Summary of Tehtäväniekka 4/2023

 

Our cover shows the 1st Prize winners of Unto Heinonen MT. The competition had two groups and attracted 163 entries. The judge was Hans Gruber, who was able to finish his award quickly, despite the high number of entries. See pp. 169–186 for the award.
Another composing competition, Ilkka Sarén MT, has also been judged. The competition was a domestic one and required helpmates in at least 3½ moves. Harry Fougiaxis had 25 entries to consider, and his award is on pp. 187–190. The original English version is available at https://www.tehtavaniekat.fi/wp-content/uploads/saren_MT.pdf. Congratulations to successful composers in these competitions, and many thanks to the judges!
Our society´s annual meeting of 2024 takes place on 17th of February. On the same day we have the Finnish Championship in Solving, which is a part of the Solving World Cup. Unfortunately, the date clashes with another World Cup event, but our venue was booked on alternative dates. See p. 152 for more information.
The Batumi congress took place in early September. The event was a pleasant one and brought many old friends together. We have reports on the event’s social aspects and a comprehensive look at the solving competitions, see pp. 154–167. The most important decisions reached during the meetings are on p. 156. Reporting on the composing competitions was a challenge, as the congress website has been taken over by an OTB chess event. This is unfortunate and should obviously not have happened, but the mistakes are all there, waiting to be made…
bernd ellinghoven died just before this issue was finished, see p. 168. His life-long devotion to chess compositions led not only into a successful composing career, but into publishing feenschach for several decades and many books of high quality.
Paha Pähkinä, a Tough Nut to Crack, selected by Neal Turner, is on p. 190. Neal turns 75 on 19th of December 2023, see pp. 192–193. For several decades he has been active as a composer, organising solving events, compiling successful Finnish compositions, and often checking the English language used in our publications.
The autumn meeting of our society took place in the beginning of November. On p. 194 you will find the report on the event and the results of the solving and composing competitions. The originals columns start on p. 195. Your contributions to the columns are welcome, as always!

Thank you, dear reader, for the year 2023! The next issue is due to appear in March 2024.