The award for Section H (Retros) is ready! Thanks to the judge, Andriy Frolkin for his work, submitted in super-quick time!
The award is published in the Preliminary Results section of the WFCC-70JT page.
The area of non-PG Retros has the least support from software, therefore I request all our Retro experts and testers to check the entries!
Please send claims to the director (wfcc70jt@gmail.com) before 15-Nov-2026.
26.07.2026. WFCC-70JT update:
Heartfelt thanks to all the composers who submitted entries!
And now, the baton passes to the judges. Wishing them a happy, stimulating and rewarding task!
Narayan Shankar Ram,
director of WFCC-70JT
Solvers’ ratings as of July 1st 2026 produced by the Solving Tournament Manager are published on the WFCC Solving Portal.
15 tournaments of the 2nd quarter 2026 are included: 40th Ukrainian Championship 2026, 45th Azerbaijan Chess Solving Championship 2026, 48th German Solving Championship 2026, Open of Lithuanian Solving Championship 2026, 47th Lithuanian Championship 2026, 24th Greek Chess Solving Championship 2026, 34th Chess Solving Championship of Slovakia 2026, Open Solving Tournament of ECSC 2026, 19th European Chess Solving Championship 2026, 47th French Chess Solving Championship 2026, 2nd Chess Solving Championship of Achaia Region, Open Solving Championship of Serbia 2026, 34th Czech Chess Solving Championship 2026, 8th Ukrainian Solving Cup 2026, 52nd Latvian Chess Solving Championship 2026.
Ranking of the top 10 solvers: 1. Danila Pavlov (FID) 2830.17 (+6.00), 2. Kacper Piorun (POL) 2762.00 (+2.92), 3. Piotr Murdzia (POL) 2731.07 (+2.16), 4. Ural Khasanov (FID) 2718.33 (+53.86), 5. Eddy Van Beers (BEL) 2639.66 (+10.80), 6. John Nunn (GBR) 2636.35 (unchanged), 7. Martynas Limontas (LTU) 2612.28 (+48.86), 8. Bojan Vučković (SRB) 2600.55 (+4.30), 9. Aleksey Popov (FID) 2591.59 (unchanged), 10. Kevinas Kuznecovas (LTU) 2577.52 (+44.6).
Largest 5 gains: Arvydas Mockus (LTU) +140.46, junior Anton Nasyrov (FID) +128.04, junior woman Anastasiya Chekina (FID) +117.74, junior woman Nika Riabenko (UKR) +117.09, junior woman Ekaterina Shestakova (FID) +98.52.
Klaus Wenda was 7 years my senior and was already well established in the international problem world when I began taking part in the PCCC congresses (from 1978): Klaus started in 1967, and ended with an 8-year period as the PCCC President from 1986 to 1994. Health problems prevented him from attending later congresses, but he continued to be active and helpful in PCCC and WFCC matters, through all the years up to now. So all in all, he supported the PCCC/WFCC for more than 55 years. His great knowledge of legal questions was very useful to us – his professional role was as a lawyer in an Austrian bank. You could tell that he was old school central European bureaucrat – always very correct, but also very friendly and helpful, flexible when needed.
We had much contact during his presidency, as I was active in some important subcommittees. Klaus did the paperwork and ran the PCCC sessions very efficiently; he was certainly one of the strongest presidents during my time in the commission. But he didn’t socialize much with “my own” younger group during leisure hours – probably due to his duties as president.
It should be mentioned that when I and a colleague from my work spent a few days in Vienna in the late 1980’s, Klaus invited us to a Heurigen (a sort of wine bar for tasting new wine). And when the new Presidium needed to have a separate session in 2010, we met in Vienna and were invited by Klaus to a great dinner in his house in the country. (Uri Avner stayed in Europe a few days longer, but then an Icelandic volcano erupted, most air traffic in Europe was halted and he could not get home for a few weeks.)
Klaus organized the PCCC meetings in Wiener Neustadt in 1980 and in Graz 1987 together with wife Doris. Of course, both events ran very smoothly.
But Klaus wasn’t just a very competent organizer, he was a great composer. I know he was very proud when he received the well-deserved Grandmaster title (IGM) in 2010. He started out as a composer of elegant logical moremovers in the so-called Viennese style, a result of coming under the influence of the famous Josef Halumbirek and his circle of composers. He soon took an interest in heterodox composition, first helpmates and selfmates and then fairies with Circe, AntiCirce, Madrasi and other fairy forms. Often, his problems have a colourful main plan which has to be prepared by one or more logical foreplans. In later decades he composed many retractor problems, mostly in AntiCirce.
He was a very respected judge in problem tourneys, and also wrote many articles in various magazines. He was also co-author of three problem books about works of Austrian composers: Problempalette (1971) and Problempalette II (1991), both with Friedrich Chlubna, and Dreiklang (2001) with Alois Johandl and Friedrich Chlubna.
A great friend, composer and organizer has left us.
The magazine feenschach organizes a memorial tourney for direct mates with Circe and/or AntiCirce and optionally fairy pieces – see the WFCC Composing Calendar.
Solvers’ ratings as of April 1st 2026 produced by the Solving Tournament Manager are published on the WFCC Solving Portal.
