Awarded Problems
The tourney was a terrific and unexpected success with 40 entries by 23 composers!! Many thanks to all who contributed to that! You can expect that the next Champagne theme will be very difficult so that the judge has a decent judging night!!
Anyway, here are the results that some may wait eagerly. Sorry for those who will be disappointed : the level was extremely high for a quick composing tournament. 1st Prize is a stunning masterpiece I expect will be widely reproduced.
Prizes: Criteria for entering this category were quite "simple": either more than twice the theme, either twice the theme with the 2 promotees captured.
HM: criteria for this category were less well defined: "invisible" promotions (to use Nicolas Dupont's labeling) were necessary but not sufficient + some special feature that favorably struck the tired judge (with so many entries, it is hardly possible to study every subtlety of every problem...)
Commendations: Less and less well defined criteria; special interest of course; sometimes getting a smile from the exhausted judge was sufficient. Bad luck for these nice problems (and also for not included problems) that the participation was so strong!!
Michel Caillaud
1 - Reto Aschwanden Messigny 2004 1st Prize
Shortest proof game in 18.0 moves (C+)
[6rk/4p2p/pp3n2/2np1p2/8/1q2b2b/PPP1P2r/RNBQKBNR]
Solution
2 - Andreï Frolkin & Kostas Prentos Messigny 2004 2nd Prize
Shortest proof game in 27.5 moves
[rn4Rr/1K1knpRp/2p4b/1R6/2R5/N6b/PBB1N1PP/Qrrr3q]
The composers submitted a "light" version, maybe more artistic, but the "sportive" achievement of 4 times the theme is of course justified for a thematic tourney:
2a - Andreï Frolkin & Kostas Prentos
Shortest proof game in 21.5 moves (C+)
[qRRR3Q/pbb1n1pp/n7/2r5/1rk5/5p2/1PP1pPPP/RNB1KBNR]
3 - Thierry Le Gleuher Messigny 2004 3rd Prize
Shortest proof game in 20.5 moves (C+)
[1R2R1R1/p1pp2bk/2n4r/3r1p2/2bn4/2N4p/PP1PP1Pq/R1BQKBNR]
4 - Göran Wicklund Messigny 2004 4th Prize
Shortest proof game in 25.5 moves (C+)
[RqRrR2n/4n3/8/1k1p1p2/b7/bn5R/1PP1P1Pp/RNBQKBNR]
Bad luck that the version with cyclic shift of 6 Rooks (!!!) was cooked. Let's hope that with more time Göran can fix it.
04c - Göran Wicklund Probleemblad R254, September 2004 (Corrected version of Nr, 4, Messigny 2004)
16+11. Shortest proof game in 29.5 moves
[RqR1R1R1/2bprp2/1k1q1n2/8/b7/nn6/1PP1P1P1/RNBQKBNR]
5 - Gerd Wilts Messigny 2004 5th Prize
Shortest proof game in 20.0 moves
[2b3rk/p3P2p/5n2/1p3pr1/n2pP3/4b3/P1P3PP/RNBQKB1q]
Bad luck for Gerd that Reto participated
5a - Gerd Wilts New Version of the 5th price, contributed to the Retro Mailing List
Shortest proof game in 17,5 moves (C+)
[rnbqkbnr/p2pp1pp/2Q1B3/B4P2/PPp5/2NP4/1K2P2P/2RR2N1]
6 - Kostas Prentos & Andreï Frolkin Messigny 2004 1st HM
[qRRbk3/pb1ppp2/5p1n/8/3n3P/rrNpP3/1P1PNPp1/2BQKB2]
7 - Pascal Wassong, Nicolas Dupont & Göran Wicklund Messigny 2004 2nd HM
Shortest proof game in 10.5 moves (C+)
[rnr2R2/p1ppnp1p/1p2kq2/8/8/8/PPPPP3/RNBQKBNb]
Nicolas and Göran submitted independent entries with "visible" promotion; Pascal knew about their efforts before producing his version with "invisible" promotion and that is why the 3 names are on the final result...
8 - Christoph Fieberg Messigny 2004 3rd HM
Shortest proof game in 14.5 moves (C+)
[1k1B2nr/pp1n4/3pp2p/7p/8/7b/Pb2PP1P/Rr1QKBNR]
9 - Andreï Frolkin & Kostas Prentos Messigny 2004 4th HM
[rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/8/4R3/P1P3P1/2NP1RNQ/5P1P/2B2K2]
10 - Rustam Ubaidullaev Messigny 2004 5th HM
Shortest proof game in 14.0 moves (C+)
[1n2krrq/2p1p2p/5n1b/5p2/p2p4/8/1PPPP1PP/RNBQKBNR]
Bad luck for Rustam that Reto and Gerd participated...
11 - Gerd Wilts Messigny 2004 1st Commendation (The problem was later found to be cooked)
[1N4Nk/b1n2p2/2p1p2n/rq1p1b1p/pr6/8/2PPPPPB/RN1QKBNR]
12 - Nicolas Dupont Messigny 2004 1st Commendation
Shortest proof game in 18,5 moves (C+)
[QqQ3nr/1pkbpp1p/1n1rp3/8/8/8/1pP1PP1p/RNBQKBNR]
13 - Igor Vereschagin & Rustam Ubaidullaev Messigny 2004 3rd Commendation
Shortest proof game in 19,5 moves (C+)
[rQ5Q/pkppn3/p4ppn/6bp/b7/8/PqPPP2P/RNBQKBNR]
14 - Gligor Denkovski Messigny 2004 4th Commendation
Shortest proof game in 13.0 moves (C+)
[2k2rnr/1pq1pp1p/2p1p3/3b4/8/8/2PPPPP1/RNbQKBNR]
15 - Gianni Donati Messigny 2004 5th Commendation
Shortest proof game in 16.5 moves (C+)
[rnbqkbnr/1pppp1pp/1P6/8/1QB1P1R1/2BP1P2/1PPK3P/1N2N1R1]
16 - Vlaicu Crisan & Eric Huber Messigny 2004 6th Commendation
Shortest proof game in 15.5 moves (C+)
[rnbqkbnr/p1ppp1pp/8/8/1BBKP3/1NP4P/P1PP1P1P/1N1R3R]
17 - Jacques Dupin & Maryan Kerhuel Messigny 2004 7th Commendation
Shortest proof game in 8.0 moves
[rnbqkbnr/2xxxxxx/4r3/5K2/8/4XX2/XXXXQ2X/RNB2Br1]
Xx = Super-Pawns (instead of Pawns in initial position)
18 - Jérôme Auclair Messigny 2004 8th Commendation
Shortest proof game in 6.0 moves (Circe Parrain)
[rnb1kbnr/ppp2ppp/8/3QN3/2q5/3rP1P1/PPP1P1PP/RNBr1BKR]
