Walkabout
A chess problem blog
by Peter Wong
This blog series covers a wide variety of topics under chess problems and compositions. Many are perhaps articles in disguise and serve as introductions to subjects such as certain themes and problem forms. Some focus on particular problemists, books, software, and so on. Occasionally I write more traditional blogs that express a personal view or consider my own compositions. To assist readers looking for specific topics of interest, the entries are grouped into various categories below.
Some blog posts here are republished on Chess.com: The Problemist's Blog.
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Latest
Chess diagram change on OzProblems 2 Nov. 2023
Selections from the 11th FIDE World Cup in Composing 2023 23 Oct. 2023
OzProblems site revamp and Problem World article on series-movers 23 Aug. 2023
Chinese pieces: Pao, Vao, and Mao 7 Aug. 2023
Kling combination: a self-stalemate theme that perplexes Stockfish 15 Jul. 2023
For newcomers
Favourites
The greatest masters of both the game and problems – Part 1 27 May 2018
Adventures with endgame tablebases 8 Sep. 2018
Carlsen-Caruana WCC Game 6 – The actual forced-mate sequence that was missed 27 Nov. 2018
Top 10 greatest chess scenes in movies 27 Jan. 2019
Vladimir Nabokov in ‘The Problemist’ 10 Jun. 2019
A heraldic endgame-tablebase composition 16 Oct. 2019
Chess problem scene in ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ 30 Oct. 2020
Understanding soundness and motivations in chess puzzles, problems, and studies 1 Nov. 2021
Chess problem composers famous or distinguished in other fields 27 Oct. 2022
Kling combination: a self-stalemate theme that perplexes Stockfish 15 Jul. 2023
Problem selections
A helpmate by Tim Krabbé 27 Dec. 2010
A prize-winning problem by Arthur Willmott 3 Dec. 2011
Two helpmates from ‘Problem Potpourri’ 27 Feb. 2012
A marvellous more-mover from the Eighties 6 Apr. 2012
A serendipitous joint composition 14 Oct. 2012
Two selections from ‘Problem Potpourri’ 27 Jan. 2013
Two awarded compositions from ‘The Problemist’ 10 Aug. 2013
‘Problem Potpourri’ draws to a close, and two selections 28 Jan. 2014
Two selfmates by Laimons Mangalis 2 Feb. 2017
Norman Macleod Award winner and cyclic shift 30 Apr. 2017
Stockfish and a modern classic more-mover 12 Mar. 2018
Stockfish and another modern classic more-mover 23 Mar. 2019
Australian problems in early ‘FIDE Albums’ 23 Dec. 2020
Deciphering a complex selfmate 1 Jul. 2022
Selections from the 11th FIDE World Cup in Composing 2023 23 Oct. 2023
Problem themes
Task and record problems – Part 1 15 Oct. 2013
Task and record problems – Part 2 3 Nov. 2013
A list of task and record problems, and a comic strip 26 Dec. 2013
Helpmates of the ‘distant’ future – Part 1 29 Nov. 2014
Helpmates of the ‘distant’ future – Part 2 26 Dec. 2014
Norman Macleod Award winner and cyclic shift 30 Apr. 2017
The le Grand theme – Part 1 8 Oct. 2017
The le Grand theme – Part 2 9 Nov. 2017
Modern themes rendered in pre-modern times 19 Nov. 2019
The Allumwandlung theme in endgame studies 16 Aug. 2022
The Valladao Task – Part 1 5 Dec. 2022
The Valladao Task – Part 2 23 Dec. 2022
Consecutive double-check records in problems 13 Apr. 2023
Kling combination: a self-stalemate theme that perplexes Stockfish 15 Jul. 2023
Problemists
