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Sunday, February 19, 2012

February 19th

Francis Charles Collins (19-02-1843 - 29-07-1898) British composer

Francis C. Collins published in 1881 an anthology titled "A Selection of 107 Chess Problems".

Collins, Francis Charles
Collins: Selection of 107 Chess Problems, 1881 (104)


s#3 7 + 9
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W.B.H. Meiners (19-02-1862 - 14-08-1927) Dutch composer

Meiners was a good player (games against Steinitz, Atkins and others here) and received some chess composition prizes during his career. One of his most successful was this one:

Meiners, W. B. H.
Tijdschrift vd NSB, 1918
1st Prize


#2* 13 + 8
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The following problem incidentally achieves the theme named after another composer celebrated today:

Meiners, W. B. H.
Illustrated American, 1892
1st Prize


#2 11 + 9

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Niels Høeg (19-02-1876 - 12-01-1951) Danish composer 


Niels Høeg
[Problemskak.dk]




Niels Høeg
[Source:Задачи и этюды no.5, 1928]


Niels Høeg was an ophtalmologist who became world-famous among chess problemists when he published the first problem showing the Allumwandlung (4 promotions by the same pawn in 4 variations) in a direct mate. You can see it on YACPDB.

Later in his life Høeg abandoned orthodox problems and launched entirely new genres. He was one of the promoters of defensive retractor problems. In 1927 Høeg wrote the 20-page booklet "On Retraction Chess Problems", which contained 50 examples of the Defensive Retractor type Høeg, in which the passive part decides if a capture has taken place and which piece was captured. The precious Retro Corner offers useful definitions and illustrative examples about the two types of defensive retractors: Proca and Høeg.

An easy and classical Retractor, for beginners:

Høeg, Niels
Skakbladet, 1916


Last 3 single moves? 3 + 1
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Georg Fröhlich (19-02-1894 - 15-07-1976) German composer

Fröhlich, Georg
Richard-Büchner-Gedenkturnier, 1930
3rd Prize


#2 8 + 10
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Herbert Garn (19-02-1900 - 03-07-1981) German composer
Herbert Garn
[Kartothek A-K page 102]



An interesting problem for solvers:

Garn, Herbert
Caissa, 1948
1st Prize


#3 8 + 8
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Artūrs Ķeirāns (19-02-1911 - 02-05-1954) Latvian composer

Ķeirāns was a gifted composer too early departed.

Ķeirāns, Artūrs
Magazina, 1937
1st Prize


#3 7 + 12
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Давид Ионович Бронштейн (19-02-1924 -05-12-2006) Russian Grand Master and composer (David Bronstein) 

David Bronstein
[Wikipedia]

Bronstein was a famous Grand Master who came very close to becoming World Champion in 1951. He is famous for his successes on the board, but also for his books, for instance the one about the Zurich 1953 International Chess Tournament.

He composed the following miniature in collaboration with a Grand Master celebrated yesterday:

Бронштейн, Давид Ионович & Чепижный, Виктор Иванович
Гудок 1982


#2 5 + 6

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Tibor Baló (19-02-1936 - 02-11-1991) Romanian-Hungarian composer

Baló Tibor was an enthusiast problemist who lived in Cluj-Napoca. He was the first chess composer met by Vlaicu Crisan and with whom he collaborated. Baló did not have great successes, but he could compose elegantly:

Baló, Tibor
6440 Springaren 03/1989

h#4 3 + 4
2 solutions

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Артур Теодорович Гарцер (19-02-1937 - 31-12-1998) Russian composer (Artur Teodorovich Gartser)

Gartser seemed to enjoy composing problems with symbolic or figurative positions. Awards did not seem to follow, apart from the "B" position below:

Гарцер, Артур Теодорович
7349 Ideal-Mate Review 09-10/1995
Dedicated to György Bakcsi - Prize
h#3    b) Ga6, Gb6   2 + 8
G= Grasshopper
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Валентин Федорович Руденко (19-02-1938 - 02-04-2016) Ukrainian composer and Grand Master (Valentin Fedorovich Rudenko)


Valentin Rudenko is a world-famous composer considered by some as the best orthodox problem composer. He invented a theme and a paradox that bear his name :
"Rudenko Paradox: defense of a black piece consists in attack on the square from which a white piece delivers mate in the threat; in response to the defense this move by White becomes his 2nd move sacrifice on the attacked square."

He is also the author of one of the best chess problem composition book ever written "Presledovanije tiemy". He proposed the date of January 4th as International Day of Chess Composition. His problems reached space levels when his threemover of Suomen Shakki 1957, 1st prize, was aboard the mission SOYUZ 9 (it is now on display in a museum in Cheboksary - source Wikipedia.de).
Siegfried Hornecker published an article about Rudenko on Chessbase.

This is one of the best examples of the Rudenko paradox:

Руденко, Валентин Федорович
Chepizhni-50 JT, 1985
1st Prize


#3 12 + 10
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Rudenko has won an amazing number of prizes. We quote the following n-mover in collaboration with Ukrainian composers which obtained 12 points in the FIDE-Album:

Руденко, Валентин Федорович & Любашевський, Леонід Аврамович & Ткаченко, Сергій Іванович
5th WCCT, 1993
1st Place, 1993-1996


#4 7 + 8
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Arthur Christopher Reeves (19-02-1939 - 03-12-2012) British composer and International Master

Reeves was a talented composer who met success mostly in the twomover field. He has lately been interested in perpetuum mobile, in which the position after the key represents another problem (#2).
David Shire wrote an interesting obituary and homage for Mat Plus. It can be downloaded and read from here.

Reeves, Arthur Christopher
Observer, 1963
1st Prize


#2 11 + 6
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Анатолий Васильевич Слесаренко (19-02-1957) Russian composer and Grand Master (Anatoly Vasilevich Slesarenko)

Anatoly Slesarenko [Source]
Anatoly Slesarenko is a specialist of the modern twomover.

Слесаренко, Анатолий Васильевич
XIV командное первенство СССР 1990-92, 1992
1st Place


#2 v 7 + 11
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Слесаренко, Анатолий Васильевич
Шахматная композиция 2001
1st-2nd Prize


#2 vv 11 + 11
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Слесаренко, Анатолий Васильевич
FIDE World Cup, 2010
2nd Prize


#2 11 + 10
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Edwin Mira-Kraft (19-02-1962) German composer

Mira-Kraft has been noticed because of this superb h#3 before the notion of Helpmate Of The Future (HOTF) was invented by Chris. J. Feather:

Mira-Kraft, Edwin
414 Europa-Rochade 04/1986
1st Prize

h#3 3 + 15
5 solutions

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Ilkka Blom (19-02-1944) Finnish composer and programmer

Ilkka Blom in 2004 [ChessProgramming]

Ilkka Blom is the programmer of Alybadix.

Blom, Ilkka
Four men only 1982 (449)
After Balantine

#5 2 + 2
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