FIDE Album 1995-1997 - part 1

The long awaited Album is finally beeing sold by bernd ellinghoven. I returned home from holidays just in time to get it from Peter Gvozdjak, who was leaving for congress in Greece. In this and in in a few following files I am going to put down my first impressions from the Album.

There are forewords by Denis Blondel, bernd ellinghoven and John Rice explaining the delay in publication, new organisation of pure text page (there are fewer as a response to critics regarding previous Albums) and numerous thanks. Everyone is aware of the fact that such a huge amount of work cannot be completely error free, and everyone involved surely tried to work as precisely as possible. Thus it must be only general effect that I perceived 2 mistakes within 10 minutes of looking into the Album:

diagram with checked king in problem G15 is surely wrong
themes indicated in problems G155, G156 and G157 are wrong

Nevertheless, generally speaking, I like the Album. It has 602 pages and contains 1153 problems. that were selected from among 7637 submitted. The comparison with the previous Album is very interesting. Almost in all sections the number of problems is similar, the number of threemovers is, however, doubled.

Personally, I was successful. While only one my problem entered the previous Album, or more precisely by the half of my problem, joint #2 with Hans Peter Rehm, 6,5 my problems found the place in the present Album. I have submitted about 30 problems, although now, after some years, I would submit just about a half of them as I understand that the rest had no chance. So, which problems had the chance in my opinion?

#2 with Hans Peter Rehm and with princess lion - 9 points = 3+3+3 - in fact this problem was composed together with our another joint that entered the previous Album - this later problem competed in the very same TT harmonie as older one, but got nothing as was not so thematical.
h#2 in Patrol chess with active pin and double check mate - did not enter the Album despite very new idea that cannot be shown in orthodox form.
semi-r#2 in Republican chess - 8,5 points = 3+3+2,5 - entered the Album despite no distinction in the primary Die Schwalbe tourney! I DO NOT blame original judge as I have many times expressed my opinion that judging is a good deal a matter of personal taste, chess composition simply isn't exact science or measurable sport, it is more like art in this respect (see e.g. my reflections about judging). Anyway, see other problems from the Die Schwalbe 1996 placed in the Album below.
#2 from Lehen 70 JT - 8 points = 2+3+3 - entered the Album just like all 4 highest Prizes from the tourney!
semi-r#2 in Republican chess with Michal Dragoun - not in the Album although in my opinion it is in some respect even more interesting than semi-r#2 from Die Schwalbe.
#2 in Patrol chess showing foud-fold Kiss cycle - 9,5 points = 3+2,5+4 - my the only 4 points (given by Waldemar Tura), for me this fairy #2 was the candidate for the highest points sum, however there was one with more points. It has everything - unified strategy, formal new-strategical theme (4-fold Kiss cycle) and correspondence of defending and mating pieces.
hs#3 - not in the Album despite good strategy, even better than in many helpmates, but well, that's the way a life goes...
h#2 with spiralspringer - not in the Album despite ita quite new idea too, reciprocal batteries without moving thematical pieces, but the rest was not particularly interesting.
h#2 with orphans that got the 1st Prize from Brown JT - 8,5 points = 3+2+3,5 - the 2nd Prize from the same tourney got 9 points by the Album judges.
r#2 with Charles C. Frankiss & Mark Ridley Madrasi RI, Circe RI with White correction - not in the Album, it was perhaps too fairy and moa-riders were just technical pieces.
#2 in Patrol chess with lions showing synthesis of Kiss cycle and le Grand - 10 points = 3,5+3+3,5 - the highest mark that my problem got ensured its placement in the list of problems with 12-10 points.
h#3 with grasshoppers, 2nd Prize from Bunka 60 JT - 8,5 points = 3+3+2,5 - cycle of white moves in h#3 is slightly outworn, but the rest of problem is quite well unified, however I am not sure whether the orthodox h#3 with similar content would enter Album!?
h#3 with grasshoppers, 2nd HM from Bunka 60 JT - not in the Album although for me it is better than the previous problem.

More impressions in following files, if you have any of your own, send them to me, I can publish them at one place.

Now let's look at a few problems mentioned above which competed in the same primary tourneys as mine...

Christian Poisson Jacques Rotenberg 5th HM Die Schwalbe 1996	1.Sh8? zz 1...Ra4 2.Ka3# 1...a4! 1.Se7! th. 2.Sd5# 1...S~ 2.Rcc1# - battery R-p 1...Sxd3(Sg8)! 2.d3# - battery p-B 1...Se3 2.Bf2# - battery B-K 1...Sxb3(Sg8)! 2.Kc1# - battery K-Q 1...Rxb3(Ra8) 2.Ka3# - battery K-Q 1...Bxb3(Bc8) 2.Qa2# - battery Q-R Fivefold cycle of white batteries! There is also incorporated black correction, but the problem would be interesting enough without it as well. Note also there are 3 defences to the same sqaure b3.