Alain C. White’s Australian tourney and Brian Tomson article 20 Oct. 2011
Whyatt Medal winner: Geoff Foster 26 Jan. 2012
‘Philosophy Looks At Chess’ and Raymond Smullyan 12 Dec. 2012
A tribute to Dan Meinking (1960–2012) 3 Jun. 2013
Whyatt Medal winner: Ian Shanahan 7 Feb. 2016
A tribute to Raymond Smullyan (1919-2017) 5 Jul. 2017
The greatest masters of both the game and problems – Part 1 27 May 2018
The greatest masters of both the game and problems – Part 2 28 Jun. 2018
Vladimir Nabokov in ‘The Problemist’ 10 Jun. 2019
A tribute to Pal Benko (1928-2019) 11 Sep. 2019
Whyatt Medal winner: Dennis K. Hale 10 Feb. 2020
Two problems by Karel Hursky 6 Aug. 2020
Names of some Indonesian composers 30 Jun. 2021
A tribute to Ian Shanahan (1962-2021) 27 Sep. 2021
Judit Polgar’s Chess Artistry Competition videos 6 Feb. 2022
Ian Shanahan materials 17 Mar. 2022
Chess problem composers famous or distinguished in other fields 27 Oct. 2022
Practical game & Endgame studies
The greatest masters of both the game and problems – Part 1 27 May 2018
The greatest masters of both the game and problems – Part 2 28 Jun. 2018
Carlsen-Caruana WCC Game 6 – The actual forced-mate sequence that was missed 27 Nov. 2018
Chess problems vs puzzles and more on ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ scene 9 Sep. 2021
Understanding soundness and motivations in chess puzzles, problems, and studies 1 Nov. 2021
Judit Polgar’s Chess Artistry Competition videos 6 Feb. 2022
The Allumwandlung theme in endgame studies 16 Aug. 2022
The Valladao Task – Part 2 23 Dec. 2022
Retro-analytical problems
Proof games with 3 solutions 11 Feb. 2011
Two problem conventions re castling and capturing en passant 14 May 2011
A “Holy Grail” of proof games attained 28 Feb. 2013
Two awarded compositions from ‘The Problemist’ 10 Aug. 2013
“Open problems” in proof games 30 Aug. 2014
A heraldic endgame-tablebase composition 16 Oct. 2019
Special conventions in retro-analytical problems 17 Apr. 2020
Shortest games to stalemate and ‘Mr. Robot’ chess scene 27 Feb. 2021
Three-fold change of Pronkin piece in proof games 29 Apr. 2021
Capture cycles in proof games 24 Apr. 2022
Illegal clusters 29 Sep. 2022
The Valladao Task – Part 2 23 Dec. 2022
Attributions, anticipations, and plagiarism in chess compositions 11 Jun. 2023
Selections from the 11th FIDE World Cup in Composing 2023 23 Oct. 2023
Fairy chess
First prize problem by Ian Shanahan, and a comic strip 8 Nov. 2010
First prize problem by Geoff Foster and Ian Shanahan 7 May 2014
The Grasshopper and the Nightrider 10 Sep. 2015
Improving a fairy helpstalemate – Part 1 5 Nov. 2016
Improving a fairy helpstalemate – Part 2 20 Nov. 2016
Kamikaze Chess 13 Aug. 2017
If a pawn could “promote” to a pawn… 17 Dec. 2017
Circe: A fairy chess condition 9 Jul. 2019
Christmas problem-solving competition 20 Dec. 2019
Christmas problem-solving competition – solutions and results 8 Jan. 2020
If a pawn could “promote” to a pawn… – Part 2 25 May 2020
Superpins – What if pinned pieces don’t check? 14 Dec. 2021
Chinese pieces: Pao, Vao, and Mao 7 Aug. 2023
OzProblems site revamp and Problem World article on series-movers 23 Aug. 2023
Problem-solving software
Upgrading a PC and chess problem solving software – Part 1 1 Jul. 2012
Upgrading a PC and chess problem solving software – Part 2 15 Aug. 2012
