LETTER published by the Washington Chess Federation. The name changed to NORTHWEST CHESS LETTER in January 1965 to better reflect the area the news was covering and then to NORTHWEST CHESS in May 1968, as we know it now.
The editor of the most issues was previously the late Daniel E. Wade of Seattle who did 108 issues with the first one in August 1952. However, current editor Jeffrey Roland is now first on the list with an impressive 137 issues and counting - congratulations, Jeff! Next on the list, moving into 3rd place, is Robert A. Karch (83.75) with his first issue in January 1973. Russell Miller's (79.75) first issue was November 1966. Fred Kleist (79.25) is next on the list and his first one was May 1989, in which he shared the duties with Ralph Dubisch, Karch and Miller. Ralph Dubisch moved into fifth place - now sixth (54.25 issues), surpassing Philip Peterson (47). There were some editors who lived in Oregon, California and now Idaho, and even one who lived in British Columbia.
Every editor, in order
Puget Sound Chess Newsnot counted in the totals
Published by the Puget Sound Chess League by the Bremerton YMCA.
| Issue dates | Issues | Editor | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 1946 to February 1947 | 6 | George Rehberg | Bremerton, WA |
Washington Chess Letter
| Issue dates | Issues | Editor | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 1947 to March 1949 | 17 | Lawrence Taro | Everett, WA |
| April 1949 to May 1950 | 14 | Jack L. Finnigan | Seattle, Gig Harbor and Bremerton, WA |
| June 1950 to June 1952May-Jun 1952 was combined issue | 24 | Robert Stork | Chehalis and Seattle, WA |
| July 1952 | 1 | O.W. Manney (temporary editor) | ? |
| August 1952 to March 1954 | 20 | Daniel E. Wade | Seattle, WA |
| April 1954 to February 1955 | 11 | John S. DeWitt | Seattle, WA |
| March 1955 to July 1955 | 5 | Gerald (Jerry) B. Schain | Seattle, WA |
| August 1955 to December 1955 | 5 | Daniel E. Wade | Seattle, WA |
| January 1956 to April 1956 | 4 | George Bishop | Seattle, WA |
| May 1956 to May 1959 | 37 | Daniel E. Wade | Seattle, WA |
| June 1959 to May 1960 | 12 | Buz Eddy | Seattle, WA |
| June 1960 to March 1961 | 10 | Daniel E. Wade | Seattle, WA |
| April 1961 to April 1962 | 13 | Richard Schultz | Seattle, WA |
| May 1962 to December 1964 | 32 | Daniel E. Wade | Seattle, WA |
Northwest Chess Letter
| Issue dates | Issues | Editor | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1965 to April 1965 | 4 | Daniel E. Wade | Seattle, WA |
| May 1965 to April 1966 | 12 | Richard Parsons | Seattle, WA |
| May 1966 to October 1966 | 6 | Buz Eddy | Seattle, WA |
| November 1966 to April 1968 | 18 | Russell (Rusty) Miller | Yakima, WA |
Northwest Chess
Links are to memorial page or "people" page for editors who have passed away (if information is available).
| Issue dates | Issues | Editor | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1968 to February 1970 | 22 | Russell Miller | Yakima, WA |
| March 1970 to April 1971June 1970 was a one-page issue. July 1970 was a 32-page double issue to make up for this. | 14 | Willie Skubi | Seattle, WA |
| May 1971 to July 1972 | 15 | Rob Hankinson | Richmond, BC, Canada |
| August 1972 to December 1972 | 5 | Russell Miller | Yakima, WA |
| January 1973 to July 1973 | 7 | Robert A. Karch | Seattle, WA |
| August 1973 to October 1974 | 15 | Russell Miller | Yakima, WA |
| November 1974 to October 1975 | 12 | Dan Bailey | Tacoma, WA |
| November 1975 to October 1978 | 36 | Kennedy (Kip) Poyser | Wenatchee and Olympia, WA |
| November 1978 to September 1979 | 11 | Robert A. Karch | Seattle and Kenmore, WA |
| October 1979 | 1 | Russell Miller (guest editor) | Yakima, WA |
| November 1979 to September 1982 | 35 | Robert A. Karch | Kenmore and Issaquah, WA |
| October 1982 to January 1983 | 4 | Mary Lasher | Seattle, WA |
| February 1983 to May 1983 | 4 | Robert A. Karch | Issaquah, WA |
| June 1983 to November 1984Note: John Donaldson was listed as the Editor on the masthead but John Braley was the actual Editor. | 18 | John Braley | Seattle, WA |
| December 1984 to November 1985 | 12 | Robert A. Karch | Lynnwood, WA |
| December 1985 to October 1986 | 11 | John Howell | Portland, OR |
| November 1986 | 1 | John Howell and Robert A. Karch | Portland, OR / Everett, WA |
| December 1986 to November 1987 | 12 | Robert A. Karch | Everett, WA |
| December 1987 to November 1988 | 12 | Nikolay Minev | Seattle, WA |
| December 1988 to April 1989 | 5 | James Blackwood | Seattle, WA |
| May 1989 | 1 | Ralph Dubisch, Robert A. Karch, Fred Kleist and Russell Miller | various |
