2nd Cup "Vyron Zappas" solving tourney, 2017

Problems:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6YVhycFVTSTBJcEU/view?usp=sharing

Problems with solutions:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6YlNRazNoTHQzS0E/view?usp=sharing

Solvers and Grades :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6SHRiell6VEVOekk/view?usp=sharing

Aegaleo Athens, Icaria island, Syros island

WCCC 2017, Bulletin

The Bulletin of WCCC 2017, in Dresden, is published:

https://wccc2017.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/bulletin-1.pdf

WCCC 2017, OPEN solving contest

Problems
https://wccc2017.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2017-08-07-GER-Dresden-WCCC-Open-Problems.pdf

Solutions
https://wccc2017.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2017-08-07-GER-Dresden-WCCC-Open-Solutions.pdf

Results
http://www.wfcc.ch/wp-content/uploads/Open-Dresden-2017-preliminary-result.pdf

World Congress (in progress)

A document listing the scheduled events

https://wccc2017.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/170805_wccc_info.pdf

4th IOSC 2017 (Results from Greece)

Results

Israel Open Solving Championship (Greece, Athens 11.06.2017) - Final Individual Results

Ra nk	ID	Name	Cat	Coun- try	Rating	#	Ti- tle	# 2	# 3	# n	eg	h# n	s# n	Time Rnd1	# 2	# 3	# n	eg	h# n	s# n	Time Rnd2	Points	Time Total
1	ME01NI	Mendrinos, Nikos	.	GRE	2340.26	70	FM	5	5	5	5	5	-	118	5	3	-	2	-	4	120	39	238
2	PA01AN	Papastavropoulos, Andreas	s	GRE	2193.67	140	-	5	5	5	3	5	-	120	0	5	5	-	0	4	120	37	240
3	FO01HA	Fougiaxis, Harry	.	GRE	1993.32	260	-	5	2	5	-	5	-	118	5	4	-	0	5	3	116	34	234
4	KO01PA	Konidaris, Panagiotis	.	GRE	2121.45	173	-	5	0	5	5	5	0	120	0	3	3	3	5	0	120	34	240
5	KO02AL	Kostouros, Alexis	?	GRE	2016.74	242	-	0	0	-	5	2.5	-	120	0	0	0	5	-	5	120	17.5	240
6	LO01DI	Loutragotis, Dimitris	j	GRE	1805.00	417	-	5	3	0	5	-	-	120	0	-	-	3	-	-	99	16	219
7	MI01KO	Mitsakis, Konstantinos	.	GRE	1729.52	486	-	5	0	-	5	-	-	120	5	0	-	-	-	-	120	15	240
8	PE01EV	Petridis, Evaggelos	.	GRE	1697.58	505	-	5	0	2	0	-	-	120	5	-	-	2	-	-	120	14	240
9	MA01EM	Manolas, Emmanouel	s	GRE	1750.01	467	-	5	0	-	0	2.5	-	120	5	-	-	-	-	0	120	12.5	240

Main Judge : Ioannis Garoufalidis
11/6/2017

Cat1 Round1 Problems
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6TXRRZXFwS3gtalE/view?usp=sharing

Cat1 Round1 Solutions
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6VDBjWnVSVUNISzQ/view?usp=sharing

Cat1 Round2 Problems
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6U0FETzNwV1BNWms/view?usp=sharing

Cat1 Round2 Solutions
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6U2RVak9xVU5YN2c/view?usp=sharing

Cat2 Round1 Problems
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6NU1WQll0XzVFQ3M/view?usp=sharing

Cat2 Round1 Solutions
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6RG1LTEplS2laMnM/view?usp=sharing

Cat2 Round2 Problems
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6U3dZQ0hlNS1Bd00/view?usp=sharing

Cat2 Round2 Solutions
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6OFhBZThMd3Q4dnc/view?usp=sharing

Anthology of Portuguese Chess Composers

The first anthology exclusively dedicated to portuguese chess composers has just been released.

Dedicated to the memory of Rui C. Nascimento (1914-2012) – FIDE ́s Honorary Master of Chess Composition – this anthology covers the entire history of chess in Portugal through a selection of problems published in the national press and in international medias such as The British Chess Magazine, Die Schwalbe, The Problemist, among others.

This edition is limited to 100 copies with handmade covers, making each book a unique object of collection. All orders and inquiries can be sent directly to the publisher using the following link:
escoladosilencio.wordpress.com/contacto

13 ECSC 2017

Announcement of deadline
http://www.wfcc.ch/13ecsc-deadlines-registration/

16th Greek Championship in Solving, 2017-03-26

The 16th Greek Championship in Solving Chess Problems took place on Sunday 26-iii-2017, in the Aigaleo chess club, in Athens.