APwin, Virtual Pieces and other updates 4 Aug. 2015
Oz Archives files digitalised and APWin update 30 Dec. 2015
Stockfish and a modern classic more-mover 12 Mar. 2018
Stockfish and another modern classic more-mover 23 Mar. 2019
OzProblems site major upgrade 2 Mar. 2020
Understanding soundness and motivations in chess puzzles, problems, and studies 1 Nov. 2021
Kling combination: a self-stalemate theme that perplexes Stockfish 15 Jul. 2023
Tablebases
Adventures with endgame tablebases 8 Sep. 2018
More adventures with endgame tablebases 22 Oct. 2018
Carlsen-Caruana WCC Game 6 – The actual forced-mate sequence that was missed 27 Nov. 2018
Even more adventures with endgame tablebases 24 Dec. 2018
A heraldic endgame-tablebase composition 16 Oct. 2019
If a pawn could “promote” to a pawn… – Part 2 25 May 2020
Eight-piece tablebases – a progress update and some results 28 May 2021
Understanding soundness and motivations in chess puzzles, problems, and studies 1 Nov. 2021
Composing
Improving a century-old problem and some composing resources 31 Dec. 2012
Composing event in the Australian Junior Chess Championships 2015 6 Oct. 2014
Guided Chess Problem Composing Competition 2015 – results 31 Jan. 2015
Papers on Ravenscroft, Hawes, Watson, and Tate, and GCPCC Report 22 Feb. 2015
‘Australian Chess Problem History’ and ‘Chess Problems Made Easy’ 17 May 2015
Corrections to ‘Chess Problems Made Easy’ 22 Jun. 2015
Guided Chess Problem Composing Competition 2016 25 Nov. 2015
Guided Chess Problem Composing Competition 2016 – results 3 Apr. 2016
Improving a fairy helpstalemate – Part 1 5 Nov. 2016
Improving a fairy helpstalemate – Part 2 20 Nov. 2016
Three-fold change of Pronkin piece in proof games 29 Apr. 2021
Capture cycles in proof games 24 Apr. 2022
Attributions, anticipations, and plagiarism in chess compositions 11 Jun. 2023
Solving
Australian Junior Chess Problem-Solving Championship 2011 9 Apr. 2011
Australian Junior Chess Problem-Solving Championship 2012 13 Sep. 2012
Australian Junior Chess Problem-Solving Championship 2013 7 Jul. 2013
Australian Junior Chess Problem-Solving Championship 2014 19 Feb. 2014
Solving a four-move directmate, and the ‘Check!’ magazine 15 Jun. 2014
Australian Junior Chess Problem-Solving Championship 2015 25 Mar. 2015
Christmas problem-solving competition 20 Dec. 2019
Christmas problem-solving competition – solutions and results 8 Jan. 2020
Deciphering a complex selfmate 1 Jul. 2022
Book reviews
‘FIDE Album 2001-2003’ 25 Jun. 2011
‘Chris J. Feather – Selected Helpmates’ 6 Oct. 2011
‘Exploration in Chess Beauty’ by Andras Toth 21 May 2012
‘Philosophy Looks At Chess’ and Raymond Smullyan 12 Dec. 2012
‘Minimalkunst im Schach’ edited by Ebert, Reich, and Kuhlmann 23 Apr. 2013
‘The Original Christopher Reeves’ 30 Mar. 2014
New digital subscription for ‘The Problemist’ 28 Jan. 2018
‘Chess Problems Out of the Box’ by Werner Keym 5 Aug. 2018
‘Anything but Average’ by Werner Keym 23 Nov. 2020
Australian problems in early ‘FIDE Albums’ 23 Dec. 2020
‘British Chess Problem Society Centenary Review 1918-2018’ 17 Aug. 2021
‘FIDE Album 2016-2018’ 2 Feb. 2023
‘Uri Avner: Close Encounters with the Chess Pieces’ 10 Mar. 2023
E-book downloads
‘Frank Ravenscroft and His Letters’ and other updates 27 Feb. 2011
Papers on Ravenscroft, Hawes, Watson, and Tate, and GCPCC Report 22 Feb. 2015
