The most deserving pioneers of the FIDE solving events Akaki Iashvili and David Gurgenidze at the closing ceremony of the Batumi WCCC 2023
The celebration of the FIDE Centenary 1924-2024 will include a new and promising project in cooperation with the WFCC. During November the two biggest FIDE events for cadets (U8, U10, U12) and juniors (U14, U16, U18) will include World Solving Championships for girls and boys, forming the biggest ever youth solving event.
Juniors will be solving problems and endgames on November 4th, during the free day of the World Youth Chess Championships in Florianópolis, the capital of southern Brazil’s Santa Catarina state. Cadets will have their solving championships on November 21st, the rest day of the World Cadet Chess Championships in Montesilvano, the city in the Abruzzo region of Italy.
While celebrating this historical breakthrough in promotion of chess composition among new generations, it’s time to recall the prehistory that allowed one more step to be made. More than 30 years ago different countries started applying the model of national solving championships in the context of youth chess championships. On European level it was applied in 2002, with the first event organized in Serbia, in the context of European Youth Blitz and Rapid Championship, and in the age categories U10, U14, and U18. The more or less same format has been accepted by majority of the future hosts of the same European chess competitions, but some of the countries were not ready to organize it. In other words, all those competitions kept depending on the activity of the local chess composers and their relations with the national chess federations.
The longer lasting chess competitions with classical tempo were more suitable to organize solving during the mandatory free day. Chess composition was brought to the widest platform of global FIDE events in Batumi 2006, when the director of the World Youth Chess Championships 2006 Akaki Iashvili initiated World Youth Solving Cup in the age categories U10, U14 and U18. For that we step we owe to his long lasting cooperation with the Grandmaster of Chess Composition David Gurgenidze, a chess writer, historian and trainer, in short – Georgian chess legend. These two prominent Georgian chess personalities opened the doors for future solving events in the context of FIDE youth events.
However, after Batumi 2006 and Antalya 2007, the next such competition had to wait till 2016, when the FIDE championships was again organized in Georgia. These three initial competitions used the name World Youth Solving Cup U10, U14 and U18. In 2022, as the FIDE Special Tasks Director, Akaki Iashvili recommended solving competitions to become a part of all FIDE youth events. In Batumi 2022 (221 participants), and again in Batumi 2023, these events used the name World Youth Solving Championships U10, U14 and U18. A month ago Batumi hosted a newly invented chess competition Cadets World Cup (U8, U10 & U12), and approximately half of the players (132) took part in the solving competition called the Cadets World Solving Cup.
All FIDE solving events since 2006 have been directed by David Gurgenidze (in the photo gallery with 2024 solvers), with only one out of the six competitions (Antalya 2007) being out of Georgia. To have them or not was depending on the good will of the organizers, their personal affinities and relations with local chess problemists.
The next step to make was to assure regularity of solving championships and to avoid improvisation, whatever country gets the role of the organizer of the FIDE championships. That’s where a fruitful cooperation between WFCC and the FIDE officers has helped. As the Chair of the FIDE Events Commission, Akaki Iashvili convinced the organizers in Brazil and Italy to enrich the program of their chess championships with solving events, under rules, conditions and guidance of the WFCC. The FIDE Executive Officer Victor Bologan has shown a great interest in promotion of solving competitions and suggested to include them into the FIDE special projects in 2024.
The future of this big joint project will largely depend on the success and overall effects of the November competitions. Our preparations have started more than year ago, with the working group headed by the vice-president Dinu-Ioan Nicula. Being an International Chess Arbiter with more than 20 years of experience in directing solving competition in the context of chess events, he prepared all the relevant documents and accepted the role of selector for the November competitions.
Some other members of our society have shown a great enthusiasm in joining the project. Instructions for writing solutions with illustrative examples were prepared by Ilija Serafimović and translated by Marcos Maldonado Roland, who also contributed to logistics in Brazil, where Ricardo de Mattos Vieira gladly accepted the role of main judge.
All documents prepared by WFCC were agreed with FIDE Events commission first, and then with the local organizers. These documents found their places in the official invitations sent to all national chess federations, and later in the official website of the whole event. Our secretary Mohammad Alhallak has prepared the registration forms for both coming events, and has done all the work on activating the newly open WFCC page on the Chess-Results server, purchased according to the decision of Presidium.
With a kind support of Heinz Herzog, the creator of the Chess-Results server, WFCC now has a permanent license to use the most popular server for announcements and results of the chess events. You may find the WFCC page (abbreviation WFC) on the Federation Selection List, with announcement of the WYCSC in Brazil. It contains link to the official homepage of the organizer with the Registration form, as well as the detailed regulations and instructions in pdf.
