Other – WFCC

Fujairah Ready to Stage the Solving Grand Prix Final (27–30 November 2026)

By admin 25/08/2026 25/08/2026 Other

The qualification phases of the 1^st WFCC Fujairah Solving Grand Prix cycle 2025–26 have been concluded, and the most successful solvers will now prepare for the Grand Final, to be held from 27 to 30 November 2026 at the new and luxurious home of the Fujairah Chess & Culture Club.

Among the 41 solvers who earned Grand Prix Points, 18 participants from 15 different countries have qualified to compete in the Final: the Top 12 from the Final Standings, together with the six best representatives of countries not represented among the Top 12. The general concept of the Grand Prix Final — presenting a truly multinational stage — will be continued through invitations to finalists from additional countries, as well as to chess composers from around the world, who are invited to challenge the finalists with their original entries and compete for rewards from the best solvers. The announcement for composers will be published soon.

Top 12 solvers

No.	Solver	Country	Grand Prix Points
1	Piotr Murdzia	POL	87
2	Danila Pavlov	FID	87
3	Kacper Piorun	POL	72
4	Arno Zude	GER	72
5	Ural Khasanov	FID	67
6	Eddy Van Beers	BEL	60
7	Martynas Limontas	LTU	58
8	Mihnea Costachi	ROU	54
9	Bilguun Sumiya	MGL	50
10	Maksim Kharitonov	FID	35
11	Nikos Sidiropoulos	GRE	33
12	Tomáš Peitl	SVK	29

Top six solvers from non-presented countries

No.	Solver	Country	Grand Prix Points
13	David Hodge	GBR	18
14	Ilija Serafimović	SRB	17
15	Oleksiy Solovchuk	UKR	14
16	Ofer Comay	ISR	4
17	Jorma Paavilainen	FIN	2
18	Joost Michielsen	NED	1

The Registration of the Qualified Finalists is now open on the WFCC Fujairah Grand Prix website and will remain open until 1 October. After this date, any necessary replacements will be made from the list of Official Reserves, or, as a final measure, nominated by the Organizing Committee. Further information about the Grand Prix Final, including the Distribution of Prizes and the Tournament Format and Rating, can be found in the detailed Grand Prix Final Regulations.

The WFCC Fujairah Grand Prix 2025–26 has marked the greatest-ever investment in PCCC/WFCC activities. With 128 monetary prizes distributed to solvers over the two-year cycle, totalling €71,000, financial support of €10,000 for the WCCC & ECSC organizers, €10,000 for WFCC Development Projects, €3,000 in prizes for composers, and hotel expenses covered for the Grand Prix Finalists, the UAE contribution to the WFCC has exceeded €100,000 in 2025 and 2026.

The WFCC remains deeply grateful to the 1st Vice President Abdulla Ali Aaal Barket and the WFCC Secretary Mohammad Alhallak for this historic milestone. Through the initiative and patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, new possibilities for the development and advancement of chess composition worldwide have been created.

Marjan Kovačević
WFCC President

WFCC-70JT: Preliminary award for Section H (Retros)

By admin 30/07/2026 30/07/2026 Other

The award for Section H (Retros) is ready! Thanks to the judge, Andriy Frolkin for his work, submitted in super-quick time!

The award is published in the Preliminary Results section of the WFCC-70JT page.

The area of non-PG Retros has the least support from software, therefore I request all our Retro experts and testers to check the entries!

Please send claims to the director (wfcc70jt@gmail.com) before 15-Nov-2026.

WFCC-70JT update

By admin 30/07/2026 30/07/2026 Other

WFCC-70JT - STATISTICS — WFCC-70JT – STATISTICS

26.07.2026. WFCC-70JT update:

Heartfelt thanks to all the composers who submitted entries!

And now, the baton passes to the judges. Wishing them a happy, stimulating and rewarding task!