‘Australian Chess Problem History’ and ‘Chess Problems Made Easy’ 17 May 2015
‘Chess Problems by Dr. Ian Shanahan’ and other updates 5 May 2016
‘Australian Chess Problems and News in Overseas Journals’ 13 Jun. 2016
‘The Chess Amateur, P.H. Williams and Australia’ and ‘ACR’ update 31 Jul. 2016
‘Alexander Goldstein: His Life, His Chess Problems’ 2 Oct. 2016
‘Laimons Mangalis: Lover of Chess’ 31 Dec. 2016
‘J. K. Heydon: Problemist, Solicitor, Businessman’ 20 Mar. 2017
‘Gordon Stuart Green: A Brilliant All-Rounder’ and ‘Some Mosely Material’ 4 Jun. 2017
‘Esling’s Memories Expanded’ and ‘Ken Fraser – A Quiet Achiever’ 18 Apr. 2018
‘Alexandre’s 2020 and American Chess Nuts’ 28 Apr. 2019
‘Joseph Wainwright: 500+ Chess Problems’ 28 Jan. 2021
Chess scenes
Top 10 greatest chess scenes in movies 27 Jan. 2019
Chess scenes in the Marvel films 26 Jun. 2020
Chess problem scene in ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ 30 Oct. 2020
Shortest games to stalemate and ‘Mr. Robot’ chess scene 27 Feb. 2021
Chess problems vs puzzles and more on ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ scene 9 Sep. 2021
Blindfold chess scenes in movies and TV shows 18 May 2022
OzProblems updates
Andy Sag profile and a cartoon by Tony Lurie 22 Dec. 2010
William A. Whyatt materials 30 Dec. 2010
Alain C. White’s Australian Problem Tourney 30 Sep. 2011
Alain C. White’s Australian tourney and Brian Tomson article 20 Oct. 2011
Solving a four-move directmate, and the ‘Check!’ magazine 15 Jun. 2014
Molham Hassan profile and Oz Archives update 14 Aug. 2014
Changes to Problems of the Week 12 Sep. 2015
Oz Archives files digitalised and APWin update 30 Dec. 2015
‘Problem Potpourri’ columns from ‘Australasian Chess’ 21 Feb. 2016
‘Chess Problems by Dr. Ian Shanahan’ and other updates 5 May 2016
‘The Chess Amateur, P.H. Williams and Australia’ and ‘ACR’ update 31 Jul. 2016
Weekly Problems and Walkabout archives 3 Sep. 2017
Problem World introduction to selfmates 8 Aug. 2019
OzProblems site major upgrade 2 Mar. 2020
Ian Shanahan materials 17 Mar. 2022
OzProblems site revamp and Problem World article on series-movers 23 Aug. 2023
Chess diagram change on OzProblems 2 Nov. 2023
2010
First prize problem by Ian Shanahan, and a comic strip 8 Nov. 2010
Andy Sag profile and a cartoon by Tony Lurie 22 Dec. 2010
A helpmate by Tim Krabbé 27 Dec. 2010
William A. Whyatt materials 30 Dec. 2010
2011
Proof games with 3 solutions 11 Feb. 2011
‘Frank Ravenscroft and His Letters’ and other updates 27 Feb. 2011
Australian Junior Chess Problem-Solving Championship 2011 9 Apr. 2011
Two problem conventions re castling and capturing en passant 14 May 2011
‘FIDE Album 2001-2003’ 25 Jun. 2011
Two first-prize problems by Geoff Foster and Ian Shanahan 7 Aug. 2011
Alain C. White’s Australian Problem Tourney 30 Sep. 2011
‘Chris J. Feather – Selected Helpmates’ 6 Oct. 2011
Alain C. White’s Australian tourney and Brian Tomson article 20 Oct. 2011
A prize-winning problem by Arthur Willmott 3 Dec. 2011
2012
Whyatt Medal winner: Geoff Foster 26 Jan. 2012
Two helpmates from ‘Problem Potpourri’ 27 Feb. 2012
A marvellous more-mover from the Eighties 6 Apr. 2012
‘Exploration in Chess Beauty’ by Andras Toth 21 May 2012
Upgrading a PC and chess problem solving software – Part 1 1 Jul. 2012
Upgrading a PC and chess problem solving software – Part 2 15 Aug. 2012
