25^th RIFACE, Messigny, 2004

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]

Solution

3 - Thierry Le Gleuher
Messigny 2004
3rd Prize

Shortest proof game in 20.5 moves (C+)

[1R2R1R1/p1pp2bk/2n4r/3r1p2/2bn4/2N4p/PP1PP1Pq/R1BQKBNR]

Solution

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.

Solution

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]

Solution

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

Solution

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]

Solution

6 - Kostas Prentos & Andreï Frolkin
Messigny 2004
1st HM

Shortest proof game in 21.5 moves (C+)

[qRRbk3/pb1ppp2/5p1n/8/3n3P/rrNpP3/1P1PNPp1/2BQKB2]

Solution

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...

Solution

8 - Christoph Fieberg
Messigny 2004
3rd HM

Shortest proof game in 14.5 moves (C+)

[1k1B2nr/pp1n4/3pp2p/7p/8/7b/Pb2PP1P/Rr1QKBNR]

Solution

9 - Andreï Frolkin & Kostas Prentos
Messigny 2004
4th HM

Shortest proof game in 14.5 moves (C+)

[rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/8/4R3/P1P3P1/2NP1RNQ/5P1P/2B2K2]

Solution

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...

Solution

11 - Gerd Wilts
Messigny 2004
1st Commendation
(The problem was later found to be cooked)

Shortest proof game in 20.0 moves

[1N4Nk/b1n2p2/2p1p2n/rq1p1b1p/pr6/8/2PPPPPB/RN1QKBNR]

Solution

12 - Nicolas Dupont
Messigny 2004
1st Commendation

Shortest proof game in 18,5 moves (C+)

[QqQ3nr/1pkbpp1p/1n1rp3/8/8/8/1pP1PP1p/RNBQKBNR]

Solution

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]

Solution

14 - Gligor Denkovski
Messigny 2004
4th Commendation

Shortest proof game in 13.0 moves (C+)

[2k2rnr/1pq1pp1p/2p1p3/3b4/8/8/2PPPPP1/RNbQKBNR]

Solution

15 - Gianni Donati
Messigny 2004
5th Commendation

Shortest proof game in 16.5 moves (C+)

[rnbqkbnr/1pppp1pp/1P6/8/1QB1P1R1/2BP1P2/1PPK3P/1N2N1R1]

Solution

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]

Solution

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)

Solution

18 - Jérôme Auclair
Messigny 2004
8th Commendation

Shortest proof game in 6.0 moves (Circe Parrain)

[rnb1kbnr/ppp2ppp/8/3QN3/2q5/3rP1P1/PPP1P1PP/RNBr1BKR]

Solution