April 14th

Efim Dmitriyevich Bogolyubov (14-04-1889 - 18-06-1952) Russo-German player and composer (Ефим Дмитриевич Боголюбов)

Efim Bogolyubov as a young man
[Wikipedia]

Efim Bogolyubov was a player and Grandmaster who played two matches against Alexandre Alekhine for the world championship (here for details).
Towards the end of his life he seemed to believe that posterity would remember him for his chess problems rather than for his chess games, as recalled Emil Diemer. He composed direct mates and endgame studies, for instance this moremover or the following threemover:

Bogoljubow, Efim Dmitrijewitsch
Staunton-100 JT, 1951

#3

13 + 5

Show Solution

1.Qg2-b7 ! ZZ

1...c6 2.Qxd7+
1...Qc6 2.Rxc6! Ke4 3.Bg6#
1...Qe6 2.Rxe6! (3.Qe4/Qd5#) 2...c6 3.Sd6#
1...Qe8/Qe7 2.Qd5+ Qe5 3.Qxe5#
1...Qxd4 2.Sxd4+ Ke5 3.Qd5#
1...Qd6 2.Qe4+
1...Qd8 2.Qe4+ Kxe4 3.Bg6#
1...Qxf7+ 2.Kxf7 (3.Qd5#) c6 3.Sd6#

Rich play and nice stalemate avoidance variation 1...Qc6 2.Rxc6!

April 13th

Otto von Oppen (13-04-1783 - 13-04-1860) German composer

Otto von Oppen was the editor of the Deutsche Schachzeitung between 1849-1858 (as was Johann Berger between 1899-1916).

Von Oppen, Otto
Schachzeitung, 1848

#4

6 + 9

Show Solution

1.b7-b8=S + !
1...Re8xb8 2.Bd5-e6+ Kd7-c7 3.Qb5xb8+ Kc7xc6 4.Qb8-b6# or 2...Kd7-e8 3.Qb5xb8+ Sf7-d8 4.Qb8xd8# or 2...Kd7xe6 3.Qb5-f5+ Ke6xf5 4.Sc6-d4#
(1...Kd7-c7? 2.Qb5-b6+ Kc7-c8 3.Sc6-a7# or 1...Kd7-c8? 2.Sc6-a7+ Kc8-d8, Kc8-c7 3.Qb5-d7, Qb5-b6# are shorter).

April 12th

Kenneth Samuel Howard (12-04-1882 - 20-07-1972) American composer

[Thanks to Александр Никитин]

Kenneth Samuel Howard wrote several books about chess composition: "How to solve chess problems" (1945), "The enjoyment of chess problems" (1943) and "One hundred years of the American two-move chess problem; a collection of 212 compositions by United States problemists" (1962).

Howard, Kenneth Samuel
Magyar Sakkélet, Jun 1969 (3599)
3^rd Prize

#3

9 + 8

Show Solution

1.Rd6-g6 ! (2.Rg6-g5#)

1...Re1-e5 2.Sf1-e3+ Re5xe3 3.Rg6-g5#
1...Re1-e4 2.Rg6-g5+ Kf5-f4 3.Bb2-c1#
1...Bh2-f4 2.Sf1-g3+ Bf4xg3 3.Rg6-g5#
1...Qb8-g3 + 2.Sf1xg3+ Bh2xg3 3.Rg6-g5#
1...Qb8-f4/e5 2.Sc8-d6+ Qf4xd6 3.Rg6-g5#
1...Re8-e4/e5 2.Sc8-e7+ Re4xe7, Kf5-f4 3.Rg6-g5, Rg6-g4#

April 11th

Johann Nepomuk Berger (11-04-1845 - 17-10-1933) Austrian composer

Johann Berger
[Source: scan by M.McDowell]

Johann Berger was initiated to chess composition by J. Seeberger. He was interested in all fields of chess problems but preferred multimovers and studies. He can be considered as one of the founders of the German chess composition school. Chess players know him from the Sonneborn-Berger score system.
His book "Theorie und Praxis der Endspiele" (Theory and Practice of the Endgame, 1891) and was a reference work on endgames.
Helmut Roth wrote a book about him: "Der Schachkomponist. Johann Berger als Schachtheoretiker und Partiespieler" (1982).

