July 24th

Edward Dunsany (24-07-1878 - 25-10-1957) Irish writer and composer

Edward Dunsany
[Wikipedia]

Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany was a famous fantasy writer who inspired H.P. Lovecraft or J.R.R. Tolkien, but he was also a chess player and chess composer interested in retro problems.
He invented a fairy variant called Dunsany's Chess.

Dunsany, Edward
The Week-End Problems Book, 1932

#4

8 + 16

This problem is not what it seems...
Show Solution

The position of bKd8 and bQe8 implies that the board must be rotated by 180 degrees!
The solution is then: 1. Sc6 ! Sf3 2. Sb4 Se5 3. Qxe5 4. Sd3#

May 15th

Pierre Auguste d'Orville (15-05-1804 - 11-11-1864) German composer

Pierre Auguste (or Peter August) d'Orville was German and lived in Antwerp. He may have been the first composer in the world, with Horatio Bolton, to intentionally look for nice and light positions and to avoid the then fashionable equal forces between both sides.

D'Orville wrote in 1842 "PROBLÈMES d'ÉCHECS composés et dédiés aux amateurs de ce jeu".
"Some problems by Auguste d'Orville" is a charming booklet written by John D.Beasley, who offers the 2nd reviewed edition for download on the Internet:

• D'Orville 1st part
• D'Orville 2nd part
• D'Orville 3rd part
• D'Orville 4th part

(covers can be found on this page).

This looks like the typical endgame K+B+S vs K, but the black King is in the wrong corner and White has the d-pawn. Can this pawn be enough to mate in 6?

D'Orville, Pierre Auguste
Problèmes d'Échecs, 1842 (163)

#6

4 + 1

Show Solution

1.Sb2-c4+ !
1...Ka3-a4 2.Bb1-e4 Ka4-b5 3.Be4-b7 Kb5-c5 4.d2-d3 ! ZZ (The decisive tempo)
4...Kc5-b5 5.d3-d4 Kb5-a4 6.Bb7-c6#