Australian Junior Chess Problem-Solving Championship 2012 13 Sep. 2012
A serendipitous joint composition 14 Oct. 2012
‘Philosophy Looks At Chess’ and Raymond Smullyan 12 Dec. 2012
Improving a century-old problem and some composing resources 31 Dec. 2012
2013
Two selections from ‘Problem Potpourri’ 27 Jan. 2013
A “Holy Grail” of proof games attained 28 Feb. 2013
‘Minimalkunst im Schach’ edited by Ebert, Reich, and Kuhlmann 23 Apr. 2013
A tribute to Dan Meinking (1960–2012) 3 Jun. 2013
Australian Junior Chess Problem-Solving Championship 2013 7 Jul. 2013
Two awarded compositions from ‘The Problemist’ 10 Aug. 2013
Task and record problems – Part 1 15 Oct. 2013
Task and record problems – Part 2 3 Nov. 2013
A list of task and record problems, and a comic strip 26 Dec. 2013
2014
‘Problem Potpourri’ draws to a close, and two selections 28 Jan. 2014
Australian Junior Chess Problem-Solving Championship 2014 19 Feb. 2014
‘The Original Christopher Reeves’ 30 Mar. 2014
First prize problem by Geoff Foster and Ian Shanahan 7 May 2014
Solving a four-move directmate, and the ‘Check!’ magazine 15 Jun. 2014
Molham Hassan profile and Oz Archives update 14 Aug. 2014
“Open problems” in proof games 30 Aug. 2014
Composing event in the Australian Junior Chess Championships 2015 6 Oct. 2014
Helpmates of the ‘distant’ future – Part 1 29 Nov. 2014
Helpmates of the ‘distant’ future – Part 2 26 Dec. 2014
2015
Guided Chess Problem Composing Competition 2015 – results 31 Jan. 2015
Papers on Ravenscroft, Hawes, Watson, and Tate, and GCPCC Report 22 Feb. 2015
Australian Junior Chess Problem-Solving Championship 2015 25 Mar. 2015
‘Australian Chess Problem History’ and ‘Chess Problems Made Easy’ 17 May 2015
Corrections to ‘Chess Problems Made Easy’ 22 Jun. 2015
APwin, Virtual Pieces and other updates 4 Aug. 2015
The Grasshopper and the Nightrider 10 Sep. 2015
Changes to Problems of the Week 12 Sep. 2015
Guided Chess Problem Composing Competition 2016 25 Nov. 2015
Oz Archives files digitalised and APWin update 30 Dec. 2015
2016
Whyatt Medal winner: Ian Shanahan 7 Feb. 2016
‘Problem Potpourri’ columns from ‘Australasian Chess’ 21 Feb. 2016
Guided Chess Problem Composing Competition 2016 – results 3 Apr. 2016
‘Chess Problems by Dr. Ian Shanahan’ and other updates 5 May 2016
‘Australian Chess Problems and News in Overseas Journals’ 13 Jun. 2016
‘The Chess Amateur, P.H. Williams and Australia’ and ‘ACR’ update 31 Jul. 2016
‘Alexander Goldstein: His Life, His Chess Problems’ 2 Oct. 2016
Improving a fairy helpstalemate – Part 1 5 Nov. 2016
Improving a fairy helpstalemate – Part 2 20 Nov. 2016
‘Laimons Mangalis: Lover of Chess’ 31 Dec. 2016
2017
Two selfmates by Laimons Mangalis 2 Feb. 2017
‘J. K. Heydon: Problemist, Solicitor, Businessman’ 20 Mar. 2017
Norman Macleod Award winner and cyclic shift 30 Apr. 2017
‘Gordon Stuart Green: A Brilliant All-Rounder’ and ‘Some Mosely Material’ 4 Jun. 2017
A tribute to Raymond Smullyan (1919-2017) 5 Jul. 2017
Kamikaze Chess 13 Aug. 2017
Weekly Problems and Walkabout archives 3 Sep. 2017
The le Grand theme – Part 1 8 Oct. 2017
The le Grand theme – Part 2 9 Nov. 2017
If a pawn could “promote” to a pawn… 17 Dec. 2017
2018
New digital subscription for ‘The Problemist’ 28 Jan. 2018
Stockfish and a modern classic more-mover 12 Mar. 2018
‘Esling’s Memories Expanded’ and ‘Ken Fraser – A Quiet Achiever’ 18 Apr. 2018
