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This contest page has been viewed 332 times by 120 unique visitors.
A perfect contest would be one in which all competitors tied for first. This contest almost did it. There were 120 visitors, 7 of whom voted. The mystery theme of all the problems was a back & forth pitch into a quadruple jump.
The winner with three votes was Precisely, by Bill Salot. Slava Gorin (Russia) voted for it. It was followed by Tossed Salad, by Ed Atkinson, and Hi, by the late Roy Little, with 2 votes each. Lloyd Gordon (Canada) and Wilma Wolverton voted for Tossed Salad. George Hay and Don Myles voted for Hi.
The International voters’ ladder now stands as follows (changes are highlighted):
1 – Mark Sokolovsky, has picked 7 winners in 8 tries (88%)
2 – Don Myles, 5 wins in 8 tries (63%)
3 – Liam Stephens (Ireland), 18 wins in 30 tries (60%)
4 – Kathy Wirthwein, 15 wins in 26 tries (58%)
5 – George Hay, 16 wins in 31 tries (52%)
6 – Gene Ellison, 11 wins in 23 tries (48%)
7– Lloyd Gordon (Canada), 11 wins in 26 tries (42.3%)
8 – Wilma Wolverton, 5 wins in 12 tries (41.7%)
9 – Slava Gorin (Russia), 10 wins in 25 tries (40%)
10 – Gary Ellison, 4 wins in 13 tries (31%)
Sixteen (16) others have either picked fewer than 31% winners or voted in fewer than 8 contests.
If you want to solve these contest entries without benefit of hints, go directly to the diagrams without reading the remainder of this preamble. If the problems prove too difficult, come back to this preamble for some big hints. The hints start here:
All three diagrams differ in the number of pieces, both Black and White, but are similar in other ways. They are all giant strokes with a quadruple jump and culminating in the immediate pinning of the remaining defenders for a White win. Each has at least one inviting White variation that proves to be a fake solution with a nice escape for Black. All three are pure strokes, meaning there are no deferral or waiting moves. You start giving away White pieces immediately and continue until you stumble on the big sweep. This should make it easy to find the solution. But there is a common mystery theme embedded in each solution, a rare theme that has not been featured in the previous 62 contests, and could prove to be a stumbling block to your analytical success. It is identified in the attached solutions, and should be recognized as soon as you see it in one of the entries or in the teaser problem on the cover page.
Your vote is needed to help determine the next Unofficial World Champion Problem Composer. Get on the free International Voters’ Ladder by divulging your vote to the e-mail address below the diagrams.
After you've reviewed the problems, cast your ballot in the box below.
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White to Play and Win
White to Play and Win
White to Play and Win
Contests 1-55 can be accessed on the old contest page.
Contest 56 can be found here.
Contest 57 can be found here.
Contest 58 can be found here.
Contest 60 can be found here.
Contest 61 can be found here.
Contest 62 and the current International Voters' Ladder standings can be found here.
Please enter your original, unpublished, dual-free problems in future contests by sending them at any time to:
Bill Salot
1006 Elmwood Drive
Colonial Heights, VA 23834-2905
or
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Contests are managed by Bill Salot and presented by The Checker Maven.
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