10 tournaments of the 1st quarter 2026 are included: 49th International Polish Championship 2026, 22nd International Solving Contest 2026 Cat 1, 22nd International Solving Contest 2026 Cat 2, 47th Finnish Chess Solving Championship 2026, Romanian Solving Championship 2026, Winton British Solving Championship 2026, Winton British Solving Championship 2026 Minor, 31st Dutch Open Chess Solving Championship 2026, 1st Romanian Open Chess Solving Cup, 34th Branko Atanackovic Memorial 2026
Ranking of the top 10 solvers: 1. Danila Pavlov (FID) 2824.17 (unchanged), 2. Kacper Piorun (POL) 2759.08 (+12.93), 3. Piotr Murdzia (POL) 2728.91 (-22.32), 4. Ural Khasanov (FID) 2664.47 (unchanged), 5. John Nunn (GBR) 2636.35 (-3.85), 6. Eddy Van Beers (BEL) 2628.86 (-0.57), 7. Bojan Vučković (SRB) 2596.25 (unchanged), 8. Aleksey Popov (FID) 2591.59 (unchanged), 9. Nikos Sidiropoulos (GRE) 2587.85 (+0.81), 10. Martynas Limontas (LTU) 2563.42 (-16.03).
Largest 5 gains: Robert Włodarczyk (POL) +65.85, junior Taras Rudenko (UKR) +44.55, Joost Michielsen (NED) +42.56, junior Matei Zlate-Ion (ROU) +41.39, junior Razvan-Andrei Burja-Udrea (ROU) +38.77.
As announced at the end of 2025, WFCC delegates were invited to apply for the WFCC Fujairah grants supporting WFCC development projects in 2026.
Two projects were received by 1st March.
Having in mind the rising activities and potentials of these two countries, the WFCC Presidium has decided to accept both projects, and to set some standards for the future criteria for the Fujairah grants.
According to suggested criteria, based on expected effects, the Indian project should directly attract more than 200 young participants across India.
Romanian “Alba Carolina” Composing Cup 2026 is expected to engage around 30 U23 participants from 10 countries, and the “Alba Carolina” Solving Cup is planned for 50 participants (30 of them U23).
Project by India (PDF) | Project by Romania (PDF)
WFCC Presidium wishes organizers a successful realization of the projects!
The WFCC 70th Jubilee Tourney 2026 (WFCC-70JT) is organised to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Permanent Commission of the FIDE for Chess Compositions (PCCC), later the WFCC (2010), in 1956. It is based on the format of the FIDE World Cup (8 sections, single judge, one anonymous entry per composer per section).
On the suggestion of WFCC Honorary President Klaus Wenda, the judges have been selected from the countries (or their successors) that were represented at the first ever PCCC meeting at Budapest, Hungary in May 1956.
The tourney director is Narayan Shankar Ram (wfcc70jt@gmail.com).
Composers worldwide are warmly invited to submit their best works.
Full announcement page | Announcement in PDF
The WFCC is pleased to announce the official opening of the Chess Composers Club (CCC) —
a new global meeting place for chess composers.
We warmly invite everyone to visit the Club’s homepage at ccc.wfcc.ch and explore its vision and activities. In addition to presenting the goals and structure of the Club, the homepage features an Open Resources section (First Steps in Composing, Software Tools) with links to articles and reference sources. This section is freely accessible to all visitors and will continue to grow over time.
To ensure a focused and respectful working environment, certain guidelines apply to participation in the Club’s two activity rooms.
→read more (show/hide)…Solvers’ ratings as of January 1st 2026 produced by the Solving Tournament Manager are published on the WFCC Solving Portal.
9 tournaments of the 4th quarter 2025 are included: Open Solving Tournament Hamlet Amiryan MT-2025, 34th Kedainiai Cup 2025, 2nd Hamlet Amiryan Memorial Tournament 2025, 40th Open Swiss Solving Championship 2025, 6th Branko Babic Memorial 2025, 30th Belgian Championship 2025, 30th Belgian Championship 2025 Cat-B, 34th Henk Hagedoorn Memorial 2025, Cugir City Championship, 10th Greek Chess Solving Cup 2025.
Ranking of the top 10 solvers: 1. Danila Pavlov (FID) 2824.17 (-11.11), 2. Piotr Murdzia (POL) 2751.23, 3. Kacper Piorun (POL) 2746.15, 4. Ural Khasanov (FID) 2664.47 (+10.6), 5. John Nunn (GBR) 2640.20, 6. Eddy Van Beers (BEL) 2629.43 (+4.8), 7. Bojan Vučković (SRB) 2596.25 (+0.06), 8. Aleksey Popov (FID) 2591.59 (+11.09), 9. Nikos Sidiropoulos (GRE) 2587.04 (-2), 10. Martynas Limontas (LTU) 2579.45 (-0.45).
Largest 5 gains (all juniors!): Pavel Ekimov (FID) +64.92, female Darya Efimova (FID) +57.75, Anton Nasyrov (FID) +50.83, Ekaterina Shestakova (FID) +50.13, Razvan-Andrei Burja-Udrea.(ROU) +45.41.
68th WCCC and 49th WCSC in Magdeburg (Germany)
I am pleased to announce that the 68th World Congress of Chess Composition, including the 49th World Chess Solving Championship, will take place from 8–15 August 2026 at the Maritim Hotel Magdeburg, Germany (with the program starting on Sunday, 9 August).
The bid for WCCC 2026 was approved by email voting of 29 out of 44 WFCC delegates, with 28 votes in favor and one abstention. This strong support reflects our shared appreciation and gratitude to Torsten Linß and the German team for stepping in and successfully securing WCCC 2026.
Further details of the bid can be found here
A dedicated congress website, including registration information, will be launched by the end of January.
The end of 2025 has also brought several encouraging developments:
With this encouraging news, I would like to wish you all a very happy and successful New Year, and to thank you once again for your continued support, cooperation, and collegial spirit.
Marjan Kovačević
WFCC President
