RIFACE 2023 : composing tournaments

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The 44th RIFACE (International Meeting in France for Chess Problems Lovers) will take place, as usual, during the Pentecost week-end, from Friday, May 26th, 2023 (evening) to Monday, May 29th, 2023 (noon). We stay close to Paris, but this time in Gennevilliers, Hôtel Ibis Paris Gennevilliers.

PAY ATTENTION : the French Chess Solving Championship is registered for the World Solving Cup 2022-2023 and will take place Saturday, May 27th, 2023 at 2 PM.

Themes of composing tournaments:

Thème aidés.pdf | Thème féerique.pdf | Thème rétro.pdf

Address to send the entries : RIFACE.2023@gmail.com for Helpmates and Fairies;
retro.riface2023@gmail.com for retro problems. Time limit to send the entries : Sunday 28th May at 15:00 (French time)

WCCI 2019-2021: Results

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The RESULTS of the 8th World Championship in Composing for Individuals WCCI 2019-2021 are published on the WFCC official website!

AUGUST 29, 2022 | CATEGORY: WCCI

Congratulations to the winners!

A Twomovers: Vasyl Dyachuk, Pavel Murashev, Marjan Kovačević
B Threemovers: Aleksandr Kuzovkov, Mikhail Marandyuk, Igor Agapov
C Moremovers: Aleksandr Kuzovkov, Mikhail Marandyuk, Valery Shavyrin
D Endgame studies: Steffen Slumstrup Nielsen, Oleg Pervakov, Serhiy Didukh
E Helpmates: Mykola Kolesnik, Aleksandr Semenenko, Viktoras Paliulionis
F Selfmates: Andrey Selivanov, Zoran Gavrilovski, Gennadiy Koziura
G Fairies: Petko Petkov, Valery Semenenko, Václav Kotěšovec
H Retros: Silvio Baier, Dmitrij Baibikov, Kostas Prentos

RIFACE 2022 – June 3th-6th, Paris (Issy-Les-Moulineaux)

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This year, the 43th RIFACE (International Meeting in France for Chess Problems Lovers) will take place, as usual.  We stay right next to Paris, but this time in Issy-Les-Moulineaux. The hotel has chargeable parking.

Hotel Ibis « Paris Issy les Moulineaux Val de Seine » – 213, rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau – 92130 Issy-Les-Moulineaux – 01.47.36.42.00 (GPS : N 48° 49’ 21.05’’ E2° 15’ 25.70’’)

PAY ATTENTION : the French Chess Solving Championship is registered for the World Solving Cup 2021-2022 and will take place Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 15:30 pm.

Thank you to register as soon as possible and no later than Saturday, April 30 2022! – Jerome Auclair

WFCC sanctions & JF’s originals

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WFCC sanctions in reaction to hostilities in Ukraine are based on the voting result you can see on the official website. I’m glad about some of our decisions, I regret about the voting result related to 11.WCCT. And I’m very much disappointed about the ignorant behavior of some delegates who never appeared on any WFCC meeting and didn’t trouble themselves with the voting. I apologize to all composers who had trust in our organization. Please, stay patient, stay healthy, and I will try to keep JF out of politics, as a fairy garden where fairy composers are always glad to meet each other and to share their creativity.

My kid is 8. She was a troublesome student because she couldn’t stay concentrated for longer than five minutes and was not interested in studying at all. I didn’t want to medicate her, but after long considerations and consultations, I started giving https://healthylombard.com/buy-adderall/ her Adderall. The situation at school changed completely. She is now motivated and tries to do her best.

JF will continue to publish original problems by individuals from any countries. Our creativity, good will, positive emotions, support to each each other are needed to keep the peace where we can, to calm our minds and to warm our hearts.

This month JF celebrates its 10 years jubilee. Please, join me with the smile!

A Chess Problem Tribute to the James Webb Space Telescope!

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A Chess Problem Tribute to the
James Webb Space Telescope!

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched by NASA on 25-Dec-2021, is the most powerful telescope ever launched into space and is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. It is expected to look farther than the Hubble and has created great excitement among the astronomer community. It will uncover details to study and understand the earliest formation and evolution of Galaxies, Stars and Planets, including the origins of life.

When faced with all these new vistas, one is reminded of our own TRD’s words, from the envoi to “Ultimate Themes”, 1938: “Fairy problems have the limitless geometry of space before them, with life, fire, exquisite beauty, in rich and growing and never-ending profusion.“
https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Webb_Space_Telescope

#2
Immobile BKd4 (Cannot move or capture)

The layout of the JWST’s 18 mirrors immediately suggests a hexagonal chessboard which was covered in our classification project. So, here is a hexagonal chess problem to celebrate the JWST!