Problems 1st round.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6MEhuT3RWQWNhMzA/view?usp=sharing

Problems 2nd round.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6MXZsMkI0bjFlMVk/view?usp=sharing

Solutions 1st round.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6TG5VUmZ0elg2NjQ/view?usp=sharing

Solutions 2nd round.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6a0h3NEhvbWFvVVU/view?usp=sharing

Final results.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6T19DS20zTGRyalk/view?usp=sharing

ISC 2017

The invitation is here
http://www.wfcc.ch/wp-content/uploads/ISC-2017-Announcement.pdf

In each participating country there are local controllers.
For Greece, look here : http://kallitexniko-skaki.blogspot.gr/2017/01/13th-isc-29-01-2017.html

(there will be more details written here, after the event)

WCCC 2017 Dresden

In 2017 the World Congress for Chess Composition will be held in Dresden, Germany.

The announcement here : https://wccc2017.de/

Composition tourneys:
http://www.dieschwalbe.de/kompositionsturniere.htm#tt222

Database of problems in Solving Contests

A Solving Tournaments Problem Database (STPDB) is created by Luc Palmas.

The announcement is here http://kunstschach.ch/pdb.html

There is a way to download these problems.

Call for compositions #2, h#2

Here is a call for compositions #2 and h#2.

http://chess-compose.blogspot.gr/2017/01/marcel-tancau-mt-2017-c-25-xii-2017.html

The theme is free for #2.

The h#2 must be in the form "Helpmate of the Future" (HotF), which is defined as "h#2 having any number of solution pairs, where in each pair the solutions are closely related".
Examples of such problems you can find in the section A of this award: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6N1lhWjNQckpMOWs/view

Fellow composers, please send!

4th Greek Cup, problems, solutions, results

The 4th Greek Cup in solving chess problems took place today 08/01/2017.

Mr Nikos Mendrinos had the general responsibility for the event and the selection of problems.

The Problems
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6d05uYVZpQktieUE/view?usp=sharing

The solutions with comments
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6U1NvLVJYZ3JuZjg/view?usp=sharing

The results (23/01/2017):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6ZFIxa3J4VTFVRzA/view?usp=sharing

Press release
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2-Lv0IlDIs6akRISDVBTFVZN1E/view?usp=sharing

Photo from Aegaleo, Athens

A Welcome to 2017 with cooperations

I will open the January with wishes for health and successes to all composers.

Let us hope that the new year 2017 will bring joy and happiness to all people.

---

Three compositions - cooperations of mine, belonging to fairy chess because they use grasshoppers, were published last year and I have learned about it this year.

I offer my thanks for the cooperation to Vito Rallo (with colours of Italy) and to Kostas Prentos (with colours Greece/USA).

The Grasshoppers are pieces - hurdlers. They see on a row or file or diagonal another piece - hurdle, and they jump on the square exactly after the hurdle. If this square is nonempty, it could only contain an opponent piece, which is captured by the Grasshopper.

Problem-833 Vito Rallo (ITA) and Emmanuel Manolas (GRE) Phenix 265, 09/2016

8/8/8/GK6/8/3g1k2/3P4/8 (3 + 2), (Grasshoppers a5 + d3)  Helpmate h#6

1.Gg3 Ge1 2.Kf4 d4 3.Ge5 d5 4.Ke4 d6 5.Kd5 d7 6.Kd6 d8=Q# Theme Excelsior (a pawn starts from its initial position until it is promoted). Self-blocking. Miniature. A comment : A beautiful mate is presented.

Problem-834 Emmanuel Manolas (GRE) and Vito Rallo (ITA) Phenix 268, 12/2016

3g4/8/8/k7/8/7G/8/s3K3 (2 + 3), (Grasshoppers h3 + d8) Helpmate h#7, fairy condition Andernach

1.Ka4 Kd2 2.Gd1 Kc3 3.Ka3 Gb3 4.Ka2 Kb4 5.Sxb3(wSb3) Sc1+ 6.Ka1 Ka3 7.Gb1 Sb3# The fairy condition Andernach changes the colour of the capturing piece. Self-blocking. Miniature. A comment : Difficult manouver, to change the colour of the piece that will mate.

Problem-835 Emmanuel Manolas (GRE) and Kostas Prentos (Greece/USA) Strategems, 12/2016

1g6/5G1G/8/2pk4/7K/8/1pp5/5G1G (5 + 5), (Grasshoppers f1f7h1h7 + b8) Helpmate h#4

1.c4 Gb5 2.Kc6 Gd7 3.Kb7 Gc7+ 4.Ka8 Gb7# (mate at a8, northwest, NW) 1.Ke6 Gd5 2.Kf6 Gf7 3.Kg7 Kh5 4.Kh8 Kg6# (mate at h8, northeast, NE) 1.Ke4 Ge1 2.Kf3 Gf2+ 3.Kg2 Gh2 4.Kh1 Kg3# (mate at h1, southeast, SE) 1.Kc4 Gf8 2.Kb3 Gb1+ 3.Ka2 Gb3+ 4.Ka1 Gf6# (mate at a1, southwest,SW) Star of the bK, who gets mated at the four corners of the chessboard. In two variations the White activates the white royal battery with mirror symmetry.