The greatest masters of both the game and problems – Part 1 27 May 2018
The greatest masters of both the game and problems – Part 2 28 Jun. 2018
‘Chess Problems Out of the Box’ by Werner Keym 5 Aug. 2018
Adventures with endgame tablebases 8 Sep. 2018
More adventures with endgame tablebases 22 Oct. 2018
Carlsen-Caruana WCC Game 6 – The actual forced-mate sequence that was missed 27 Nov. 2018
Even more adventures with endgame tablebases 24 Dec. 2018
2019
Top 10 greatest chess scenes in movies 27 Jan. 2019
Stockfish and another modern classic more-mover 23 Mar. 2019
‘Alexandre’s 2020 and American Chess Nuts’ 28 Apr. 2019
Vladimir Nabokov in ‘The Problemist’ 10 Jun. 2019
Circe: A fairy chess condition 9 Jul. 2019
Problem World introduction to selfmates 8 Aug. 2019
A tribute to Pal Benko (1928-2019) 11 Sep. 2019
A heraldic endgame-tablebase composition 16 Oct. 2019
Modern themes rendered in pre-modern times 19 Nov. 2019
Christmas problem-solving competition 20 Dec. 2019
2020
Christmas problem-solving competition – solutions and results 8 Jan. 2020
Whyatt Medal winner: Dennis K. Hale 10 Feb. 2020
OzProblems site major upgrade 2 Mar. 2020
Special conventions in retro-analytical problems 17 Apr. 2020
If a pawn could “promote” to a pawn… – Part 2 25 May 2020
Chess scenes in the Marvel films 26 Jun. 2020
Two problems by Karel Hursky 6 Aug. 2020
Chess problem scene in ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ 30 Oct. 2020
‘Anything but Average’ by Werner Keym 23 Nov. 2020
Australian problems in early ‘FIDE Albums’ 23 Dec. 2020
2021
‘Joseph Wainwright: 500+ Chess Problems’ 28 Jan. 2021
Shortest games to stalemate and ‘Mr. Robot’ chess scene 27 Feb. 2021
Three-fold change of Pronkin piece in proof games 29 Apr. 2021
Eight-piece tablebases – a progress update and some results 28 May 2021
Names of some Indonesian composers 30 Jun. 2021
‘British Chess Problem Society Centenary Review 1918-2018’ 17 Aug. 2021
Chess problems vs puzzles and more on ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ scene 9 Sep. 2021
A tribute to Ian Shanahan (1962-2021) 27 Sep. 2021
Understanding soundness and motivations in chess puzzles, problems, and studies 1 Nov. 2021
Superpins – What if pinned pieces don’t check? 14 Dec. 2021
2022
Judit Polgar’s Chess Artistry Competition videos 6 Feb. 2022
Ian Shanahan materials 17 Mar. 2022
Capture cycles in proof games 24 Apr. 2022
Blindfold chess scenes in movies and TV shows 18 May 2022
Deciphering a complex selfmate 1 Jul. 2022
The Allumwandlung theme in endgame studies 16 Aug. 2022
Illegal clusters 29 Sep. 2022
Chess problem composers famous or distinguished in other fields 27 Oct. 2022
The Valladao Task – Part 1 5 Dec. 2022
The Valladao Task – Part 2 23 Dec. 2022
2023
‘FIDE Album 2016-2018’ 2 Feb. 2023
‘Uri Avner: Close Encounters with the Chess Pieces’ 10 Mar. 2023
Consecutive double-check records in problems 13 Apr. 2023
Attributions, anticipations, and plagiarism in chess compositions 11 Jun. 2023
Kling combination: a self-stalemate theme that perplexes Stockfish 15 Jul. 2023
Chinese pieces: Pao, Vao, and Mao 7 Aug. 2023
OzProblems site revamp and Problem World article on series-movers 23 Aug. 2023
Selections from the 11th FIDE World Cup in Composing 2023 23 Oct. 2023
Chess diagram change on OzProblems 2 Nov. 2023