#2 (11+8) Anticirce type Cheylan

Petko A. Petkov 3rd HM Die Schwalbe 1996	1.PAe5 LEg4 2.PAe3 VAcd4# 1.Se5 LEg7 2.Sc4 PAfd4# 1.Ba5 LEa7 2.Bc3 VAfd4# Well known scheme of antibattery mates by three linemovers (see e.g. h#2 by Franz Pachl) is skillfuly transformed to be used with Chinese pieces. Black piece opens line for white leo and runs to block square while White arranged everything for final move with direct and indirect antibattery.

h#2 (8+7) 2+1 pao, 2+0 vao, 1+0 leo 3.1.1.1

Petko A. Petkov dedicated to b. ellinghoven & H.P. Rehm 2nd Prize Die Schwalbe 1996	1.VAg4! th. 2.c8VA+ Kxe8 3.VAb7+ Kd7 4.VAxe4+ Ke6 5.VAef5+ VAxg4# 1...e3 2.c8PA+ Kxe8 3.PAc7+ Kd7 4.PAc4+ Ke6 5.PAe4+ VAxe4# 1...LEe2 2.c8LE+ Kxe8 3.LEc7+ Kd7 4.LEa5+ Ke6 5.LExa2+ VAb3# Very unified strategy of the threat and two variations. They all include fairy promotion, creation and firing of batteries as well as understandable mechanism of creating flights for bK. White exploits black Chinese battery on the first rank.

s#5 (10+13) 1+1 pao, 1+2 vao, 0+1 leo

Klaus Wenda Heinrich Bernleitner 1st Prize Die Schwalbe 1996	1.Rc1! d6 2.Rxc5(Sb8)+ dxc5(Ra1) 3.Rc1 S~ 4.Rxc5(pc7)+ Sxc5(Ra1) 5.0-0-0 cxb6(pb2) 6.Se6+ Kxe6(Sb1) 7.Qb3+ Sxb3# The fight for castling in the very Circe setting. White rooks has to return to a1 twice before it can finally castle. I like very much the detail that any move of bS (in 3rd move) aims him to c5.

s#7 (9+4) Circe

Marcel Tribowski 2nd Prize Brown 50 JT C 19.11.1996 - B	1.bxc1Q e8Q 2.Oxa3 Qb5# 1.bxc1R e8R 2.Rh1 Rxe5# 1.bxc1B e8B 2.Oc3 Bc6# 1.bxc1S e8S 2.O2e4 Sc7# Fairy Babson with various effects motivating promotions. It is necessary to take care of flights e6, c5, e4 and if is is done, then also of black orphans guarding the mate.

h#2 (9+16) 5+8 orphan 4.1.1.1

Václav Kotesovec 3rd-4th Prize e.a. Lehen 70 C 31.12.1995	1.Qa4+? A, 1...Bc4 2.Qxc4#, 1...d1Q! a 1.Sc3+? B, 1...Kf4 2.Bg5#, 1...d1S! b 1.Rd4+? C, 1...Kxd4 2.Gbxe6#, 1...d1R! c 1.Gb1+? D, 1...Kf4 2.Bg5#, 1...d1G! d 1.Bf3+? E, 1...Kf4 2.Bg5#, 1...d1B! e 1.Gh2! th. 2.Gc2# 1...d1Q a 2.Sc3# B 1...d1S b 2.Rd4# C 1...d1R c 2.Gb1# D 1...d1G+ d 2.Bf3# E 1...d1B e 2.Qa4# A 1...Rg2 2.Bxg2# Checking tries are refuted by Black promotions. That's why White in solution waits for Black to make his mind and then mates. However, there is a witty prevention of all possible mates except one.

#2 (16+8) Madrasi 4+2 grasshopper

Juraj Brabec 1st-2nd Prize e.a. Lehen 70 C 31.12.1995	1.DRf7? th. 2.Sg5# 1...Sc7 a 2.DRf3# A 1...e5 b 2.ARf3# B 1...Sd5 c 2.Nf3# C 1...Gf5! d 1.ARb7? th. 2.Sg5# 1...Sc7 a 2.ARf3# B 1...e5 b 2.DRf3# A 1...Sd5! c 1...Gf5 d 2.Nf3# C 1.Nd7! th. 2.Sg5# 1...Sc7 a 2.Nf3# C 1...e5 b 2.Nf6# D 1...Sd5 c 2.DRf3# A 1...Gf5 d 2.ARf3# B Quite complicated probem based on well known carousel scheme, but incorporating a few complicating innovations. Any key to 7th rank causes mutual paralysis of PAa7-PAg7 and thus threats Sg5#. Defence 1...Sc7 unparalyzes paos in anticipation, but also duo of leos, thus White has well guarded 5th rank by LEa5. The mate by key piece follows. Defences to 5th rank all block their arrival squares and thus already mentioned antibattery mechanism with 3 squares is activated - see e.g. its basic form in #2 by Petko A. Petkov. Finally, in the solution there is one additional mate using antibattery unguarding - 1...e5 2.Nf6#. All in all, a bit too fairy, but understandable and richly motivated.

#2 (10+11) Madrasi, 1+2 pao (a7) 1+2 grasshopper (g2), leo a5 - d8 nightrider g1, alfilrider h1 - b6, dabbabarider f1

Comments to Juraj Lörinc.
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