The youngest volunteer to join the project, the Indian prodigy Anirudh Daga (16), came with a highly commendable initiative to organize free online preparations in September and October for everybody who intends to go to Brazil and Italy! And that wasn’t just an idea; he took all the work on himself, from Invitation, Schedule and Registration form to the final realization!
All these preparatory actions, controlled and coordinated by WFCC, make a difference to the FIDE competitions of the Georgian team, who has handed in the organization to WFCC and helped so much in this transition. Another reason to mark the coming world championships with number 1 is the technical difference. It is the first time to have world solving championships in all six age categories: U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, and U18.
Solvers’ ratings as of July 1st 2024 produced by the Solving Tournament Manager are published on the WFCC Solving Portal. 13 tournaments of the 2nd quarter 2024 are included: Open Solving Tournament Lithuania 2024, 45th Lithuanian Championship 2024, 43rd Azerbaijan Chess Solving Championship 2024, 32nd Chess Solving Championship of Slovakia 2024, Open Solving Tournament of ECSC 2024, 17th European Chess Solving Championship 2024, 50th Latvian Chess Solving Championship 2024, 45th French Chess Solving Championship 2024, Open Solving Championship of Serbia 2024, 46th German Solving Championship 2024, 32nd Czech Chess Solving Championship 2024, 9th Israel Open Solving Championship 2024, 9th Israel Open Solving Championship 2024 Category 2. Ranking of the top ten solvers: 1. Danila Pavlov (FID) 2818.95, 2. Piotr Murdzia (POL) 2698.54, 3. Kacper Piorun (POL) 2678.52, 4. Ural Khasanov (FID) 2653.87, 5. John Nunn (GBR) 2638.24, 6. Bojan Vučković (SRB) 2585.61, 7. Eddy Van Beers (BEL) 2582.58, 8. Aleksey Popov (FID) 2577.85, 9. Marko Filipović (CRO) 2555.24 ahead of 10. Danila Moiseev (FID) 2555.00. Largest five gains: junior Alexandru Mihalcescu (ROU) +158.62, Dmitrijus Chocenka (LTU) +110.56, Panagiotis Konidaris (GRE) +84.11, Jakob Leck (GER) +75.90, Jakub Marciniszyn (POL) +73.38
Solvers’ ratings as of April 1st 2024 produced by the Solving Tournament Manager are published on the WFCC Solving Portal. 8 tournaments of the 1st quarter 2024 are included: 20th International Solving Contest 2024 Cat 1, 20th International Solving Contest 2024 Cat 2, Winton British Chess Solving Championship 2024, 45th Finnish Chess Solving Championship 2024, 47th International Polish Championship 2024, 29th Dutch Open Chess Solving Championship 2024, 32nd Branko Atanackovic Memorial 2024, 20th Attica Region Chess Solving Tournament 2024. Ranking of the top ten solvers: 1. Danila Pavlov (FID) 2818.95, 2. Piotr Murdzia (POL) 2708.04, 3. Kacper Piorun (POL) 2654.08, 4. Ural Khasanov (FID) 2653.87, 5. John Nunn (GBR) 2638.24, 6. Eddy Van Beers (BEL) 2630.22, 7. Aleksey Popov (FID) 2577.85, 8. Marko Filipović (CRO) 2564.95, 9. Ulrich Voigt (GER) 2555.87, 10. Bojan Vučković (SRB) 2555.86. Largest five gains: Jakub Marciniszyn (POL) +54.54, Robert Włodarczyk (POL) +52.26, junior Alexandru Mihalcescu (ROU) +46.67, Valery Kopyl (UKR) +36.51, Andrey Selivanov (FID) +31.80
Highlights of Challenge 1 were the success of the Kharitonov family (which featured three 100% scores) and the most welcome presence of World Champion Danila Pavlov who, in the Blitz round, rattled off 20 correct solutions in 7 minutes. Africa were well represented by solvers from Morocco and Nigeria; with Youssef Kozizi achieving a great score in the Blitz and Lovelyn Agbo so determined to complete the Blitz round that she went to the trouble of downloading a replacement browser in place of her mischievous Chrome version.
Technically, nearly everything went according to plan, with almost all obstacles overcome. The Blitz scoring system worked particularly well. The strength of the strongest was much higher than expected (with many at WCSC level), so problems in future challenges could be made a little tougher.
OSCY Challenge 2 will be held on Sunday 10/3/2024 at 12:30 (your Local time).
Since 2007, our community has been marking January 4th as the International Day of Chess Composition, inspired by an article from 155 years ago, where chess composition was declared a kind of art. Today we are doing it in the contemporary spirit, launching the 1st WFCC Online Solving Challenge for Youth (OSCY).