| June 1989 to November 1990 | 18 | Ralph Dubisch | Seattle and Bellevue, WA |
| December 1990 to January 1993 | 26 | Philip Peterson | Salem and Puyallup, WA |
| February 1993 to October 1994 | 21 | Mike Neeley | Yelm, WA |
| November 1994 to March 1996 | 17 | Russell Miller | Seattle, WA |
| April to May 1996 | 2 | Robert A. Karch (interim editor) | Des Moines, WA |
| June 1996 to January 1997 | 8 | Matthew R. Goshen | Salem, OR |
| February 1997 to November 1998 | 22 | David Roper | Seattle, WA |
| December 1998 | 1 | Dave Roper and Russell Miller | Seattle, WA |
| January 1999 | 1 | Russell Miller (interim editor) | Seattle, WA |
| February 1999 to March 1999 | 2 | Philip Peterson | Puyallup, WA |
| April 1999 to October 1999 | 7 | Peter Prochaska | Beaverton, OR |
| November 1999 to April 2000 | 6 | Philip Peterson | Puyallup, WA |
| May 2000 to September 2000 | 5 | Peter Prochaska | Beaverton, OR |
| October 2000 to April 2001 | 7 | Philip Peterson | Puyallup, WA |
| May 2001 to October 2001 | 6 | Peter Prochaska | Beaverton, OR |
| November 2001 to April 2002 | 6 | Philip Peterson | Puyallup, WA |
| May 2002 to October 2002 | 6 | Peter Prochaska | Beaverton, OR |
| November 2002 to August 2008Feb-Mar 2008 was combined issue | 69 | Fred Kleist | Seattle, WA |
| September 2008 | 1 | Ralph Dubisch (guest editor) | San Jose, CA |
| October 2008 | 1 | Fred Kleist | Seattle, WA |
| November 2008 to October 2011Jun-Jul 2010 was combined issue | 35 | Ralph Dubisch | San Jose, CA |
| November 2011 to July 2012 | 9 | Fred Kleist | Seattle, WA |
| August 2012 to November 2012 | 4 | Frank Niro | Meridian, ID |
| December 2012 to October 2026 | 167 | Jeffrey Roland | Boise, ID |
Number of issues edited
A shared issue is split between its editors — May 1989 had four, so each is credited with ¼.
| # | Editor | Born–died | Issues |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeffrey Roland | 1962– | 167 |
| 2 | Daniel E. Wade | 1918–1998 | 108 |
| 3 | Robert A. Karch | 1930–2010 | 83¾ |
| 4 | Russell (Rusty) Miller | 1942–2020 | 79¾ |
| 5 | Fred Kleist | 1955– | 79¼ |
| 6 | Ralph Dubisch | 1960– | 54¼ |
| 7 | Philip Peterson | 1961–2022 | 47 |
| 8 | Kennedy (Kip) Poyser | 1945–2009 | 36 |
| 9 | Robert Stork | deceased | 24 |
| 10 | Peter Prochaska | 1951– | 24 |
| 11 | David Roper | 1971– | 22½ |
| 12 | Mike Neeley | ?–2019 | 21 |
| 13 | Buz Eddy | 1940–2016 | 18 |
| 14 | John Braley | 1944–2017 | 18 |
| 15 | Lawrence Taro | 1891–? | 17 |
| 16 | Robert Hankinson | 1949–1981 | 15 |
| 17 | Jack L. Finnigan | deceased | 14 |
| 18 | Willie Skubi | c. 1950– | 14 |
| 19 | Richard Schultz | deceased | 13 |
| 20 | Richard Parsons | — | 12 |
| 21 | Dan Bailey | 1951– | 12 |
| 22 | Nikolay Minev | 1931–2017 | 12 |
| 23 | John Howell | — | 11½ |
| 24 | John S. DeWitt | deceased | 11 |
| 25 | Matthew R. Goshen | — | 8 |
| 26 | Gerald (Jerry) B. Schain | c. 1931–? | 5 |
| 27 | James Blackwood | — | 5 |
| 28 | George Bishop | deceased | 4 |
| 29 | Mary Lasher | — | 4 |
| 30 | Frank Niro | 1948– | 4 |
| 31 | O.W. Manney | deceased | 1 |
| Total · 31 editors | 945 | ||
Issue numbers
The February 2009 magazine is shown on the inside cover as Issue 727. Research by IM John Donaldson and Russell Miller has shown that it actually was Issue 734, beginning with the Washington Chess Letter in November 1947. The Puget Sound Chess News is not counted since the Washington Chess Federation did not exist until 1947, and in any event the PSCN did not cover the entire state.
The numbering discrepancies over the years were identified as follows: (total 7 issue discrepancy)
- July 1975 was Issue 332, August 1975 was Issue 333 but September 1975 was again listed as 332, October 1975 as 333 and November 1975 as 334 – so there were two issues numbered 332 and 333 (2).
- March and April 1982 were both numbered Issue 410 (1).
- September to December 1991 were all numbered Issue 523 (3).
- October and November 2001 were both numbered Issue 641 (1).
Note that there were also two double issues (May-Jun 1952 and Feb-Mar 2008), resulting in a total of 734 issues over a 736 month period. Not bad for a state (or two-state) chess publication! (That's in addition to the Jun-Jul 1970 double issue after a one-page Jun 1970 issue.)
NWC has adjusted the issue numbers shown in the magazine, beginning with March 2009, which is now Issue 735. Our 750th issue was published in June-July 2010 (combined issue), and our 900th issue was published in January 2023! The 900th issue also represents our 75th anniversary, remarkably with only a three-month delay over the years due to combined issues.