Narayan Shankar Ram,
director of WFCC-70JT

Solvers’ ratings July 1st 2026

By admin 01/07/2026 01/07/2026 Other

Solvers’ ratings as of July 1^st 2026 produced by the Solving Tournament Manager are published on the WFCC Solving Portal.
15 tournaments of the 2^nd quarter 2026 are included: 40^th Ukrainian Championship 2026, 45^th Azerbaijan Chess Solving Championship 2026, 48^th German Solving Championship 2026, Open of Lithuanian Solving Championship 2026, 47^th Lithuanian Championship 2026, 24^th Greek Chess Solving Championship 2026, 34^th Chess Solving Championship of Slovakia 2026, Open Solving Tournament of ECSC 2026, 19^th European Chess Solving Championship 2026, 47^th French Chess Solving Championship 2026, 2^nd Chess Solving Championship of Achaia Region, Open Solving Championship of Serbia 2026, 34^th Czech Chess Solving Championship 2026, 8^th Ukrainian Solving Cup 2026, 52^nd Latvian Chess Solving Championship 2026.
Ranking of the top 10 solvers: 1. Danila Pavlov (FID) 2830.17 (+6.00), 2. Kacper Piorun (POL) 2762.00 (+2.92), 3. Piotr Murdzia (POL) 2731.07 (+2.16), 4. Ural Khasanov (FID) 2718.33 (+53.86), 5. Eddy Van Beers (BEL) 2639.66 (+10.80), 6. John Nunn (GBR) 2636.35 (unchanged), 7. Martynas Limontas (LTU) 2612.28 (+48.86), 8. Bojan Vučković (SRB) 2600.55 (+4.30), 9. Aleksey Popov (FID) 2591.59 (unchanged), 10. Kevinas Kuznecovas (LTU) 2577.52 (+44.6).
Largest 5 gains: Arvydas Mockus (LTU) +140.46, junior Anton Nasyrov (FID) +128.04, junior woman Anastasiya Chekina (FID) +117.74, junior woman Nika Riabenko (UKR) +117.09, junior woman Ekaterina Shestakova (FID) +98.52.

Klaus Wenda (13.9.1941 – 11.4.2026)

By admin 19/04/2026 19/04/2026 Other

Klaus Wenda was 7 years my senior and was already well established in the international problem world when I began taking part in the PCCC congresses (from 1978): Klaus started in 1967, and ended with an 8-year period as the PCCC President from 1986 to 1994. Health problems prevented him from attending later congresses, but he continued to be active and helpful in PCCC and WFCC matters, through all the years up to now. So all in all, he supported the PCCC/WFCC for more than 55 years. His great knowledge of legal questions was very useful to us – his professional role was as a lawyer in an Austrian bank. You could tell that he was old school central European bureaucrat – always very correct, but also very friendly and helpful, flexible when needed.
We had much contact during his presidency, as I was active in some important subcommittees. Klaus did the paperwork and ran the PCCC sessions very efficiently; he was certainly one of the strongest presidents during my time in the commission. But he didn’t socialize much with “my own” younger group during leisure hours – probably due to his duties as president.
It should be mentioned that when I and a colleague from my work spent a few days in Vienna in the late 1980’s, Klaus invited us to a Heurigen (a sort of wine bar for tasting new wine). And when the new Presidium needed to have a separate session in 2010, we met in Vienna and were invited by Klaus to a great dinner in his house in the country. (Uri Avner stayed in Europe a few days longer, but then an Icelandic volcano erupted, most air traffic in Europe was halted and he could not get home for a few weeks.)
Klaus organized the PCCC meetings in Wiener Neustadt in 1980 and in Graz 1987 together with wife Doris. Of course, both events ran very smoothly.
But Klaus wasn’t just a very competent organizer, he was a great composer. I know he was very proud when he received the well-deserved Grandmaster title (IGM) in 2010. He started out as a composer of elegant logical moremovers in the so-called Viennese style, a result of coming under the influence of the famous Josef Halumbirek and his circle of composers. He soon took an interest in heterodox composition, first helpmates and selfmates and then fairies with Circe, AntiCirce, Madrasi and other fairy forms. Often, his problems have a colourful main plan which has to be prepared by one or more logical foreplans. In later decades he composed many retractor problems, mostly in AntiCirce.
He was a very respected judge in problem tourneys, and also wrote many articles in various magazines. He was also co-author of three problem books about works of Austrian composers: Problempalette (1971) and Problempalette II (1991), both with Friedrich Chlubna, and Dreiklang (2001) with Alois Johandl and Friedrich Chlubna.
A great friend, composer and organizer has left us.
The magazine feenschach organizes a memorial tourney for direct mates with Circe and/or AntiCirce and optionally fairy pieces – see the WFCC Composing Calendar.
Kjell Widlert