The key of this threemover reminds of Giegold:

Berger, Johann Nepomuk
Frankfurter Zeitung, 1887

#3

7 + 5

Show Solution

1.Rf1 ! zugzwang
1...Kd4 2.Qd3+ Ke5 3.f4#
1...e5 2.Rb1 (3.Qd3/Qe4#)
1...Kxb5/Kb4 2.Rb1+ and 2...Ka6/Ka4 3.Qa8# or 2...Kc4 3.Qd3/Qe4# or 2...Ka5 3.Qa3/Qa8#
The wR's ambush is priceless.

April 10th

Александр Иосифович Гербстман / Alexander Herbstman (10-04-1900 - 22-05-1982) Russian-Swedish composer and International Master

Alexander Herbstman Problem, February 1968 [Thanks toАлександр Никитин]

Herbstman composed 350 studies during his long career and was among the 6 composers who were awarded the title of IM in composition in 1959 (with another endgame studies composer, André Chéron). He wrote ten books about chess studies and met many important Russian study composers of his time - the Kubbel brothers, V. Platov, N. Grigoriev and A. Troitzky. He recounted his relations with them in his article "Memories of famous composers" published in EG 65, 1981 which can be downloaded here.
His book "The Modern Chess Study" (1937, in Russian) can be downloaded here in .djvu format.

Herbstmann, Alexander
Schackvärlden, 1936
1^st-2^nd Prize

+

4 + 7

Show Solution

1. Rf8! Bf2+ 2. Kh5 Rxe7 3. Kh6 (4.Sxe7/Sf6#)
3...Rf7 4. Ra8 Ra7 5. Rb8! (5. Re8? Bb5! =)
5... Rb7 6. Rc8! Rc7 7. Rd8! Rd7 8. Re8! +-
The white Rook uses the black Rook as a shield against the possible attacks of the black Bishops.

April 9th

Ефим Наумович Рухлис (09-04-1925 - 05-02-2006) Ukrainian-Uzbek-Israeli composer and FIDE Master(Efim Naumovich Rukhlis)

Efim Rukhlis
[selivanov.ru]

International Judge and twomover composer, Efim Rukhlis revolutionized the twomovers in the 1960s with his theme, that involves at least two transferred mates and on the same black defences two changed mates.
He composed more than 300 Ideal-Rukhlis twomovers, according to Milan Velimirović in his article "Ideal Ruchlis - A comprehensive overview" in Mat Plus Review, 9-10. Spring-Summer 2009.

Let's see an example from 1946:

Рухлис, Ефим Наумович
Свердловский конкурс 1946
1^st-2^nd Prize

#2

9 + 9

Show Solution

Set play:

1...Bd4 2.Qe4#
1...Rd4 2.Sc3#

1.d4! (2.Sb6#)

1...Bxd4 2.Sf6#
1...Rxd4 2.Sb4#
1...Rd3 2.Qxe4#
1...Bd3 2.Sc3#
1...Sxd7 2.Qe6#

Grimshaw, Rukhlis

April 8th

Valerian Oniţiu (08-04-1872 - 31-12-1948) Romanian composer

Valerian Oniţiu [Revista Romana de Sah no.2/1949 page 54]

Valerian (Valeriu) Oniţiu was a complete composer who worked in all genres but composed more helpmates and selfmates. You can read his obituary in Romanian in Revista Romana de Sah no.2/1949 page 54 His most quoted problem is probably the following: Oniţiu, Valerian Die Schwalbe, May 1929 #6 f2: Grasshopper   2 + 3 Show Solution 1.g3! Gh4 2.g4 Gf4 3.g5 Gh6 4.g6 Gf6 5.g7 Gh8 6.gxh8=G# Excelsior and Grasshopper promotion. An interesting selfmate in 2 moves with multiple possibilities by the black Queen can be seen here, but we have selected another one, also based on zugzwang: Oniţiu, Valerian Magyar Sakk Lap, 1906 s#2 8 + 11 Show Solution 1.Qe2-f3 ! ZZ 1...Se5-g4/Se5-c4 2.Sg2-e3+ Sg4xe3# 1...Se5-d3/g6 2.Qf3xf4+ Sd3xf4# 1...Se5xf3 2.Sg2-h4+ Sf3xh4# 1...Se5xd7 2.Sc8-d6+ Re6xd6# 1...Se5-c6/Sd8-c6 2.Sc8-e7+ Sc6xe7# 1...Sd8-b7 2.Bd7xe6+ f7xe6# 1...Bh1xg2 2.Qf3-e4+ Bg2xe4#