Summary of Tehtäväniekka 3/2024
The cover composition reminds of a brand-new book published by our society: Heikki Lukkarinen Shakkitehtävät Chess compositions. The book presents all known compositions by Lukkarinen, whose life ended prematurely in the second World War. He was an outstanding talent, as the 132 compositions in the book show. All relevant texts are also in English, to make the book digestible also to foreign problemists. For order information, see the web page of our society or contact the editor in chief, see p. 114. The solution of the cover composition is on p. 115 and additional information on the book on p. 140.
The Jūrmala congress took place from the end of July to the beginning of August. The event was well organised, the premises were good and the company, of course, excellent! There were some differences compared with previous congresses. To keep the costs for the participants low, there was no excursion. Often the excursions offer good possibilities for socialising and some of us missed this opportunity. There was no Solving Show, but as far as we know, people did not seem to mind. There are surely enough solving opportunities, especially as in Jūrmala we could participate also in Fairy or Retro Solving events. Mikael Grönroos reports on the event’s social aspects and solving competitions, see pp. 116–124.
One year ago, we announced Kauko Virtanen MT for distant blocks in orthodox mates in three or more moves. The award by Kari Valtonen is on pp. 125–133. The composers found different methods to show the theme in efficient and impressive manner. The award remains open for the usual period of three months from the publication date of this issue.
Report on the Jūrmala composing competitions is on pp. 134–139. Finland enjoyed some success, especially noteworthy was Per Olin’s 1st Prize in section A of the Champagne Tourney.
The most important decisions reached during the congress are on pp. 139–140. The commission was reluctant to our proposal for studies selected for the FIDE Album to receive 1,00 points, instead of the current 1,67. For us, there is no obvious reason why a study should be treated differently than, for example, a proofgame.
On pp. 141–142 we have the sad news on the deaths of three prominent composers: René J. Millour, Petko A. Petkov and Eugeniusz Iwanow. Paavo Tikka turned 75 on the 10th of August and his significant birthday is recognised by dedication problems, see p. 143. On the same page Neal Turner continues his Paha Pähkinä and he has also compiled recent successes by Finnish composers, see pp. 144–148.
The originals columns are on pp. 149–162. We are happy to present 45 compositions representing different genres. Thank you to all contributors, column editors, and judges in advance!
On p. 162 we invite you to the autumn meeting of Finnish problemists in the second weekend of November and on the same page you find a couple of corrections to recent TN issues.
The next issue is due to appear in December.