Solvers’ ratings April 1st 2026

By admin 01/04/2026 08/04/2026 Other

Solvers’ ratings as of April 1^st 2026 produced by the Solving Tournament Manager are published on the WFCC Solving Portal.
10 tournaments of the 1^st quarter 2026 are included: 49^th International Polish Championship 2026, 22^nd International Solving Contest 2026 Cat 1, 22^nd International Solving Contest 2026 Cat 2, 47^th Finnish Chess Solving Championship 2026, Romanian Solving Championship 2026, Winton British Solving Championship 2026, Winton British Solving Championship 2026 Minor, 31^st Dutch Open Chess Solving Championship 2026, 1^st Romanian Open Chess Solving Cup, 34^th Branko Atanackovic Memorial 2026
Ranking of the top 10 solvers: 1. Danila Pavlov (FID) 2824.17 (unchanged), 2. Kacper Piorun (POL) 2759.08 (+12.93), 3. Piotr Murdzia (POL) 2728.91 (-22.32), 4. Ural Khasanov (FID) 2664.47 (unchanged), 5. John Nunn (GBR) 2636.35 (-3.85), 6. Eddy Van Beers (BEL) 2628.86 (-0.57), 7. Bojan Vučković (SRB) 2596.25 (unchanged), 8. Aleksey Popov (FID) 2591.59 (unchanged), 9. Nikos Sidiropoulos (GRE) 2587.85 (+0.81), 10. Martynas Limontas (LTU) 2563.42 (-16.03).
Largest 5 gains: Robert Włodarczyk (POL) +65.85, junior Taras Rudenko (UKR) +44.55, Joost Michielsen (NED) +42.56, junior Matei Zlate-Ion (ROU) +41.39, junior Razvan-Andrei Burja-Udrea (ROU) +38.77.

WFCC Fujairah grants 2026 to development projects in India and Romania

By admin 20/03/2026 23/03/2026 Other

As announced at the end of 2025, WFCC delegates were invited to apply for the WFCC Fujairah grants supporting WFCC development projects in 2026.

Two projects were received by 1st March.

The one from India included four solving tournaments, an online contest promoting fairies and retros, and four series of at least three online lessons in each one, with a total budget of €2,050.
The Romanian “Alba Carolina” Cup unites one solving competition and one composing tournament for U23 participants, with a total budget of €1,500.

Having in mind the rising activities and potentials of these two countries, the WFCC Presidium has decided to accept both projects, and to set some standards for the future criteria for the Fujairah grants.

According to suggested criteria, based on expected effects, the Indian project should directly attract more than 200 young participants across India.

Romanian “Alba Carolina” Composing Cup 2026 is expected to engage around 30 U23 participants from 10 countries, and the “Alba Carolina” Solving Cup is planned for 50 participants (30 of them U23).

Project by India (PDF) | Project by Romania (PDF)

WFCC Presidium wishes organizers a successful realization of the projects!

Announcement: WFCC 70th Jubilee Tourney 2026

By admin 14/03/2026 14/03/2026 Other

The WFCC 70th Jubilee Tourney 2026 (WFCC-70JT) is organised to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Permanent Commission of the FIDE for Chess Compositions (PCCC), later the WFCC (2010), in 1956. It is based on the format of the FIDE World Cup (8 sections, single judge, one anonymous entry per composer per section).

On the suggestion of WFCC Honorary President Klaus Wenda, the judges have been selected from the countries (or their successors) that were represented at the first ever PCCC meeting at Budapest, Hungary in May 1956.

The tourney director is Narayan Shankar Ram (wfcc70jt@gmail.com).

Composers worldwide are warmly invited to submit their best works.

Full announcement page | Announcement in PDF

Welcome to the Chess Composers Club

By admin 04/03/2026 06/03/2026 Other

A virtual Chess Composers Club opens its doors and welcomes everybody to make it alive and full of creativity!

