August 6th

David Thurston Brock (06-08-1839 - 1918) American composer

David Brock composed direct mates.

Brock, David Thurston
The Literary Digest, 1903
2^nd Prize

#2 vv

10 + 8

Show Solution

1.Qa1? (2.Qd4#) but 1...bxc4!
1.Re3? ZZ but 1...fxe3!
1.Re1! ZZ
1...Kxc4/Bd6 2.Sb6#
1...bxc4 2.Qxf3#
1...b4/Bc5 2.Rc5#
1...Sg6~ / dxe1=~ 2.Sxf4#
1...Bb2/Bc1 2.Sb4#/Rc5#
1...Bb4 2.Sxb4#

Johan J. van den Ende (06-08-1902 - 09-07-2002) Dutch composer

J.J.van den Ende
[ARVES]

Johan van den Ende was an endgame studies composer. He composed about 350 and published 100. In 1982 was published the compilation of his studies "Geschift werk: een selectie uit door J.J. van den Ende samengestelde schaakstudies.".
He composed combinatory studies.

Van Den Ende, Johan J.
Geschift Werk, 1981 (37)

=

5 + 6

Show Solution

1. Rf4+
{1. Rxd5 ? Bxd5 2. Se2 Ra8 ! 3. Sc3 Bxb3 4. Bxb3 Ra3 -+ ; 1. Bc6 ? Rxd4 2. Bxf3 Rb4 -+ ; 1. Sd3 ? Rxd4 2. Sxd4 Be4 ! -+ ; 1. Se2 ? Ke5 !}
1... Rf5 2. Rxf5+
{2. Rxf3 ? Rxf3 3. Bc6 Rxb3 -+}
2... Kxf5 3. Sd4+ Kf4 4. Sxf3 Kxf3
{4... Rc8 5. Sd3+ ! Kxf3 6. Bc6+ ! Rxc6 7. Se5+}
5. Bc6+ Kg4 6. Bxb7 Rb8 ! 7. Be4 !
{7. Bh1 ? Rb1 8. Kg2 Rb2+}
7... Re8 8. Bh1 Re1+ 9. Kg2 Rxc1 stalemate
{9... Kh4 10. Sd3 is draw as well }

Wouter Jakob Gregorius Mees (06-08-1921 - 25-01-2018) Dutch composer

Wouter Mees, Rotterdam 1991
[Wikipedia]

Wouter Mees has been an International Judge since 1959. He composes problems and studies.
In BESN Special Number 7 you can read the article "Strip Cartoon" by Wouter Mees, originally published in Dutch in the December 1995 issue of the Dutch study magazine EBUR.

Mees, Wouter Jakob Gregorius
Schakend Nederland, 1962
1^st Prize

#2

11 + 10

Show Solution

1.Rb4! (2.Rxd5#)

1...Kxd6 2.Qb8#
1...gxf4/Sxf4 2.Sc4#
1...Se3/Sdf6/Sdc3/Sc7/Sxb4 2.Sg6#
1...Sf2/Sef6/Sxd2/Sec3 2.Sf7#
1...Sxd6 2.Sd3#

Black correction.

Mees, Wouter Jakob Gregorius
De Schaakwereld, 1940

\+

b) wPa3->a2

4 + 1

Show Solution

a) Thematic try: 1.Bc5? Kxc5 2.Sc7 Kc4 3.Kg2 Kb3 4.Sb5 Ka4 =
1.Bd6! Kxd6 2.Sb6 Kc5 3.Sa4+ Kc4 4.Sb2+ Kb3 5.a4 +-
b) Thematic try: 1.Bd6? Kxd6 2.Sb6 Kc5 3.Sa4+ Kb4 =
1.Bc5! Kxc5 2.Sc7 Kb4 3.Sd5+ Ka3 4.Sc3 +- (3...Kc4 4.Sf4 Kb4 5.Se2 Ka3 6.Sc1 +-)
Perfect thematic tries in the two twins of this little gem.
You can find this endgame study commented by John D. Beasley in BESN September 2005 pg. 310.

Marcel Doré (Dorembus) (06-08-1932) French composer

Marcel Doré

Marcel Doré is the pseudonym of Marcel Dorembus. He started composing in the 1950s with direct mates and helpmates but soon expressed a predilection for chess studies. He has composed about 60 problems and 50 endgame studies.
He is celebrating today his 80th birthday, on which occasion a composing tourney was organized (annnouncement here: director Jean-Marc Ricci; judge Alain Pallier) in two sections.

Here is one of his early successes:

Doré, Marcel
Sao Paolo Chess Club, 1955
3^rd Prize

\+

3 + 2

Show Solution

1.f6! Kg6 2.Ke5 and now two possibilities for Black:

2...Kf7 3.Kd5! Se6 4.Kc6! (4.Kd6? Sd4!) 4...Sd4+ 5.Kb6 Sf5! 6.Kc5! +-
2...Sc6+ 3.Ke6 Sd4+ 4.Kd5! Sb5 5.Kc5(6) Sa7 6.Kb6 Sc8+ 7.Kb7! Sd6+ 8.Kc6 Sc8 9.Kd7 Sa7 10.Ke6! +-

Сергій Іванович Ткаченко (06-08-1962) Ukrainian composer and FIDE Master (Sergyi Ivanovich Tkachenko)

Sergyi Ivanovich Tkachenko is the homonym of Sergyi Mikolayovich Tkachenko.
He composes mostly twomovers and threemovers, but also studies or helpmates.

