Chess Composers: December 27th

Frank W. Martindale (27-12-1854 – 27-10-1909) American composer

Frank W. Martindale
[Chess problems, HathiTrust Digital Library]

Frank Martindale learnt the rules of chess at 17 and the next year already published a book including 100 of his problems ("Chess Problems", O.A.Brownson, Dubuque Chess Journal, 1872).

Martindale, Frank W.
Maryland Chess Review, 1874

6 + 4

Show Solution

Gustav von Broecker (27-12-1854 - 1910) German composer

Gustav von Broecker composed selfmates and direct mates.
His most famous problem and a few others were mentioned on Mat Plus forum
It uses what was later called the Broecker schema and was in fact first discovered by Ivan Kos, as mentioned here earlier this month.

The Broecker Schema:

Von Broecker, Gustav
London Chess Fortnightly, 1892

s#9

6 + 4

Show Solution
A Broecker threemover:

Von Broecker, Gustav
The British Chess Magazine, 1891
Special Prize

9 + 7

Show Solution

Олег Петрович Мазур (27-12-1936) Russian composer (Oleg Petrovich Mazur)

Oleg Mazur composes endgame studies.

Мазур, Олег Петрович
Gagarin MT, 1981
5^th Prize

3 + 6

Show Solution

Михаил Николаевич Клинков (27-12-1934) Ukrainian composer (Mikhail Nikolayevich Klinkov)

Mikhail Klinkov composes in all genres.

Клинков, Михаил Николаевич
Revista Română de Şah, 1981
3^rd Honorable Mention

5 + 4

Show Solution

Александр Аврамович Кисляк (27-12-1938 - 05-05-2010) Ukrainian composer and International Master (Alexandr Avramovich Kislyak)

Alexandr Kislyak was a retro composer.
In 1998 he published the book "On the Tracks of Chess Pieces" (Po Sledam Shakhmatnikh Figur). An electronic version of the book was made by Andrey Frolkin and Nikolay Beluhov and is available here.
Nikolay Beluhov and Andrey Frolkin also made available the electronic version of the paper about the Kislyak theme, also known as the pawn bypass theme (based on A. Kislyak's article published in die Schwalbe in the late 1980s).
Finally, his article "Black and White Allegro" was edited by Andrey Frolkin and translated by Nikolay Beluhov and can be read and downloaded from here.

Кисляк, Олександр Авраамович
Die Schwalbe, 1997
1^st-2^nd Prize

Add a missing unit on f8.
Release the position !

13 + 15

Show Solution

Allard Pieter Eerkes (27-12-1911 - 20-11-1993) Dutch composer

Allard P. Eerkes
[Die Schwalbe Fragebogen 1960 page 214]

Allard Pieter Eerkes composed around 800 problems, most of them two- or three-movers.

Eerkes, Allard Pieter
Die Schwalbe, 1953
1^st Prize

11 + 13

Show Solution

Ofer Comay (27-12-1957) Israeli composer and International Master

Ofer Comay (right!)
[Julia's Fairies]

Ofer Comay is a GM and twice World Champion in solving (1985, 1999).
He composes in all genres, focusing more recently on helpmates and fairies. He is also known for his theoretical contribution in endgame study theory and he is the author of one of the first chess problem solving program (CS) in the early 1980s.
He often composes with Paz Einat and they wrote about their partnership on Paz Einat's website, on the occasion of their Jubilee Tourney:

"[We] have met in their teens during some youth chess tourneys but have started their chess composition activity independently during these years. Our collaboration began in the World Chess Composition Congresses during the 1980’s. Although we sometimes compose together during “normal” times, this cannot be compared to the intensity during the congresses, especially when our good friend Gady Costeff is around to supply beer and ideas. Thus, this Jubilee Tourney also marks around 25 years of collaboration."

Comay, Ofer
Themes 64 (3784) 1981
3^rd Prize