Problem Contest Themes

[Bill Salot]

First let me remind those who have not voted for the best problem in Contest #6, the polls close next Sunday, September 9, 2012, at midnight.

John Acker recently recommended that the problems in a given contest be selected to reflect similar themes. Others joined in with suggested themes, as follows:

Contest themes:

• Shot problems (Chexhero)
• Pure and deferred shots separately (Melvyn Green)
• Game positions (Melvyn Green)
• 4 pieces per side or less (Chexhero)
• Any of Boland’s Themes (John Acker, Louis Cowie)
• Anything less than 13 pieces per side (Roy Little)

My response is: "I'll try".

In fact, Contest #5 (July) was devoted to problems with short solutions, the current Contest #6 (August-September) consists of problems with long solutions, and Contest #7 (October-November) will feature 100% game positions.

Practically speaking, possible contest themes are limited to those demonstrated in the original and unpublished problems entered by the various composers. Furthermore some composers pride themselves in showing new ideas that are not easily categorized.

I do have a backlog of entries to select from, enough to keep the contests going for a long time, but finding four good problem matches per contest will not always be possible, unless more players enter the composing pool. Even when we do find enough similar entries, we do not want to close the door on composers whose problems are consistently unique.

Keep abreast of the contests. They are fascinating.