Chess Composers: Nestorescu

Showing posts with label Nestorescu. Show all posts

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Changed mates after same defenses in three-movers

Changed mates have been considered one of the most exquisite artistic expressions in two-movers. The reader may find an excellent presentation of two-movers with changed mates in this OzProblem article by Peter Wong: Zagoruiko.

Naturally, chess composers tried to express this idea in longer problems as well. The first successful rendering of the idea dates back in the 19^th century, when Stanislav Trčala published the following composition:

Trčala, Stanislav
Zlatá Praha 1897

9 + 7

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Here there are even three changed mates after Black defenses 1… Ke5 and 1… Kc5.
Of course, White continuations are checking and some mates are model, according to Bohemian school principles.
A slight blemish is the triple mate in the threat, although the quiet second move is highly enjoyable.

May 22nd

Emilian Dobrescu (22-05-1933) Romanian composer and Grandmaster

Emilian Dobrescu, 2008
[ionivan.ro]

Emilian Dobrescu was the first Romanian Grandmaster in 1989. He is a composer of twomovers and endgame studies, who became famous for his Q vs R+B analytical studies.
About his career as an economist you may read this article.

Emilian Dobrescu is co-author (with Virgil Nestorescu) of "Compoziţia şahistă în România" (Chess composition in Romania, 1973) and "Studii de şah" (Chess studies, 1984). He has approached the chess study as a possible application of the principles of the Pareto optimality ("Chess Study as a Multi-Criteria System", EG No.123, Vol. VIII, 1997). His book "Chess Study Composition" (ARVES, 1999) was considered as “Book of the Year” by ARVES.

To see many of his studies, please browse through JMRW website.
Nowadays, Emilian Dobrescu no longer composes.

The following study can give an idea of his style:

Dobrescu, Emilian
Schweizerische Schachzeitung, 1979
Special Prize

5 + 5

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Emilian Dobrescu was also a very good twomover composer:

Dobrescu, Emilian
3^rd WCCT, 1986
1^st Place

#2 vvvv

7 + 12

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February 8th

Virgil Nestorescu (08-02-1929 - 21-06-2018) Romanian composer and Grand Master

Virgil Nestorescu, Bratislava 1993 [Wikipedia]

Virgil Nestorescu was, with his friend Emilian Dobrescu, Romania's leading composers and only Grand Masters in chess composition. He was less active for the last ten years due to health problems.
He wrote, alone or together with Emilian, several books about chess problems and studies. He is also an International Judge and was Romania's delegate at the PCCC in the 1990s. He composed in all genres, with a predilection for endgames and direct mates.

Nestorescu, Virgil
Szachista Polski, 1991 (90)
2^nd Prize