The 1st OSCY unites efforts of very different generations. You may see here the OSCY video promotion made by the young Anirudh Daga, who also contributed to some elements of design.
And here is the Press Release text by our senior member Brian Cook, the heart and soul of the whole project:
As the WFCC announce their new bi-monthly Online Solving Challenge for Youth (OSCY), never has there been a better time for young chess players from 5 to 21 years old to test their skills at chess problem solving. It isn’t unusual to find that those who have taken the plunge converting their modest FIDE ratings into much higher solver ratings, earning norms and titles in the process. Free of the need for detailed knowledge of openings and strategy, their exceptional tactical skills have flourished with astonishing results. Rather than solving/composing a fast evolving web of typical threats & traps set by/for their opponents, solvers are generally confronted with a few won positions (often composed by GMs of Chess Composition) of greater complexity and/or featuring an unusual concept. Greatest of the many success stories in this regard are GMs of Solving:
Danila Pavlov – 21 year-old 3 x World Champion and No.1 (rated 2820 for solving, 2361 by FIDE), Ural Khasanov – 17 year-old World No.5 (solving at around 1000 rating points higher than he plays), not to mention 14 year old Anna Shukhman, World No.1 for women.
Full OSCY details are provided at the tournament website along with much of what needs to be known by beginners PLUS World Champion coaching and, except for <€10 for coaching, it’s all FREE. See the WFCC Announcement.
As Online and @Home solving has become more popular (at both grass-roots and elite levels), a smooth pathway is emerging from informal to the many rated/physical tournaments at which titles are earned. So, please give OSCY a try and avoid missing out on what may be your personal chess paradise.
NOTES:
Unusual pieces such as ‘nightriders’, ‘grasshoppers’, etc are not indulged in OSCY. They remain strictly for the ‘fairies’
Solvers’ ratings as of January 1st 2024 produced by the Solving Tournament Manager are published on the WFCC Solving Portal. 8 tournaments of the 4th quarter 2023 are included: 21st Greek Chess Solving Championship 2023, 32nd Kedainiai Cup 2023, 38th Open Swiss Solving Championship 2023, 4th Branko Babic Memorial 2023, 28th Belgian Solving Championship 2023, 32nd Henk Hagedoorn Memorial 2023, Solving Championship of Romania 2023, 8th Greek Chess Solving Cup 2023. Ranking of the top ten solvers (unchanged): 1. Danila Pavlov (FID) 2820.30, 2. Georgy Evseev (FID) 2747.29, 3. Kacper Piorun (POL) 2715.44, 4. Piotr Murdzia (POL) 2678.75, 5. Ural Khasanov (FID) 2649.49, 6. John Nunn (GBR) 2629.68, 7. Eddy Van Beers (BEL) 2616.38, 8. Aleksey Popov (FID) 2575.00, 9. Kevinas Kuznecovas (LTU) 2574.54, 10. Marko Filipović (CRO) 2564.95. Largest five gains: junior Alexandru Mihalcescu, ROU (+29.23), Wouter van Rijn, NED (+21.86), junior Ioannis Kollias, GRE (+13.70), Martynas Limontas, LTU (+12.42), Jakub Marciniszyn, POL (+12.34).
The winners of the WFCC Christmas Gallery Contest 2023
Group A
M. Witztum & E. Navon 1. Place CGC 2023/A (133 points)
Živan Šušulić 2. Place CGC 2023-A (125 points)
Andrey Frolkin 3. Place CGC 2023-A (113 points)
Group B
Udo Degener 1. Place CGC 2023-B (114 points)
Jorma Paavilainen 2. Place CGC 2023-B (104.5 points)
Alexey Gasparyan 3. Place CGC 2023-B (103.5 points)
Group C
Zlatko Mihajloski 1. Place CGC 2023-C (124 points)
Janos Koczian 2. Place CGC 2023-C (121 points)
Henry Tanner 3. Place CGC 2023-C (116 points)
Happy New Year 2024 to all friends of chess composition!
There will be many challenges for chess composers, and some of those you may find in the online WFCC Composing Calendar, established at the beginning of this month. It is still in the process of completing, and you can contribute to it by sending links to the announcements and awards to the given address.
The last tournament of 2023 was the friendly WFCC Christmas Gallery Contest, announced on 09.12. In less than 2 weeks it attracted 34 authors from 17 countries, with 43 compositions. They were all published in our Christmas post, and the solutions with comments followed there on 27.12.
