May 31st

Michael Keller (31-05-1949) German composer and Grandmaster

Michael Keller, Martin Wessels and Thorsten Zirkwitz, 2000
[Photo by Günter Büsing]

Michael Keller
[Echesspedia [broken link] ]

Michael Keller is specialized in two- and threemovers.

The Keller paradox is a direct mover theme that requests that "White moves to a square just controlled (or controlled again) by Black."
In 1994 Friedrich Chlubna wrote the collection "Michael Keller. Ein Meister der Schachkomposition" comprising 279 problems by Keller.

On Wikipedia you may see an excellent and strategically very rich threemover of his. Of course Michael Keller composed many beautiful problems, but here is a typical one:

Keller, Michael
Schach-Aktiv, 1999

#3

12 + 12

Show Solution

1.Bxf7 ! (2.Se6+ Sxe6 3.Qe4#)
1...Sf4 (guards d3) 2.Qxd3+! Kxe5, Sxd3 3.Sd7, Sf5#
1...Sf6 (guards d7) 2.Qd7+! Kxe5, Sxd7 3.Sxd3, Sf5#
Keller paradox.

Michael Grushko (31-05-1955) Ukrainian-Israeli composer

Semion Shifrin and Michael Grushko

Michael Grushko composes in all genres but mostly fairy problems and especially miniatures or Wenigsteiner with neutral pieces and several fairy conditions.
You may read here a short portrait of him made by Leonid Lubashevsky on "Kozatska Shakhivnytsia".

Grushko, Michael
Mat Plus, 2007 (25/642)
2^nd Prize

hs#5.5

ChameleonChess Maximummer ParrainCirce h3, h2: Neutral Pawn b) nPh2->g2

1 + + 2

In ChameleonChess, all pieces are Chameleons.

Show Solution

a) 1...h1=CA(S)n 2.Kf3 CAng3(B) 3.CAnd6(R) CAnd1(Q)+ 4.Kg3 CAnd8(S) 5.Kxh3 CAnc6(B)(CA(R)ng1) 6.Kh2 CAnh1(R)#
b) 1...hxg2 2.Kd5(f3) fxg2 3.Kc5(f2) g1=CA(B)n 4.Kc6 fxg1=CA(B)n 5.Kc7(CA(B)ng2) CAna7(R)+ 6.Kb8 CAna8(R)#
Chameleon echo mates in opposite corners.

Валерий В. Гуров (31-05-1967) Russian composer and Grandmaster (Valery Gurov)

Andrey Selivanov and Valery Gurov, 2008
[selivanov.world]

Valery Gurov is a well-known composer, involved in composing, judging and organizing chess problem tourneys. He is the helpmate editor of Uralski Problemist.
He composes mostly helpmates, but also fairy problems. First an example of helpmate:

Гуров, Валерий В.
Buletin Problemistic, 2000

h#2

8 + 11

Show Solution

1.dxc5 Rd6 2.Kxd4 Bxc5#
1.dxe6 Qc6 2.Kxe4 Rxe6#
Pinning, pin mates, annihilation of white units, exchange of functions between two pairs of white units.

And one example of fairy problem:

Гуров, Валерий В.
Feenschach, 1999

h#2

Madrasi b)bKh1->a4

4 + 9

Show Solution

a) 1.Qh6-f6 Rf4xf3 2.Rf8-f7 Rf3xf6#
b) 1.Qh6-e6 Bd5xc4 2.Bg8-f7 Bc4xe6#
Very nice Madrasi strategy: two initially paralyzed black and white units are unparalyzed by the black Queen, White creates a reciprocal B-R battery and the created white battery fires with a final Madrasi effect.

Сергій Ігорович Дидух (31-05-1976) Ukrainian composer and FIDE Master (Sergiy Igorovich Didukh)

Sergiy Didukh
[akobia]

Sergiy Didukh is a young talented composer whose endgame studies have already been remarked by judges. He was also noticed for his sense of humour and his articles in varied magazines (Mat Plus) or his column in The Problemist before Yochanan Afek came back.
Some of his studies are reproduced on jmrw.com and his blog here. Here the detailed solution of an excellent study of his, presented by Brian Stephenson.

Дидух, Сергій Ігорович
Humor Tourney EBUR, 2004
1^st Prize

=

6 + 11

Show Solution

1. Be6 ! dxe6 2. Bd6 !
{2. Bxc5? Qc3 3. Sd4 Qd3; 2. Rxh7+ Kg8 3. Bd6 Qc3}
2... Qc3 3. Sd4 ! Qxd4 4. Re5 !
{4. Be5? f3}
4... Qd3 !
{4... Qxe5 5. Bxe5 Rxe5 6. Rg8+ Kxg8}
5. Re4 Qc3 6. Rd4 Qc2 7. Rd3 Qb2 8. Rc3 Qb1 9. Rc2 Qa1 10. Rb2 Qxb2 11. Be5 Rxe5 12. Rg8+ Kxg8 stalemate
A funny staircase manoeuvre of the white Rook and black Queen and total sacrifice of white pieces in order to force the stalemate.

Ugo Lancia (31-05-1885 - 21-07-1960) Italian composer

Ugo Lancia
[Il Problema]

Ugo Lancia was a correspondence player, solver and chess composer.
He was a prolific composer and composed mostly two- and three-movers, as well as some helpmates.
More about him on Wikipedia.it.

Lancia, Ugo
L'Italia Scacchistica, 1917
1^st Prize

#3

11 + 8

Show Solution

1.♖d7! zugzwang
1...♔e6 2.♕e8+
2...♘×e8 3.♗g4# ; 2...♔f5 3.♗g4# ; 2...♔d5 3.♗f3#
1...♔c6 2.♕×b7+
2...♔b5 3.♗×a4# ; 2...♘×b7 3.♗×a4#
1...♔e4 2.♕e8+
2...♔d5 3.♗f3#; 2...♔f5 3.♗g4#; 2...♔d3 3.♕e3# ;2...♘×e8 3.♗c2#
1...♘×d7 2.♕g8+
2...♔e4 3.♗c2# ; 2...♘f7 3.♗f3#
1...♘c8 2.♕×b7+ ♔e6 3.♗g4#
1...♘×a8 2.♖×d6+ ♔e4 3.♗c2#
A good flight-giving key, sacrifices and echo mates.