November 20th

José Tolosa y Carreras (20-11-1846 - 28-04-1916) Spanish composer

José Tolosa y Carreras
[Wikipedia]

José Tolosa y Carreras was a chess player, composer and writer. He was a pupil of Joan Carbó i Batlle, and master of Josep Paluzie i Lucena and Valentí Marín i Llovet.

Tolosa Y Carreras, José
Tourney of Barcelona, 1913
Dedicated to Esteban Puig y Puig

#3

8 + 9

Show Solution

1.Qg7-f6 ! (2.f5xe6+ Kf4-g4 3.Ba8-f3#)

1...Bd4xe5 2.Qf6-h4+ Kf4xf5 3.Ba8-e4#
1...e6xf5 2.Qf6-h6+ Kf4-g4, Kf4xe5 3.f2-f3, f2-f4#

Echo mates.

Tolosa Y Carreras, José
La Stratégie, 1893
Dedicated to Ernest Bertrand

s#4

12 + 7

Show Solution

1.Be4-h1 ! ZZ

1...Qd4xc3 2.Rh3-e3+ Ke5-d4 3.Qb7-e4+ Kd4xc5 4.Qe4-b4+ Qc3xb4#
1...a6-a5 2.Qb7-g2 ZZ 2...Qd4xc3 3.Sc5xd7+ Ke5-d4 4.Qg2xb2 Ba1xb2/Qc3xb2#

White Bristol.

Otto Alfred Eberhard Weisert (20-11-1884 - ?) German composer

Otto Weisert
[Kartothek L-Z page 92]

Otto Weisert composed direct mates and selfmates.

Weisert, Otto
Deutsches Wochenschach, 1911

s#3

9 + 8

Show Solution

1.Re8-h8 ! ZZ Clearance
1...Rg7-g8 2.Rd8xb8+ Rg8xb8 Bristol
3.Rh8-c8 Bristol
3...Rb8xc8#

Weisert, Otto
Münchner Neueste Nachrichten, 1911

s#4

9 + 8

Show Solution

1.Qa7-e3 ! ZZ
1...c6-c5 2.Ra2-a8 ZZ 2...c5-c4 3.Qe3-a7 ZZ 3...c4-c3 4.Qa7-a2 Kg1xf2#
Brunner-Turton.

Villy Charles Esbjörn Nielsen (20-11-1906 - 15-12-1967) Danish composer

Villy Charles Esbjörn Nielsen must not be confounded with Vilhem Nielsen. Let's quote the same problem that had been initially (and wrongly) selected for Vilhem Nielsen:

Nielsen, Villy Charles Esbjørn
Arbejder-Skak, 1942
3^rd HM

#3

12 + 8

Show Solution

1.Rc6 ! (2.Bb4 ~ 3.Bd2#)

1...d5 2.c4 (3.cxd5#) 2...dxc4 3.Rxc4#
1...d6 2.Be2 ~ 3.Sd3#
1...dxe6 2.Bc4 ZZ 2...Kxc2+ 3.Bf1#
and 1...dxc6 2.Bb4 c5 3.Bd2#

Pickaninny theme.

Gabriel Authier (20-11-1922 - 22-09-1991) French composer

Gabriel Authier
[Problem 31-32 1955 page 286]

Gabriel Authier wrote with Tivadar Kardos and Roger Diot "275 problèmes d'échecs du genre mutate: en deux coups". He wrote a deep study of dual avoidance "L'antidual" in 1953. He edited the problem column of the magazine "L'Echiquier de France" from 1953 until 1956 and became its managing director.
He was also a SF writer ("La machine" in "Fiction" no.16 or "L'Eclipse" in "L'Echiquier de Paris" no.30/1950).
Gabriel Authier was an International Judge for twomovers.
He invented the fairy condition Bicolour chess.

Authier, Gabriel
L'Échiquier de Paris, 1949
1^st Prize

#4

7 + 6

Show Solution

1.Bg3-e1 ! (2.Be1xb4#)
1...Bc7-a5 2.Sc6-d8 (3.Sd8-b7#) 2...Rg6-b6 3.Be1-g3 ZZ and White mates at the next move by Bf2/Sc6/Sb7#.

Аркадий Маркович Плостак (20-11-1924) Russian composer (Arkady Markovich Plostak)

Arkady Plostak composes twomovers.

Плостак, Аркадий Маркович
Revista de Şah, 1962
3^rd Prize

#2 v

11 + 6

Show Solution

1.Qf1? (2.Be4#)

1...Rxd3+[a] 2.Bxd3#[A]
1...Rxg4+[b] 2.Bxg4#[B]
1...Bd1/Rd5 2.Rxe6#
but 1...Rf4!

1.Se5! (2.Sd7#)

1...Rxd3+[a] 2.Sxd3#[C]
1...Rxg4+[b] 2.Sxg4#[D]
1...Kxe5 2.Bg7#
1...Ba4 2.Rxe6#

Changed mates.

Іван Дмитрович Борисенко (20-11-1928) Ukrainian composer (Ivan Dmitryovich Borisenko)

Ivan Borisenko composes direct mates and helpmates, especially in collaboration with other Ukrainian composers.

Борисенко, Іван Дмитрович & Шевченко, Віталій Іванович
JT Janos Csak -60, 2009
4^th Prize

h#3

b) wPd3->bPd3

6 + 10

Show Solution

а) 1.Qe7-e8 Re5-e7 2.c4-c3 Re7xd7 3.Qe8-e3 Bd6-e7#
b) 1.Qe7-f8 Bd6-e7 2.d7-d5 Be7xf6 3.Qf8xc5 Re5-e7#
Battery creation in diagonal-orthogonal correspondence. Ambush by black Queen. Mixed-coloured Bristol.

Vane Bor alias Stevan Živadinović (20-11-1908 - 06-05-1993) Serbian composer

Vane Bor
[Wikipedia]

Stevan Živadinović was an artist active in the Surrealist movement and a chess composer.
His pseudonym as an artist in both fields was Vane Bor. You can find more details about him on Wikipedia or on this site about Serbian surrealists.

Бор, Ване
British Chess Federation 30th Tourney, 1939
3^rd HM

#4

6 + 11

Show Solution

1.♕h1! (2.♕c1+ ♗b2 3.♕×b2#)
1...♗b2 2.g3 (3.♕a8#)
2...♖f3 3.♕h8 (4.♕a8#)
3...♘e8 4.♕×b2#
Three corners by the white Queen after line openings and line closings.
Short variation 1...♗f4 2.g3 (3.♕a8#) 2...♗b8 3.♕c1#