Cancelation of WCCC 2020

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wfcc-logo-transparentThe WCCC 2020 organizing team had an extensive meeting during the weekend and we concluded that the WCCC 2020 should be canceled. We informed the Presidium and all members agreed with our decision.

Our main concern is that nobody can really predict what the situation will be with regard to the COVID-19 in October both in Greece and worldwide. We prefer not to take the risk.

At the moment in Greece even if the lockdown is not so strict as it used to be in the previous three months when practically no activity was possible, the general situation is far from normal. Flights are not allowed yet from many airports, the authorities change restrictions constantly as soon as new instances are detected, the information re. the quarantine that the travelling tourists should undergo varies from country to country and so on. Four months before the congress and we cannot even travel to Rhodes to meet with the hotel management to agree on the necessary arrangements. Too much time has been wasted and there is no sign that we can recover it comfortably.

Of course, we are willing to host the event at the same place in October 2021. We shall keep you updated.

– Harry Fougiaxis on behalf of WCCC 2020 organizing team

FIDE ALBUM 2016-2018 – Results in section A

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fide-album-cover-topThe results of the FIDE Album 2016-18 section A are ready!
1446 twomovers were submitted and 1236 out of them scored at least 4.5 points, a percentage of 85.5% that is very good for such a popular section. 273 compositions (22.2%) are selected — 55 out of them qualified from the WCCI. The judges worked hard, fast and professionally under the guidance of the director; many of the procedures they followed (especially in the clarification round) will be included in the updated list of guidance that we intend to work out in the future.

wfcc-logo-transparentUpdate (23.05.2020): After the publication of the results, a composer asked us to remove his selected twomovers from the list. He also informed us that he withdraws his compositions from all sections and requested that his name is removed from the list of title-holders.

Update (17.07.2020): One of the selected problems was not published in the 2016-18 period and is therefore excluded from the list.

All announced results are published in the FIDE Album 2016-18 finished sections page.

11th WCCT: Announcement

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WFCC is glad to announce the 11th World Chess Composition Tournament. Of course we are not so glad that we do this with such a great delay compared to the original schedule. We had to overcome several obstacles in the process: (1) the committee members needed considerable time to analyze the proposed themes and agree on the wording; sometimes the discussion was even heated and seemed it was close to a dead end, (2) the flow of the work was not always smooth with committee members losing their motivation for weeks, (3) poor response of the countries that volunteered to judge (we managed to complete the list just a few days ago!), (4) the initially appointed director stepped down for personal reasons, etc.

The director of the tournament is Harry Fougiaxis. The deadline for registration of the countries is July 15th, 2020. The closing date for submission of the entries is July 1st, 2021. Announcement in PDF.

Happy composing!

Lockdown Solving Tournament: Results & Presentation

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“Special times require special measures. About the origin and the rules of the first (and hopefully the last) Lockdown Solving Tournament you can read in an earlier article. The response was very nice: 67 solvers took part last Saturday. The level was quite high: 6 out of the top 10; some 40 out of the top 100.”

− Luc Palmans, Spokesman of Solving Committee

→ See the results and photo gallery in the Presentation of Lockdown Solving Tournament!

Results | Problems | Solutions

FIDE ALBUM 2016-2018 – Results in section H

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fide-album-cover-topThe results of the FIDE Album 2016-18 section H are ready!
As already mentioned in the previous cycle, retro composers have always been careful to select their highest-quality compositions to be considered for the album and the 2016-18 cycle could not be an exception. 90.5% of the submitted entries scored at least 4.5 points and 35.8% out of them were selected. The figures are impressive even if the absolute number of entries is limited, which obviously helps in having such high percentages.wfcc-logo-transparent

Many thanks to the director and the judges for their hard and efficient work!

All announced results are published in the FIDE Album 2016-18 finished sections page.

Lockdown Solving Tournament

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The Corona pandemic made an abrupt end to all the solving competitions. At the moment we can’t predict when we will meet again. With a few small steps we will try to fill the gap.

The two first tournaments which had to be cancelled because of the pandemic were the Dutch and the German Open. To compensate the regular participants of these tournaments we decided to organize a special “lockdown” competition, where the solvers receive the problems by mail at a specific moment and have to solve them immediately. In the Netherlands Wim Velker organised already two such tournaments for the local solvers and this proved to be a great success.

After some deliberation about who to invite, we decided to accept also all +2300 solvers (past and present) worldwide. In the attached pdf you will read all the rules which are specific for this special tournament.

→ In short: (show/hide)

Of course, this tournament is not for rating, norms, World Cup points, prizes or money. We are aware that this is far from the real stuff, but it’s the best we can provide at this moment.

At best, consider this as a good training session where you can compete with the other solvers. Take it seriously, but don’t take it too seriously!

— WFCC Solving Committee

Solvers’ ratings April 1st 2020

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Solvers’ ratings as of April 1st 2020 produced by the Solving Tournament Manager are published! 13 tournaments of the 1st quarter 2020 are included: Open Solving A. Suetin Memorial 2020, A. Suetin Memorial 2020, 43rd International Polish Championship 2020, 16th International Solving Contest 2020 Cat. 1, 16th International Solving Contest 2020 Cat. 2, 14th Urals Problemist Cup, RGSU-Cup 2020 as 3rd Alexander Pochinok Memorial Tourney, Open Solving of Championship Central Federal Region of Russia (CFO) 2020, Finnish Chess Solving Championship 2020, Solving Championship of CFO 2020, Winton British Chess Solving Championship 2020, Winton British Chess Solving Championship 2020 Cat B, 29th Branko Atanacković Memorial 2020.

The top ten remain the same solvers but some of them have exchanged their ranking. The largest three gain has again been achieved by junior solver Boris Chervonenkis (RUS / +62.94), this time ahead of women junior solver Aleksandra Safronova (RUS / +52.13) and junior solver Ural Hasanov (RUS / +51.16).

COVID-19 and WFCC events

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As a result of the growing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on people’s lives all around the globe and taking into account the reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicating the constant increase in the number of cases worldwide, WFCC has decided to postpone the 15th European Chess Solving Championship that was scheduled for 24-26 April 2020. The event will be held in Poltava, Ukraine in 2021 (the exact weekend will be announced at a later stage).

With regard to the 63rd WCCC / 44th WCSC 2020 that are scheduled for 3-10 October in Rhodes, the organisers will monitor the situation as evolves and will decide by the end of April or May. At the moment, in Greece flights are suspended, all schools, universities, retail shops and hotels will be closed until at least end of April and citizens are not allowed to move freely around the country (except for going to their jobs if they are still operating, to the supermarket, or to a doctor).

Stay home and be safe! – Harry Fougiaxis, WFCC president.

Chess Composing Tournament dedicated to the 44. World Chess Olympiad of 2020

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The All-Russian Public Organization “The Chess Federation of Russia” (CFR) and, at the request of the CFR, the Commission for Chess Composition (CCC) announce an International Chess Composing Tournament dedicated to the 44th World Chess Olympiad of 2020.

The chess composing tournament will be conducted in the following eight sections: twomovers; threemovers; moremovers; endgame studies; helpmates; selfmates in 2-12 moves; fairy compositions; retros and proofgames.

Executive Director of the tournament: Vitaly Medintsev, vitalymedintsev@gmail.com
Send your entries by May 10, 2020 | Regulations (PDF)