Ткаченко, Сергій Іванович
Rossi-80 JT Best Problems, 2005
3^rd Commendation

+

5 + 5

Show Solution

1. Rg5+ Kh6 2. Bf8+ Rg7 3. Rxg7 h1=Q+ 4. Kb8
{4. Kxa7 ? Qa8+ 5. Kxa8 stalemate; hence the plan to force Black to capture wPh4, which frees bPh5}
4... Qh2+ 5. Kc8 Qh3+ 6. Kd8 Qxh4+ 7. Kc8 Qh3+ 8. Kb8 Qh2+ 9. Ka8 Qh1+ 10. Kxa7 +- because 10...Qa8+ 11.Kxa8 is no longer stalemate.

Ткаченко, Сергій Іванович
Die Schwalbe, 1997
3^rd Prize

#3

11 + 11

Show Solution

1.0-0-0 ! (2.Qc3-c5+ b6xc5 3.d4xc5#)
1...e4-e3 2.Qc3-e1 ~ 3.Qe1-h1#
1...c6-c5 2.Qc3-a1 ~ 3.Qa1-a8#
In these two variations, White benefits from the field clearance of the 1st move (the castle has anticipatorily freed both fields a1 and e1, so that the wQ can transit through them)
Secondary variation:
1...Sg7-e6 2.Qc3xc6+ Kd5xc6 3.d4-d5#

Thomas Maeder (06-08-1967) Swiss composer and FIDE Master

Thomas Maeder

Thomas Maeder is a complete composer (direct mates, helpmates, fairy problems). He is also an IT specialist involved in Popeye development and in the project and website "Composers Names In VariousAlphabets" whose data were used by YACPDB and by ourselves.

Thomas Maeder is also an excellent solver (IM) and an International Judge (helpmates and fairies), the Swiss delegate to the WFCC and a regular participant in solving competitions and composition congresses (WCCC, Andernach, Messigny, etc). He is the co-editor of the Swiss chess composition magazine "idee&form".

Maeder, Thomas
The Problemist, 1988
1^st-2^nd Prize

#2 vvv

11 + 13

Show Solution

Reciprocal interferences will be exploited during the problem: for Black on f7 between bRa7 and bBg8, on e3 between bRa3 and bBc1 and for White on e3 too, between wRe1 and wBg1.
1.Re3? (2.Qxf4#[B]/Sxf3#[A]) but 1...Rf7!
1.Be3? (2.Qxf4#[B]/Sxf3#[A]) but 1...Bf7!
In these two tries, White plays a different Novotny on e3, trying to exploit the interference of bRa3/bBc1, but Black exploits the interference of wBg1 by wRe3, respectively wRe1 by wBe3 and plays the self interference 1...Rf7, resp. 1...Bf7!
1.g5[E]! (2.Qf6#)
1...Re3[a] 2.Qxf4#[B]
1...Be3[b] 2.Sxf3#[A]
1...Rf7 2.Rxe6#
1...Bf7 2.Qg7#
Two pairs of variations showing the black Grimshaw.

Maeder, Thomas
diagrammes, 1992
1^st Prize

h#2

b) wSe4->bSe4

7 + 6

Show Solution

a) 1.Rg1-g6 Se4-d2+ 2.Kc4-d3 Rh5-h3#
b) 1.Rg1-g5 Be5-d4 2.Kc4-d5 Bh7-g8#
Anticipatory self-pin, self interference, pin mates.

Miroslav Brada (06-08-1975) Slovak composer

Miroslav Brada
[his blog]

Miroslav Brada composes direct mate problems, often with fairy conditions.
He invented some new fairy conditions: MAFF (mate on a free field) and OWU (mate with just one white unit). See details on Juraj Lörinc's site.

Brada, Miroslav
The Problemist, 1997
2^nd Prize

#2 v

7 + 6

Show Solution

1.Qd1[A]? (2.Qh5#[D])
1...Sc4[a] 2.Sxc4#[B]
1...Sxd1[b] 2.R4e5#[C]
(1...Sd3 2.Qb3#)
but 1...g2!
1.Sc4[B]! (2.Se3#)
1...Sxc4[a] 2.R4e5#[C]
1...Sd1[b] 2.Qxd1#[A]
Secondary variation: 1...Bg1 2.Qh5#[D]
Kiss theme, Barnes.
You can read on Miroslav Brada's blog his considerations about this problem.

Johannes Jacob Rietveld (06-08-1893 - 15-08-1968) Dutch composer and International Master

Johannes Rietveld composed direct mate problems, especially threemovers. He received the title of IM in composition in 2016.
He was also a painter.

Rietveld, Johannes Jacob
Skakbladet 1946
1^st Prize

#3

8 + 12

Show Solution

1.♘e4! (2.f4+ ♔d4 3.♕d8#)

1...♗×d3 2.♘c7 ~ 3.♕×g7#
1...♘×d3 2.♘b8 ~ 3.♘×c6#
1...c×d3 2.♗f8 ~ 3.♗×g7#
1...♔d4 2.♕d8+ ♔e5 3.♕d6#

4 quiet variations; the three captures on d3 are subtly differentiated.