Till 29.12 we got 37 awards in Sections: A (14 awards), B (9), and C (14). The suggested system of collective judging worked well thanks to CGC director Kenneth Solja, WFCC webmaster Julia Vysotska and the next 23 judges from 15 countries:
Hauke Reddmann (Section A), Vlaicu Crisan (A&C), Ralf Kraetschmer (C), Andrey Frolkin (B&C), Udo Degener (A), Kenneth Solja (A), Mario Parrinello (B&C), Srećko Radović (B&C), Wilfried Neef (A&C), Mikhail Shalashov (B&C), Aleksandr Feoktistov (A&C), Bela Majoros (B&C), Nikola Petković (A), Janos Csak (C), Živan Šušulić (B), Alexey Gasparyan (A&C), Piotr Gorski (A, B & C), Zlatko Mihajloski (A), Jorma Paavilainen (A&C), Henry Tanner (A&B), Menachem Witztum (C), Brennan Price (A), and Viktoras Paliulionis (A&B).
Altogether, the CGC 2023 engaged 36 contributors (composers + judges) from 19 countries, and inspired 43 Christmas compositions. We hope you will like the winners of all 3 sections published here, as well as many of the remaining entries in the Final placements (PDF).
Dear composers, solvers, judges, organizers, volunteers, and all lovers of chess composition, have a Merry Christmas! For those of you who are not putting aside chess thoughts during winter holidays, we offered a chance to compose, solve, analyze and judge some original helpmates, inspired by different Christmas joys and symbols.
Our friendly Christmas Gallery Contest has attracted not less than 43 entries in less than 2 weeks – hopefully a sign of your good mood!
(27.12.23) Now you can see the solutions in the PDF file.
The next phase will be judging, and you will be the judges, if you want it.
The contest for the most popular compositions will be held in 3 sections, separated according to the length:
We invite everybody to take the roles of judges, by ranking these anonymous entries and marking them. The scales for marking will be from 12 (the best) to 1 inside the Groups A & C, and from 16 (the best) to 1 inside the Group B. The same mark may be given to more than one entry.
All composers who sent their original entries are invited to mark the problems in the group(s) where they didn’t take part!
The marks should be sent by 29th December at latest, to the email address webmaster@wfcc.ch.
As you could see in the WFCC Composing Calendar, this event was announced in Section E, for orthodox helpmates only. The entries D1, D2 & D3 use unorthodox elements and will not take part in the contest, but that will not deprive you from solving and enjoying them here, in the section D.
Here is a friendly contest for everybody: join the WFCC Xmas Gallery Contest with your original helpmate problems inspired by Christmas!
You may send up to two original helpmates to the Gallery Director Kenneth Solja (kenneth.solja@gmail.com) till 22nd December.
All received problems, with hidden solutions, and without the names of the composers, will be published on 24th December 2023 on the WFCC website. All visitors will have time till 29th December 2023 to send their marks (the system of marking will depend on the number of entries) to the entries that give them the most pleasure and good spirit.
Examples: You may find some examples shaped as Christmas trees in the YACPDB (open database created by Dmitri Turevski). Most of them are marked with the keyword Christmas tree, but some may be found with the keyword Scaccografia, too (together, not more than 20 helpmates). Christmas shapes could be presented in mating positions, too, but they are harder to find.
The first version of the online Composing Calendar has been published on the WFCC website (Competitions -> Composing -> Calendar). It presents the formal tournaments (A-H sections) and the informal ones (I section), in chronological order of their deadlines, with columns reporting possible themes, judges and directors, as well as links to the announcements and awards (when available).
The Calendar contains not only current tournaments, but also those whose deadline has expired (see “All tournaments”). Info about the already closed tournaments will be extended in the future with links to the awards, once they are reported by the involved persons. Some of them you may already see in the Awards column, with the mark “published”.
This draft version will be under construction for a longer time, and will continue with a permanent development. The quality of the Calendar will depend on all interested parties and whoever wants to help.
The work on Calendar started a year ago, with the draft templates created by Ilija Serafimović, and later sent to the delegates. During the Batumi WCCC Kenneth Solja offered to volunteer in contacting the organizers and compiling material. He has largely enriched the content, and has been passionately continuing the same process ever since. During the previous month Julia Vysotska spent many hours organizing and adjusting the content of the excel tables to become a part of the WFCC website. The next steps will depend on the enthusiasm of delegates, organizers, editors, judges, directors, and other individuals.
Please, send your contributions to the Calendar Coordinator Kenneth Solja. The first step will be to compile all possible corrections (names, dates, themes, links …) and all missing info (new tourneys, announcements, awards …). It’s desirable to have texts in English, and instead of pdf documents to send only the adequate links.
