March 28th

Pēteris Ķeirāns (28-03-1886 - 18-10-1947) Latvian composer

Pēteris Ķeirāns mostly composed two- and threemovers.
The Ķeirāns theme is a threemover theme: the second white move gives a flight on a diagonal field and there must be at least 4 variations (star flight of the bK).

Ķeirāns, Pēteris
Die Schwalbe, 1934

#3

13 + 8

Show Solution

1.Bf2! ZZ

1...f6 2.Sde7 Kxf4 3.Sg6#
1...gxf4 2.Sf6 (3.Sxd7#) Kxf6 3.Bd4#
1...gxh4 (b3, bxa3) 2.Bxh4 (Be1) Kd4 3.Bf6 (Bc3)#
1...Bb8 2.Scxb6 Kxd6 3.Sc4#

Ķeirāns theme.

An interesting threemover:

Ķeirāns, Pēteris
Lettisches Turnier, 1930
1^st Prize

#3

6 + 12

Show Solution

1.Kb7-b8 ! (2.Qc6*d5+ Bf3*d5 3.Se3*g4#)

1...Sh1-f2 2.Qc6-b7 (3.Qb7-g7#) 2...Sf2-e4 3.Qb7*d5#
1...Sa2-c3 2.Kb8-c7 (3.Qc6*d6#) 2...Sc3-e4 3.Qc6*d5#

Thomas Taverner (28-03-1856 - 06-06-1928) British composer

Thomas Taverner was a direct mate composer. He wrote "Chess problems made easy: how to solve, how to compose" in 1924. Gary Kevin Ware quotes Taverner's book on his introduction about the composition of chess problems. The book can be downloaded from here.
Taverner is famous for his Organ Pipes twomover (1st Prize, Dubuque Chess Journal 1889) quoted on the Wikipedia webpage about chess problems. Most of Taverner's problems are highly quotable. Let's admire a 19th century classic:

Taverner, Thomas
Yenowine's News, 1889
1^st Prize

#2

10 + 6

Show Solution

1.Rh4! ZZ

1...dxe6 2.Ke2#
1...c5 2.Kf2#
1...d6 2.Kg3#
1...Sc4 2.Kg4#
1...S else 2.c4#
1...Bb4 2.Sxb4#
1...Bc3 2.Sxc3#
1...Bxd2 2.Qxd2#
1...f5 2.Qe5#

"Four times the white king shuts off one of his officers following a selfblock." (Michael McDowell, The Problemist, January 2008).

Sven Ture Ceder (28-03-1904 - 02-06-1989) Swedish composer

Sven Ceder
‎‎"Problem", September 1969
[Thanks to Александр Никитин]

Sven Ture Ceder was an excellent composer, who won many prizes. If you want to know what you can do with two bSs halfpinned, just have a look at this one:

Ceder, Sven Ture
Schackvärlden, 1938
1^st Prize

#2

9 + 8

Show Solution

1.Qc8! (2.Qg8#)

1...Qxb8/Qc6 2.Qc6#
1...Sd6 2.Rd1#
1...Sc5 2.Qf5#
1...Se5 2.b6#
1...Sd4 2.Qd7#

Halfpin, self pinning.

Борис Андреевич Сахаров (28-03-1914 - 12-04-1973) Russian composer (Boris Andreyevich Sakharov)

Boris Sakharov
‎[Thanks to Александр Никитин]

Boris Sakharov composed many endgames, most of them joint with yesterday's featured composed Anatoly Kuznetsov.

Амиров, Талип Хасанович & Сахаров, Борис Андреевич
Червоний гірник 1964
1^st Prize

#3

8 + 8

Show Solution

1.Ka6-b5 ! (2.Kb5xc5 [3.Bc3-d4#])

1...Bb1-d3 2.Bc3-d2+ Ke3-d4 3.Sg1-f3#
1...Bb1-c2 2.Rd1-e1+ Ke3-d3 3.Rf4-f3#
1...Bb1-a2 2.Rf4xe4+ Ke3-f2 3.Re4-e2#
1...Sh1-f2 2.Rf4-f3+ e4xf3 3.Rd1-e1#

Manfred Mündel (28-03-1938) German composer

Manfred Mündel is present in today selection for a nice h#2 which is not at all easy to solve:

Mündel, Manfred
2^nd International Team Match, 1967 (G18)
18^th Place, 1967-1970

h#2*

6 + 7

Show Solution

Set play:
1...Ba2-b1 2.c4-c3 Bb1-a2#
Actual play:
1.Rd6-f6 Se5*c4 2.Rf6-d6 + Sc4-e5 #
Two white switchbacks.

Эдуард Александрович Зарубин (28-03-1940) Russian composer (Eduard Aleksandrovich Zarubin)

Zarubin is an excellent helpmate composer, particularly when working together with Viktor Abrosimov. Try to solve the below twomover: which is the correct Novotny key? A difficult problem!

Зарубин, Эдуард Александрович
64 — Шахматное обозрение 1985 (17/53)
1^st Prize

#2 v

8 + 12

Show Solution

1. Qe5? (2. Sd5, Rb1#)

1... Rxe5 2. Rb1#
1... Bxe5 2. Sd5#
1... f6 2. Qc3#
1... f5 2. Qc5#
But 1... Qg1!

1. Se5! (2. Sd5, Rb1#)

1... Rxe5 2. Rb1#
1... Bxe5 2. Sd5#
1... f6 2. Sc6#
1... f5 2. Sxd3#
1... Sd4 2. Qxd4#

Novotny and changed mates.