Daniel Papack was an International Master in May 2020 when he withdrew his problems from all sections of the FIDE ALBUM 2016-2018 and requested that his name be removed from the list of title-holders.
Many problems by Daniel Papack could be quoted. Let's just choose one with a rare combination of themes:
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Guido Cristoffanini (15-02-1908 - 22-05-1980) Italian composer
Guido Cristoffanini [Les Cahiers de l'échiquier français, Janvier 1934] |
Guido Cristoffanini founded the magazine "Il Problema" in 1931 and his name is linked to the Cristoffanini Theme (thank you Cornel!). On the topic of the Cristoffanini theme, one can read an interesting webpage by Alan Doris Battiston & Riccardo A. Franceschini.
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John Derek Beasley (15-02-1940 - 03-03-2024) British composer, editor and author
John D. Beasley, Bratislava 1993 [Wikipedia] |
John D. Beasley was a multi-faceted composer and author.
He has written a few books, such as "The Mathematics of Games", "The Ins and Outs of Peg Solitaire" or "Endgame Magic".
As far as chess problems are concerned, on the one hand, he held for years an endgame studies column in French magazine "diagrammes" and he also edited by himself an endgame magazine "British Endgame Study News" (BESN), of which all issues can be downloaded from his website. He wrote an excellent book about Artur Mandler's studies, "Depth and Beauty" and another, more recent one about the endgame studies of Richard Réti.
On the other hand, he was also interested in fairy chess variants and fairy problems. He was one of the editors of the Chess Variants magazine, of which all issues can be downloaded from George P. Jelliss' website. He also wrote "51 Flights of Chess Fancy", a booklet about Progressive Chess and works about Losing Chess endgames.
He usually composed well-pointed studies or problems. The following selfmate is rather not typical of him:
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John is also the inventor of the fairy condition called "Optional Replacement Chess", in which (to simplify) a captured unit may be reborn immediately on any free square of the board.
How to exchange the positions of the white King and Queen, in 4 moves?
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Ferdinand Schindler (15-02-1864 - 24-04-1940) Czech composer
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Anatolijs Kurjatņikovs (15-02-1942) Latvian composer
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Luigi Mai (15-02-1903 - 16-10-1970) Italian composer
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Михаил Герцович Кляцкин (15-02-1897 - 14-04-1926) Russian composer (Mikhail Gertsovich Klyatskin)
Mikhail Klyatskin [шахматистам.рф] |
Mikhail Klyatskin was a talented endgame studies composer and o.t.b. player.
Some details on Wikipedia: here and here.
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Guido Cristoffanini passed away on May 22 1980. He founded "Il Problema" in 1931 and his name is linked to the Cristoffanini Theme (which, in turn, is linked to Costachel Theme - on this topic, Constantin Gavrilov's article "Errare Humanum Est" in Revista Romana de Sah 8/1936 is quite a read, by the way!)
ReplyDeleteJohn Beasley also invented "Fuddled men", an interesting fairy condition - temporary 1-move paralysis of a unit that just moved, an idea with potential which has not been used much.
ReplyDeleteWednesday, February 15, 2012
February 15th
Daniel Papack (15-02-1957) German composer
Daniel Papack was an International Master in May 2020 when he withdrew his problems from all sections of the FIDE ALBUM 2016-2018 and requested that his name be removed from the list of title-holders.
Many problems by Daniel Papack could be quoted. Let's just choose one with a rare combination of themes:
Papack, Daniel
Hlas ľudu, 1995
1st Prize
#2 11 + 7
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Guido Cristoffanini (15-02-1908 - 22-05-1980) Italian composer
Guido Cristoffanini
[Les Cahiers de l'échiquier français, Janvier 1934]
Guido Cristoffanini founded the magazine "Il Problema" in 1931 and his name is linked to the Cristoffanini Theme (thank you Cornel!). On the topic of the Cristoffanini theme, one can read an interesting webpage by Alan Doris Battiston & Riccardo A. Franceschini.
Cristoffanini, Guido
De Problemist, 1931
3rd Prize
#2 6 + 9
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Cristoffanini, Guido
L'Echiquier, 1928
1st Prize
#2 9 + 13
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John Derek Beasley passed away on 3 March 2024