The WFCC is pleased to announce the official opening of the Chess Composers Club (CCC) —
a new global meeting place for chess composers.

We warmly invite everyone to visit the Club’s homepage at ccc.wfcc.ch and explore its vision and activities. In addition to presenting the goals and structure of the Club, the homepage features an Open Resources section (First Steps in Composing, Software Tools) with links to articles and reference sources. This section is freely accessible to all visitors and will continue to grow over time.

To ensure a focused and respectful working environment, certain guidelines apply to participation in the Club’s two activity rooms.

→read more (show/hide)…

The Chess Composers Workshop stands at the heart of the project. Conceived as a space for learning and mentorship, it offers composers the opportunity to discuss their original works with WFCC mentors. The only “entrance ticket” is a composition of one’s own. With a finished diagram ready to post, applicants may proceed via the “Apply to Join” option and select their preferred mentor(s). Full authorship rights and freedom of publication remain entirely with the composer.

The Chess Problem Book is designed for active and friendly communication among members, inspired by the spirit of social platforms while maintaining a professional focus. Regular membership is granted by invitation from the CCC Team; those interested are welcome to apply by writing to ccc@wfcc.ch. As in the Workshop, meaningful activity and engagement are the defining features of membership.

Half a century ago, many newspapers readily published the first original problems of newcomers, who could also meet experienced colleagues in local clubs to seek advice and encouragement. While those traditional pathways have largely disappeared, today we have the opportunity to gather in a global online community — open across borders and time zones.
The idea for the Club took shape at the end of 2024, when I approached Nikola Petković — an accomplished chess composer and software developer — about creating a virtual home for composers in a friendly and supportive environment. Nikola generously volunteered and embraced this demanding task with remarkable dedication.
In December 2025, the Beta version was launched, and a group of committed testers helped refine the project. Our sincere thanks go to Kevinas Kuznecovas, Dmitri Turevski, Ilija Serafimović, and Anton Nasyrov for their valuable contributions. In the final phase of developing and structuring the homepage, Julia Vysotska joined the team and added her creative insight.
Building the Chess Composers Club has required considerable energy and commitment. Whether its long-term impact will match these efforts depends on all of us. The CCC Team is ready for the challenge — and now we invite the WFCC community to take the next step: to share the news and help shape the Club into a vibrant and inspiring meeting place for composers worldwide.
Marjan Kovačević
WFCC President

Solvers’ ratings January 1st 2026

By admin 01/01/2026 01/01/2026 Other

Solvers’ ratings as of January 1^st 2026 produced by the Solving Tournament Manager are published on the WFCC Solving Portal.
9 tournaments of the 4^th quarter 2025 are included: Open Solving Tournament Hamlet Amiryan MT-2025, 34^th Kedainiai Cup 2025, 2^nd Hamlet Amiryan Memorial Tournament 2025, 40^th Open Swiss Solving Championship 2025, 6^th Branko Babic Memorial 2025, 30^th Belgian Championship 2025, 30^th Belgian Championship 2025 Cat-B, 34^th Henk Hagedoorn Memorial 2025, Cugir City Championship, 10^th Greek Chess Solving Cup 2025.
Ranking of the top 10 solvers: 1. Danila Pavlov (FID) 2824.17 (-11.11), 2. Piotr Murdzia (POL) 2751.23, 3. Kacper Piorun (POL) 2746.15, 4. Ural Khasanov (FID) 2664.47 (+10.6), 5. John Nunn (GBR) 2640.20, 6. Eddy Van Beers (BEL) 2629.43 (+4.8), 7. Bojan Vučković (SRB) 2596.25 (+0.06), 8. Aleksey Popov (FID) 2591.59 (+11.09), 9. Nikos Sidiropoulos (GRE) 2587.04 (-2), 10. Martynas Limontas (LTU) 2579.45 (-0.45).
Largest 5 gains (all juniors!): Pavel Ekimov (FID) +64.92, female Darya Efimova (FID) +57.75, Anton Nasyrov (FID) +50.83, Ekaterina Shestakova (FID) +50.13, Razvan-Andrei Burja-Udrea.(ROU) +45.41.

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