Julia: an interview to OTIA magazine

I don’t know how they found me… but in the spring 2021 I was invited to give an interview to OTIA magazineuncovering arts and culture in the tech community

“Behind every technologist is a passion – a person who likes to create, share, try, listen, make, build, solve, volunteer or share.”

Somehow I got caught right away by OTIA’s project, which opens not only “technological” but also human part of us. Of course, my first thought was that it’s a wonderful chance to promote chess composition, to tell about it to the world out of our society. But when started answering questions, I was brought back to the very beginning.. to my first steps in chess composition. Those emotional moments remain in our memories and mean more than any achievements later.

It is usually hard to start writing… but later it is the same not easy to finalize it! I had a reason to complete the interview faster: 10 years ago, in July 2011, I started to compose my first chess problem! The article “Julia Vysotska, Financial Manager on Chess Composition” came on July 23rd to celebrate my anniversary in chess composition!

It is their problems what we know about Chess Composers, and their magazines – what we know about the Editors. But we are not only that. What is behind each of us? Here, on JF’s home page, I’m on the stage in front of you.  My original questionnaire (the full version of the interview) is the story from the backstage I’d like to share with you.

Let’s add some human touch to the diagrams – you’re welcome to share your stories too!


“Reciprocal Stipulations” by Shankar Ram

“One of the benefits of our Classification Project is the opportunity to study some rarely used fairy elements and also fill in gaps in their grouping. One such study resulted in this “mini-article”. More such will follow!” (NSR) 

FCCP → Related Articles


To summarise, our list of Reciprocal types are:
1 Reciprocal (Grazer) Helpmate (Reci-h#). Help Play – #1 & h#1 by B.
2 Reciprocal HelpSelfmate (Reci-hs#). Help Play – #1 & s#1 by W.
3 Reciprocal (Grazer) Selfmate (Reci-s#). Direct Play – #1 & s#1 by W.
4 Reciprocal SemiReflexmate (Reci-½r#). Direct Play – #1 & semi-r#1(h#1) by W.

Shankar Ram, June 2021

Anticirce plus Circe in the defensive retractor

Click to read the article in PDF, 5 pages

Günther Weeth (1935-2020) himself had prepared this translation of his article published in Die Schwalbe 306-2/2020. p.821 ff. in November 2020 in German language. We have made some small adaptions replacing examples 5&9 with new versions as the Schwalbe-originals had turned out to be incorrect. However the original source of those versions is “Die Schwalbe 2020, version 2021”.
K.Wenda, A.Thoma

…So far my first explorations in the ”new territories”.
I hope I could draw the attention of retro-experts on the combination AntiCirce + Circe inspiring them to continue my studies.
Günther Weeth /Stuttgart, November 2020/


GET OFF, MOVE ON or STAY PUT! By Chris Tylor

“In the late 1970s, I circulated among the members of the now defunct Fairy Chess Correspondence Circle some ideas and illustrative problems for variants arising from different effects of a piece moving to an occupied square. By 1987, many of these ideas and problems had appeared in a series of articles in George Jelliss’s magazine Chessics (issues 10-12, 17 and 29/30) under the name of ‘Chess Reactions’.”

..skipped..  ⇒ see the full article in PDF, 23 pages

“The present version of this account contains 105 problems belonging to 17 distinct variants (4 of them established ones, the others my own) plus another 12 more miscellaneous problems in an appendix. Almost all the problems have positions that are ‘fairy-legal’ from the normal game array; 76 of them are CT originals/corrections of variable quality, some being mere sketches to illustrate possibilities. Only a few are computer-testable, but although the majority have been looked at by someone other than myself, in the very nature of things it is likely that some will prove to be unsound. It is hoped that any defects in the problems will neither detract too much from their interest nor discourage composers from tackling some of the variants described.” – Chris Tylor


ANDA FAIRY PLANET No.2

ANDA FAIRY PLANET No.2 (included in the Articles sec.)

First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the readers who sent me positive feedback for the first issue of my little magazine. There were interesting suggestions and questions, to some of which I will try to give a concise answer in this issue.
A priority goal regarding the content of ANDA FAIRY PLANET is the presentation of fairy conditions and pieces that I have either invented in the past or else are proposed for the first time… (Petko A. Petkov)


ANDA Fairy Planet by Petko A. Petkov

A N D A
F A I R Y
PLANET

Editor:

Petko A. Petkov

Language Correction, Typesetting and Design:

Geoff Foster

ANDA FAIRY PLANET No.1
(included in the Articles sec.)

“This small electronic publication has a special but limited purpose – to demonstrate some of my ideas and inventions (old and new) in Fairy chess composition. In this way, I hope to gradually acquaint readers with some interesting and important (from my point of view) moments and results from my 64 years of work in the field of chess composition. The reader should keep in mind that as a composer I am an ardent supporter of avant-garde ideas and discoveries in Fairy chess, believing it is the future of problem composition as an art. In this regard, I do not intend to have arguments with opponents and this magazine will not publish similar material from other people.
My plan is for ANDA FAIRY PLANET to be published 4 or 5 times a year, in a modest volume of about 6 pages of text and diagrams. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my great friend Geoff Foster, who agreed to help me as language and style editor, reviewer of the text, and typesetter!”

– The Editor, Petko A. Petkov (ppetkov2702@gmail.com)


JF changes to English version

Some important information: This month I’m going to transform JF from bilingual to only English version.
I’m sorry for any inconvenience it might create! But have to tell it was always double work for me making each page twice, although many things remained not translated on Russian pages; plus some functions don’t work well on bilingual sites.  → read more..


Two issues of Conflictio by Juraj Lörinc
are added to the Articles page:

  • Conflictio No.23 (03.03.2020): “The 2nd TT Conflictio for new-strategical fairy twomovers (changes of play and move functions) is announced, it will be judged by Juraj Brabec.”
  • Conflictio No.24 (28.03.2020): “It contains the second part of the Shankar Ram’s research into the Jacobs theme. Additionally, the 3rd TT Conflictio for fairy problems showing Jacobs is announced, it will be judged by Narayan Shankar Ram.”

16th TT by Phénix: Conditionsfromply / Conditionsuntilply (C 1.07.2019)

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE
16th THEMATIC TOURNEY

The editorial board of Phénix are annoncing their 16th Thematic Tourney. It is asked to compose problems with these options of WinChloe : Conditionsfromply=n and / or Conditionsuntilply=n     

⇒ See an article by IGM Petko Petkov “THE WONDERFUL FAIRY OPTIONS OF WinChloe”
dedicated to Christian Poisson

There are four sections in the tournament:

  • Section A – direct mates (#2-n, s#2-n, r#2-n) with stalemate (=) and double-stalemate (= =) accepted
  • Section B – helpmates (h#2-n) with stalemate (=) et double-stalemate (= =) accepted
  • Section C – series (sd#2-n, sh#2-n, ss#2-n, sr#2-n), with stalemate (=) et double-stalemate (= =) accepted
  • Section D – hs# 2-n coups (with stalemate (=) et double-stalemate (= =) accepted)

Any number of problems by each author in each section. All problems must be tested by WinChloe (C+). In case of a small number of participants, sections might be reduced to only one award.

Limit date for sending : July 1st 2019, to the Tourney’s director : Laurent Riguet, 1 rue Jules Verne, F-60560 Orry la Ville or to the internet adress : travailphenix@gmail.com | The judge is Petko Petkov