Josef Plachutta

Josef Plachutta 1875

Josef Plachutta , also Josip Plachutta , Josip Plahuta , (born May 13, 1827 in Zadar , Austrian Empire , today Croatia ; † July 22, 1883 in Przemyśl ) was a chess composer .

Life

Plachutta's parents were Slovenian teachers and came from Gorica . He worked as a civil servant for the Austrian engineering troops , first in Zadar, later in Innsbruck , Udine , Olomouc and from 1881 in Peterwardein . There he became a military construction manager in 1882.

Chess composition

His name has remained common to this day due to a theme of chess composition, namely the Plachutta adjustment named after him. Johannes Kohtz and Carl Kockelkorn traced this theme back to a composition by Plachutta in their work “The Indian Problem ” and gave it the name “Plachutta's Average Point”. It is a combination of points of intersection, in which the lines of action of two black figures in the same step are adjusted at their point of intersection by a white sacrificial stone. Here is the trunk problem, that is, the "original Plachutta ":

Josef Plachutta
Illustrirte Zeitung , August 28, 1858

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Mate in 4 moves

Solution:
1. Qf3! threatens three times 2. d4, Qxf6, Bxf6 mate.
1.… Nxc5 2. Rg7 !!
The typical Plachutta - victim threatens the same time 3. Dg3 and third lc7 matt
2. ... 3. Tgxg7 lc7 + Txc7 4. Dg3 matt
2. ... 3. Thxg7 Dg3 + Txg3 4. lc7 dull
and off-topic 2. ... Kd6 3. e5 + Lxe5, Kxe5 4. Bc7 mate and 2.… Nxe4 3. Qxe4 + Kd6 4. Bc7 mate

In contrast to Nowotny , at least one three-move is necessary for a Plachutta, as can be clearly seen from the course of the solution; the towers stand in each other's way, but the tower at the intersection must first be turned away.

In the problem tournament of London 1862, which was held parallel to the London chess tournament by the British Chess Association on the occasion of a London industrial exhibition, Plachutta received the second prize in the department for direct mates.

In total, Plachutta composed around 300 chess problems.

literature

E. Spitzenberger: Plachutta Josef, civil servant and chess composer . In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 , Volume 8 (1980), p. 112f. Online .
Johannes Kohtz , Carl Kockelkorn : Plachutta's intersection point. In: dies .: The Indian problem. A chess study. Stein, Potsdam 1903, pp. 119–127. Online at www.arves.org

Web link

Some compositions by Josef Plachutta on the PDB server

Individual evidence

↑ Illustrirte Zeitung , April 10, 1875, p. 277 .
^ Jean Dufresne : The problems of the London chess tournament of 1862 together with their complete solutions. Contains: all price problems along with a selection of the best tasks of those applicants who did not receive a prize . Verlag von Luis Gerschel, Berlin 1865. The prices are reported in the unpaginated introduction.

personal data
SURNAME	Plachutta, Josef
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Plahuta, Josip
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Chess composer and player
DATE OF BIRTH	May 13, 1827
PLACE OF BIRTH	Zadar
DATE OF DEATH	July 22, 1883
Place of death	Przemyśl

[1] Illustrirte Zeitung , April 10, 1875, p. 277 .

[2] Jean Dufresne : The problems of the London chess tournament of 1862 together with their complete solutions. Contains: all price problems along with a selection of the best tasks of those applicants who did not receive a prize . Verlag von Luis Gerschel, Berlin 1865. The prices are reported in the unpaginated introduction.