William Anthony Shinkman
William Anthony Shinkman (born December 25, 1847 in Reichenberg (Bohemia) , † May 25, 1933 in Grand Rapids (Michigan) ) was an important American chess composer . He also worked under the pseudonym M. Ham Nawkins .
Life
At the age of 6, he arrived in Baltimore as a child of Bohemian immigrants named Tschinkman . He later lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he initially worked as an insurance and real estate broker. From 1893 he worked for the city administration.
Chess composition
Together with his contemporary Samuel Loyd , he was the most famous chess composer in the USA in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
His work comprises over 3,500 tasks, making him one of the most productive composers of all. 672 of them are contained in the collection The golden argosy published by Alain Campbell White in 1929 . The foreword to this book comes from Shinkman's nephew Otto Wurzburg , who was also an important composer. Because of his inventiveness, Shinkman was also called The Wizard of Great Rapids .
Among other things, he was responsible for the composition section in Lasker's chess magazine .
His orthodox mate tasks are usually characterized by surprising key moves. Shinkman has also contributed greatly to the field of self-matting .
In addition, the English term block comes from him, a draft idea . White does not pose a threat to mate, but every move by Black dislocates a defensive piece. The term is not common in German with this meaning.
Examples
Checkmate, 1903
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The problem brought many solvers to despair because of its unexpected solution.
Solution:
First, White must ensure that Black can move at all (Black to move would be dead).
1. Rh4 – h2 (a so-called back position ) Ka5xa4 2. Bg2 – c6 + Ka4xa3 (Ka4 – a5 3. Rh2 – h5 mate) 3. Bf2 – c5 mate.
Detroit Free Press, 1883
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In self-mating, white forces black to checkmate the required number of moves.
Solution:
In the set game (i.e. if you let Black begin) there are already compelling mating leads on almost all Black moves:
1.… Ba4 2. Qb5 + Bxb5 3. Bd3 + Bxd3 4. Rf1 + Bxf1 mate;
1.… Bxc4 2. Qb1 +! Bd3 3. Qb5 + Bxb5 4. Rf1 + Bxf1 mate (not 2. Qb5 +? Bd5!)
1.… Ba2 2. Qb1 + Bxb1 3. Bd3 + Bxd3 4. Rf1 + Bxf1 mate;
1.… Bc2 2. Bd3 + Bxd3 3. Qb5 + Bxb5 4. Rf1 + Bxf1 mate.
Only on 1.… Bd1 after 2. Qb1 + Bc2 3. Bd3 + Bxd3 the move 4. Rf1 + does not lead to mate because of the queen's cover, and there is no more time for 4. Qb5 +.
Hence the key move 1. Rd1! with pressure to pull . Black is now forced to eliminate the power of the white rook: 1.… Bxd1 2. Qb1 + Bc2 3. Bd3 + Bxd3 4. Qf1 + Bxf1 mate . The other answers are the same as in the sentence game.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Anders Thulin: CHESS PSEUDONYMS AND SIGNATURES. An Electronic Edition, Malmö, preliminary 2011-01-02 ( Memento from January 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 307 kB)
Web link
- Compositions by William Anthony Shinkman on the Schwalbe's PDB server
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Shinkman, William Anthony |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | M. Ham Nawki |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American chess composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 25, 1847 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Reichenberg , Bohemia , Austrian Empire |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 25, 1933 |
| Place of death | Grand Rapids (Michigan) , Michigan , United States |