Chess Composers: February 13th

C. C. Moore (13-02-1830 - ?) American composer

This author is quoted in American Chess-Nuts (1868), for instance:

Moore, C. C.
American Chess-Nuts, 1868 (3-moves / 623)

8 + 4

Charles William Benbow (13-02-1842 - 09-03-1908) New Zealander composer

Benbow is quoted in "English Chess Problems" (1876). He composed difficult problems, even for our days:

Benbow, Charles William
English Chess Problems, 1876

12 + 8

Show Solution

William Henry Lyons (13-02-1849 - 01-10-1932) American composer

W.H. Lyons composed, probably unknowingly, the problem that presents the precursor of the Lacny theme:

Lyons, William Henry
Bolton Football Field, 1897
1^st Prize

#2* v

10 + 7

Show Solution

Николай Иванович Максимов (13-02-1875 - 1921) Russian composer (Nikolay Ivanovich Maksimov)

Maksimov's style seems influenced by the British school and he did have some success. This problem deserves a glance, but the following is more elegant:

Максимов, Николай Иванович
Barmen Chess Club, 1905
3^rd Prize

7 + 5

Show Solution

G. Arnaud Comte de Savignac-Castelet (13-02-1894 - 13-02-1970) French composer

An unexpected author: the following twomover shows 2 changed mates with a surprising key.

Comte De Savignac-Castelet, G. Arnaud
Bulletin de la Fédération Française des Échecs, 1928
Special Prize

#2* vv...

11 + 11

Show Solution

Comte De Savignac-Castelet, G. Arnaud
L'Échiquier Marseillais, 1925
3^rd Prize

3 + 3

Show Solution

Joseph Goldschmidt (13-02-1897 - 31-01-1973) Israeli composer

Joseph Goldschmidt
[Thanks to Alain Pallier]

Goldschmidt was a prolific composer. His most famous work, selected in the FIDE Album, is the following:

Goldschmidt, Joseph
Weisberg-Memorial, 1950
Prize

#2*

9 + 12

Show Solution

Павел Ефимович Неунывако (13-02-1897 - 08.02.1940) Ukrainian composer (Pavel Efimovich Neunyvako)

Pavel Neunyvako
[Thanks to Александр Никитин]

Neunyvako worked for the Red Army. He was arrested in 1938, convicted and executed in 1940 and rehabilitated posthumously in 1963 (source).
Some of his problems were selected in the FIDE Album, among which the following twomover:

Неунывако, Павел Ефимович
Hamburger Volkszeitung, 1929
1^st Prize

#2*

9 + 10

Show Solution

Vojtech Katreniak (13-02-1907) Slovak composer

Composes occasionally.

Katreniak, Vojtech
Smena (Bratislava) 15^th Aug 1959 (14)
1^st Honorable Mention

5 + 8

Show Solution

Artur Mayer (13-02-1916 - 16-01-1996) German composer

Artur Mayer
[Die Schwalbe Fragebogen 1960 page 106]

What a long career ! Artur Mayer composed in 1931 (!) a problem in collaboration with T.R. Dawson. 63 years later, he published the following moremover:

Mayer, Artur
Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, 1994

6 + 4

Show Solution

Zdeněk Meergans (13-02-1920 - 06-03-2012) Czech composer

Meergans is famous for his long helpmates, for instance this one:

Meergans, Zdeněk
Schach, 1983
1^st Prize

h#5

3.1.1...

2 + 10

Show Solution

Helga Hagedorn (13-02-1921 - 14-03-2007) German composer

Helga Hagedorn composed very rarely and usually in collaboration with Sorokin. She also translated Botvinnik's Memoirs into German (Thank you Dr. Dowd!)

Залокоцький, Роман Федорович & Hagedorn, Helga & Сорокин, Евгений Павлович
Canadian Chess Chat, 1981

12 + 6

Show Solution

Michael Lipton (13-02-1937 - 01-04-2023) British composer and International Master

Michael Lipton
[Source: M. McDowell]

Michael Lipton is another living legend of British chess composition, together with Barry Barnes and John Rice.
According to Michael McDowell's words on MatPlus Forum:

"Michael's first problems were published in 1951, and he gained the International Master of Composition title in 1976. He was a frequent contributor to The Problemist and served as BCPS President from 1999 to 2001. His complete output up to 2021 can be downloaded from the BCPS website. Away from chess Michael had a distinguished career as an economist."

There is ample choice for selection in his problems, so let's start with one twomover that did not make it into the FIDE Album, although it was a ground-breaking work:

Lipton, Michael
problem (Zagreb) 1960 (1539)
Comm.

11 + 9

Show Solution

Lipton, Michael
British Chess Problem Society, 1955
1^st Prize

10 + 8

Show Solution

Lipton, Michael & Rice, John Michael
StrateGems, 2000
1^st Prize

12 + 9

Show Solution

Andris Voldemarovich Virtmanis (13-02-1945) Latvian composer

Andris Virtmanis
Problem, May 1979
[Thanks to Александр Никитин]

Virtmanis mostly composes orthodox problems.

Virtmanis, Andris
Šachové umění 1983
1^st HM

7 + 6

Show Solution

Nicolae Micu (13-02-1939) Romanian composer and FIDE Master

Nicolae Micu is an endgame studies composer who sometimes ventured into the helpmate field. One of his most famous works was elected Study of the Year 1989:

Micu, Nicolae
Shakhmaty v SSSR, 1989
2^nd/3^rd Prize