Chess composer: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Creator of endgame studies or chess problems}}

{{Unreferenced|date=December 2009}}

{{More citations needed|date=April 2022}}

A '''chess composer''' is a person who creates [[Endgame study|endgame studies]] or [[chess problem]]s. Chess composers usually specialize in a particular [[genre]], e.g. endgame studies, [[Chess problem#Types of problem|twomovers]], [[Chess problem#Types of problem|threemovers]], [[ChessGrotesque problem(chess)#Types of problemMoremover|moremovers]], [[helpmate]]s, [[selfmate]]s, or [[fairy chess|fairy problem]]s, or [[retrograde analysis]]. Moreover, composers have their own preferred style of composing, allowing their sorting according to so-called composition schools.

Some chess composers produce huge numbers of chess compositions, while others try to achieve as much quality as possible and present new works only rarely.

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It is possible for chess composers to gain official [[FIDE]] [[title]]s, usually for a given number of problems published in [[FIDE Album]]s. For example, [[Milan Vukcevich]] was an [[Grandmaster of the FIDE for Chess Compositions|International Grandmaster]] of Chess Composition, as well as an [[International Master]] player.

The [[PermanentWorld Commission of the FIDEFederation for Chess CompositionsComposition|PCCCWFCC]] (PermanentWorld CommissionFederation for Chess Composition), formerly known as PCCC, is a branch of [[FIDE]] regulating the awarding of titles such as International Grandmaster, International master, Master FIDE and International Judge for chess composition.

==Schools of composition==

'''Composition school''' in chess composition is a particular style of creating chess problems, putting emphasis on different aspects of the problem contents and attracting the interest of an important number of chess composers. The best-known composition schools, as they evolved historically, are:

* '''Old German school''' put emphasis on complexity and difficulty of solution and [[model mate]] in the main [[Variation (chess)|variation]], the most suitable genres werebeing [[Chess problem#Types of problem|fourmovers]] and [[Chess problem#Types of problem|fivemovers]];

* '''Bohemian school''' puts emphasis on artistic beauty and number of variations finished by model mates, the most suitable genres werebeing [[Chess problem#Types of problem|threemovers]] and fourmovers;

* '''English school''' demanded dual-free play in all variations and put emphasis on varied [[motivation (chess composition)|motivation]] in high number of variations;

* '''American school''' puts emphasis on originality and presence of surprising elements in the solution;

* '''New German school''' (also known as ''logical school'') requires logical structure of solution and purity (or economy) of [[aim (chess composition)|aim]], the longer genres are more suitable;

* '''New Bohemian school''' combines requirements of new German school and Bohemian school;

* '''Strategical school''' puts emphasis on complexity of motivation in high number of variations, both defence and harmful [[motif (chess composition)|motif]]s should be unified whenever possible, mostly in [[Chess problem#Types of problem|twomovers]] and threemovers;

* '''Soviet school''' is a highly developed level of strategic school;

* '''New-strategical school''' requires changes of variations or move functions between [[phase of play|phases]];

* '''Slovak school''' requires changes of motifs between phases.

BesidesMany chess problems are clearly attributable chessto problemsa specific one of these schools, but there are many onesproblems that might be attributed to none of these or to more than one of them. Today, many chess composers regularly do work in the area of multiple schools regularly.

==Notable chess composers==

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* Fadil Abdurahmanovic<ref name=list>billwall. [https://www.chess.com/article/view/great-chess-composers "Great Chess Composers"]. Chess.com, August 7, 2007.</ref>

* [[Edith Baird]]<ref name=list/>

* [[Pal Benko]]<ref name=list/>

* [[Gijs van Breukelen]]

* [[Vladimir Bron]]<ref name=list/>

* [[André Chéron (chess player)|André Chéron]]<ref name=list/>

* Eugene Cook<ref name=list/>

* [[Thomas Rayner Dawson]]<ref name=list/>

* Vincent Lanius Eaton<ref name=list/>

* [[Karl Fabel]]

* Edgar Holladay<ref name=list/>

* [[Bernhard Horwitz]]

* [[Genrikh Kasparyan]]<ref name=list/>

* Cyril Kipping<ref name=list/>

* [[Josef Kling]]

* [[Leonid Kubbel]]<ref name=list/>

* [[Sam Loyd]]<ref name=list/>

* [[Comins Mansfield]]<ref name=list/>

* William Meredith<ref name=list/>

* [[Mott-Smith Trophy|Geoffrey Mott-Smith]]<ref name=list/>

* [[Vladimir Nabokov]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/aug/25/classics.vladimirnabokov |title=The Nabokov gambit |first=Steven |last=Poole |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=25 August 2000 |access-date=11 July 2017}}</ref>

* Geoffrey Peckover<ref name=list/>

* Vasily Platov<ref name=list/>

* [[Henri Rinck]]<ref name=list/>

* Aleksei Selesniev<ref name=list/>

* William Shinkman<ref name=list/>

* [[Alexei Troitsky]]<ref name=list/>

* [[Milan Vukcevich]]<ref name=list/>

* Alain Campbell White<ref name=list/>

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== See also ==

* [[List of grandmasters for chess composition]]

* [[List of chess endgame study composers]]

==External linksReferences==

{{Reflist}}

* [http://www.arves.org/Biografie.htm Biographical and other data on Endgamestudy composers.]

{{Chess}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Composer, Chess}}