Chess Problem: Hexagonal Board with 19 squares: a1-a3-c5-e3-e1-c1

Rooks move through the sides of the squares. Bishops move through the corners. Pawns move vertically through the sides of the squares towards their bottom rank (here a1-e1 for BPs) and capture through the edges of the squares to the left or right.

Solution:
1.Re1-c3! ZZ
1…Ra2-b3 2.Rc3-c5#
1…Ba1-b3 2.Rc3-c4#
1…Rd1-d2 2.Rc3-e3#
1…Bc1-d2 2.Rc3-d3#
Double Grimshaw + 4 mates by WR
Tries: 1.Rb3+? R/Bxb3! 1.Rd2+? R/Bxd2! 1.Rxd1+? c2xd1=Q/R/B/S! 1.Re3+? Bxe3! 1.Re2? ZZ Rb3/Bc5!

Shankar Ram

Andernach Meeting 2022

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breaking news – Andernach Meeting 2022

In the last two years, the Andernach meeting had to be cancelled due to COVID19 — now it will take place again: May 26-29 at the Ristorante Bellini, Hochstraße 39, 56626 Andernach, Germany.
We will meet there on May 26 from 17:00.

Please organize your own accommodation, but inform Thomas Brand (t.brand@gmx.net) about your participation and possible contributions to the program.  A solving tournament (a bit different than usual) is planned.

Until May many greetings – Hans Gruber and Thomas Brand

Fairy Eater Chess – a fairy chess variant by Vadrya Pokshtya

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My name is Sergey Kulelyaev (my pen name Vadrya Pokshtya). I am chess variants inventor and chess composer. Not so long ago, I managed to implement one of my most successful variants of fairy chess in terms of tactics, strategy and game dynamics – Fairy Eater Chess.

With a gratitude to P. A. Stonemann for a help with publishing my chess variants at Game Courier.

Vadrya Pokshtya (Sergey Kulelyaev)

The battlefield is an odd 9×9 board, on which two opposing sides have gathered, consisting of both classic fairy chess pieces and two new ones to reveal the strongest.

The original names of the pieces create the appropriate atmosphere of the game and immerse us in the world of dark fantasy, giving the necessary flavor to everything that happens on the board. It would seem that with such a crowded initial arrangement, the gameplay is impossible, but in reality it turns out the opposite: the pieces begin to behave super-aggressively, quickly devouring each other in these conditions of a confined space. The game is replete with mind-blowing combinations and incredible possibilities, which distinguishes it from all other variants of fairy chess.

Let’s take for example the following position from a practical game, which shows the amazing world of Fairy Eater Chess in the best possible way.

White to move and mate in one.

Nightrider’s non-obvious rebound from square d3 to h1 decides the outcome of the battle in favor of White. Black cannot close with the Shield on e7 from the Ghost (Skull) on d1, since the Nightrider on h1 does not allow to do it. Also note that Black’s Sorcerer cannot retreat to e9 because this square is under attack by the white Nightrider on a1.

The Hopper is out!

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Welcome to THE HOPPER – a new chess problem magazine
from Singapore!

The team – Andrew Buchanan, Anirudh Daga and James Quah – has created something you’ve never seen before.

Back from Rhodes WCCC…

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I’m back from Rhodes Congress!

With the Title of FIDE Master in Chess Composition! The first title I ever had, making the final banquet even more special!

With all excitement and success of the 5th YCCC (50 young composers from 12 countries)! See the post 63.WCCC – 5.YCCC results, but some more materials and photo gallery is still coming.

With the 15th ECSC in Riga, 13-15.05.2022 – welcome to be my guests!
Although this is mostly an event for solvers, I’m looking for the reason to composers to come as well 🙂 And here the reason is: 10 years jubilee of JF next spring! So, the thematic composing tournament with the prize giving in Riga will be coming too!

It was nice to have an alive meeting, to catch some warmer sun, the atmosphere of vacation and a competition at the same time, and the celebration after all! I tried to put the main events, results and photos, on the WFCC website: 63.WCCC: the first events | 44. WCSC, Rhodes, 19-20.10.21 | 63.WCCC: Machine gun & Fairy solving | 63.WCCC – 5.YCCC results | WCCC 2021 final: agenda and bulletin

…my photo gallery I gladly share with you – Google Album 63.WCCC Rhodes. – Julia