Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games such as xiangqi and shogi. The recorded history of chess goes back at least to the emergence of a similar game, chaturanga, in seventh century India. The rules of chess as they are known today emerged in Europe at the end of the 15th century, with standardization and universal acceptance by the end of the 19th century. Today, chess is one of the world's most popular games played by millions of people worldwide.
A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by the composer using chess pieces on a chess board, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is to move first, and checkmate Black in two moves against any possible defence. A chess problem fundamentally differs from over-the-board play in that the latter involves a struggle between Black and White, whereas the former involves a competition between the composer and the solver. Most positions which occur in a chess problem are 'unrealistic' in the sense that they are very unlikely to occur in over-the-board play. There is a good deal of specialized jargon used in connection with chess problems.
John Denis Martin Nunn is an English chess grandmaster, a three-time world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician. He is one of England's strongest chess players and was formerly in the world's top ten.
Colin Anderson McNab is a Scottish chess player. He is Scotland's second player to be awarded the title of Grandmaster (GM), fulfilling its requirements in 1992 just after Paul Motwani. After achieving his three norms, he strained to get his rating up to the required 2500 level, and is possibly unique among Grandmasters in only achieving a published rating of 2500 some six years after being awarded the title. The FIDE regulations in force at the time stated that an 'intermediate' rating at any stage during an event would suffice, and that ratings between 2498.5 and 2500 would be rounded up, which is indeed what happened in 1992. He is also an International Master of correspondence chess since 1993 and International Master of chess problem solving since 2007.
The World Chess Solving Championship (WCSC) is an annual competition in the solving of chess problems organized by the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC), previously by FIDE via the Permanent Commission of the FIDE for Chess Compositions (PCCC).
The FIDE Albums are publications of the world chess governing body, FIDE, via the Permanent Commission of the FIDE for Chess Compositions (PCCC), containing the best chess problems and studies of a certain period.
A chess composer is a person who creates endgame studies or chess problems. Chess composers usually specialize in a particular genre, e.g. endgame studies, twomovers, threemovers, moremovers, helpmates, selfmates, fairy problems, or retrograde analysis. Moreover, composers have their own preferred style of composing, allowing their sorting according to composition schools.
Nenad Petrović, was a Croatian chess problemist.
The World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC) is the highest body governing the official activities in the chess composition. It was known as the Permanent Commission of the FIDE for Chess Compositions (PCCC) from its inception in 1956 until October 2010. It is now independent from FIDE, but both organisations are cooperating. Currently 41 countries are represented in the WFCC.
Piotr Murdzia is a Polish chess International Master, International Solving Grandmaster, and eight-time world champion in chess problem solving. He is known as one of the best chess problem solvers in the world.
A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most prestigious of which is Grandmaster; many national chess federations also grant titles such as "National Master". More broadly, the term "master" can refer to any highly skilled chess player.
Michel Caillaud is a French chess problemist.
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and norms. Once awarded, titles are held for life except in cases of fraud or cheating. Open titles may be earned by all players, while women's titles are restricted to female players. Many strong female players hold both open and women's titles. FIDE also awards titles for arbiters, organizers and trainers. Titles for correspondence chess, chess problem composition and chess problem solving are no longer administered by FIDE.
Matej Šebenik is a Slovene chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster (GM) by FIDE in 2012. He won the Slovenian Chess Championship in 2014. In 2009, he won the San Sebastián tournament.
Peter Gvozdják is a Slovak chess composer.
Ladislav Salai Jr. is a Slovak chess composer and chess player.
Kacper Piorun is a Polish chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in September 2012. He is a five-time winner of the World Chess Solving Championship, and two-time winner of the Polish Chess Championship.
Roland Baier is a Swiss chess problemist. In 1983 Baier won the first individual World Chess Solving Championship. In 1988 he gained the title of the International Solving Grandmaster. In 1989 he was awarded the FIDE title - International Arbiter of Chess Composition, but in 1992 he became FIDE Master of Chess Composition.
Kari Valtonen is a Finnish chess problemist.
