April 24th

Luigi Centurini (24-04-1820 - 10-11-1900) Italian composer

Luigi Centurini published in 1853 the booklet "Giuoco degli Scacchi. Finale di Torre e Cavallo contro Torre" that made him famous. and he remained interested in endgames. He composed at least one #4 but he is best known for his talents of endgame analyst.
You can try to solve (or to remember the solution of) the below position or you can go directly to this webpage for three such endgames.

Centurini, Luigi

+

3 + 2

Show Solution

1. Bh4 Kb5 2. Bf2 Ka6 3. Bc5! Bg3 4. Be7 Kb5 5. Bd8 Kc6
{we have come back to the initial position with bBg3 instead of bBh2}
6. Bh4!! Bf4 7. Bf2 Be5 8. Ba7 Bd6 9. Bb8 Bc5 10. Bh2 Ba7 11. Bg1! Bxg1 12. b8=Q +-

Charles Francis Stubbs (24-04-1853 - 18-08-1907) Canadian composer

He gathered and published the collection "Canadian Chess Problems" in 1890 and it can be downloaded from here. You may find below a #4 by Stubbs, but this s#5 is also interesting.

Stubbs, Charles Francis
Townships Advocate, 1900

#4

4 + 3

A set play is prepared: 1...c6 2.Rd6! cxd4 3.Rxc6# but can White keep this mate?
Show Solution

The answer is no:
1.Bd4-h8 !
1...c7-c6 2.Rd7-g7 and now:

2...Kc4-d4 3.Rg7-e7+ Kd4-c4 4.Re7-e4#
2...Kc4-c3 3.Rg7-g2+ Kc3-c4 4.Rg2-c2#

Nice Indian and differentiated battery play.

Stefan Schneider (24-04-1908 - 08-12-1980) Austrian composer and International Master

Stefan Schneider was initiated into chess composition by Prof. Albert Becker, who edited a chess column in a Viennese newspaper. He composed his first problem at 16 and became a multimover composer with a taste for abstract theory. Naturally he became a theoretician of the Neudeutsche Schule. Please have a look at his portrait in German on BerlinTheme.de.

Stefan Schneider was influenced by Holzhausen's "Logik und Zweckreinheit im neudeutschen Schachproblem" (logic and purity of aim) and wrote the article "Zweckökonomie" (economy of aim) that gave a solid theoretical base to the new German School.
Schneider preferred light positions with "Klarheit in Form und Inhalt" (clarity in form and content) which makes his problems especially suitable for this blog.

Schneider, Stefan
Wiener Schachzeitung, 1949
Dedicated to Josef Halumbirek

#6

7 + 7

Show Solution

1.f6? (2.Se5#) fails on 1...e1=Q!
If the white Bishop was on e3, then 1.f6 would work. How can this be achieved?
1.Bg3! (2.Sa7#)
1...Qa1 2.Bd6 (3.Sb8#) Qh8 3.Bf4 (4.Sa7#) Qa1 4.Be3 (5.Sb8#)

4...Qh8 5.f6 (6.Se5#) Qb8+,Qh5,Qxf6 6.S(x)b8#
4...Qd4 5.Bxd4 (6.Sb8,Se5#)

Focal theme.

Something easier:

Schneider, Stefan
1^st WCCT, 1972
5^th Place, 1972-1975

s#2 v

b) wKd1->f1

11 + 10

Show Solution

a) 1.d3! R moves 2.~xR Sb1-c3/d2#
1.Bb6? Rxc7! 2.Qxc7 Sxd2+ 3.Qc1
b) 1.Bb6! R moves 2.~xR Sb1-c3/d2#
1.d3? Rg5! 2.Qxg5 Sc3+ 3.Qc1
Reciprocal tries.

Schneider, Stefan
Schach (Berlin) 1960
2^nd Prize

#5

7 + 5

Show Solution

1. Se8? (2. Sf6#)
1...Rd6 2. Bb1+ Rd3 3.Bxd3# but 1...Rf1!
1. Bg8? Rd7 2. Se8 Rf7 3. Bxf7 or 2....Rd6 3.Bh7+ Rg6/Kd5 4. Sf6/Sc7# or 2...Rb7+ 3. Kxb7 Sd6+ 4. Sxd6#
but 1... Se7! 2. Bh7+ Sf5! and White cannot find any mate.

1. Bb3! (2.Bc2+) 1... Rd2 2.Bg8! (3.Bh7+)

2...Rd7 3.Se8 (4.Sf6#) Rf7 4.Bxf7 ~ 5.Sf6#
                              3...Rb7+ 4.Kxb7 (5.Sf6#) 4...Sd6+ 5.Sxd6#
2...Se7 3.Bh7+ Sf5 4.Qxf5+ Ke3 5.Qf3# (now it appears that Rd2 was a distant block!)

For more details about the solution, please refer to this document by Erik Zierke.

Dieter Hanslik (24-04-1942) German composer

Hanslik, Dieter
Schach (Berlin) 1979 (8895)
2^nd HM

#2* v

7 + 9

Show Solution

Set play:
1...Re7[a] 2.Bxg7#[B]
1...Sxf7/Rxf7[b] 2.Se8#[A]
Try: 1.dxe6? (2.Se8#[A])
1...Re7[a] 2.Bxg7#[B]
but 1...Ra8!
1.Sc6! (2.Bxg7#[B])
1...Rxf7[b] 2.Se8#[A]
1...Rg5 2.Qe5#
Pseudo Le Grand.