ChessCafe Book of the Year list

Does anyone have a list of the book of the year winners from ChessCafe? Currently I have 1996, 98-07, 09-11.

please share while we wait for the missing years.

When I go to their site to explore for your missing years I get from my security software that they have not renewed their SSL certificate and they tell me it is not safe to sign on with username and password.  To get to the book reviews I would have to sign on. Glad I placed an order before the site becaame lost its certificate.  Hope they renew it soon. 

The site closed.

Here is part of the list.  Don't know why 2014 is missing.  Not sure about the book shown for 2015, but I copied this from the New In Chess site, which is very reliable.

Yep, their SSL certificate expired 9 days and 23 hours ago.

The site didn't close as I had them ship me an order3 weeks ago, and I can still get to the site by telling my security software to take me there anyways. They just do not have a HTTPS:// anymore.  But the site is still active.  Problem is I don't think anyone would put in an order or even sign on to the database of book reviews without it being secured (encrypted). 

no, the website didn't close it changed ownership. After the ownership change the only way you can view the articles now is if you have a username and password after making purchases with them of more than $50

Well, I don't care who owns the site now. If your phone calls and e-mails aren't answered and secure payments aren't supported (i.e. an expired SSL certificate), then there's no way in he** that I'm going to do business with them. Other people may be more lenient, but that's their choice.

really? An SSL certificate is like an elevator certificate! If it expires I still get on to the first floor baby! Lol

+1 @ Eschere...

Jerry, we are talking about the change that took place long ago yes?  The SSL certificate just gives you security, encryption, when imputed yout UN & PW and if you order anything your charge card information. Yes I can still get to the site and have ordered more than enough to be a member there.  It's just they need to install a new SSL since it expired.  

oh ok, since now that's been covered........................

I don't know that ChessCafe even chose a book of the year for 2014. They announced they were closing last year (October 6, 2014), they've let their certification lapse. I don't know think they are paying for contributions from their chess authors anymore. 

The link to their own announcement is no longer certified, but here it is for those who are interested:

 https://chesscafe.com/the-skittles-room/on-hiatus/

At some point, you gotta accept that ChessCafe isn't operational anymore, at least as a site that offers great chess content.

I read somewhere that Dan Heisman was still doing his Novice Nook articles there I had thought that's why I thought it was still operational.

I know it's not ChessCafe, but Parimarjan Negi won the Chesspublishing Opening Book of the Year, 2014 for his GM Repertoire 1.e4 book.

http://www.amazon.com/Grandmaster-Repertoire-French-Caro-Kann-Philidor/dp/1906552061/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1446582114&sr=1-1&keywords=negi+chess

The ChessCafe Book of the Year for 2014 was John Nunn's Chess Course.  I know because I voted for a different book, Soltis' Mikhail Botvinnik: The Life and Games of a World Chess Champion.

As most of you know, in the fall of 2014 ChessCafe became a for-fee website.  That was not a problem for me because I purchased over $50 worth of books from their shop, which paid the fee.  Over the years I spent quite a bit there, and the prices were reasonable compared to USCFSales.

In May 2015, Mark Donlan started rolling up the sidewalk in favor of ChessEdu and his educational plan for chess.  Even Dan Heisman wasn't told of this move because I wrote him to ask what was going on; he hadn't heard.  I also wrote Hanon Russell, the previous owner of ChessCafe.  He didn't know about the change either because he hadn't been in contact with Mark.  Reading between the lines, I think there was tension between the two, which explains why I often found Russell Enterprises books absent from the Shop.

My subscription expired last year and I recently renewed for a $25 donation to ChessEDU.  I imagine most of the articles are available at the Wayback Machine (Thank you Peabody and his boy, Sherman), so this will probably be the last year.

Over the years I've download many of the articles and reviews, so I'm not hurting.  However, it is sad to see what has become of a once vibrant, erudite site.  There were the book reviews by Taylor Kingston, which were great reading.  Dan Heisman's "Novice Nook" was helpful, and not just for beginners either (now at his site).  Then there was the always interesting Hans Ree, who left awhile ago.  You could also trust Carsten Hansen to provide an honest appraisal of recently released opening books.  Let's not forget the great Mark Dvoretsky for the more advance players.  I know there are more who deserve praise, but let's stop here.

Now it appears ChessCafe's shop is defunct too.  I wrote them the other day and today i received a bounced e-mail.  Seems Mark is the only one who knows what is going on, and he's keeping mum.

First it was Chessville and now ChessCafe.  To better days.

Before the end, they switched to a different guy. For a brief time, I think it was Rizzitano.

Yes, I believe you're right.