Chess Games vs Chess Compositions

(Date 20080323)

There are two worlds in chess:

The one world is  over the board  (OTB) chess, which includes all that is relevant with  chess games.

The other world is the  chess compositions, which includes all that is relevant with composing and solving  chess problems.

The chess games are the OTB chess. In a chess game there exists a "regular chessboard", on which "regular chessmen" are arranged (one king and one queen and two rooks and two bishops and two knights and eight pawns, for each of the two armies), and two  opponent  players, seeking the victory, play alternately, first the white and then the black, possibly under certain time constraints, until someone wins (or until the game is a draw). We study openings, middle game tactics, and endings.

The  error moves  made by the players during a game, are acceptable part of the game.

The players are ranked depending on the result of the game, (ELO rating), in national or international level.

The chess problems are chess compositions. For every chess problem there is (a) the composer, who creates on the chessboard an original position with various chessmen and publishes the problem with a stipulation “what the solver must do” and (b) the solver, who tries to find the solution of the problem (probably trying to spot the theme of the problem and appreciate if the theme is beautifully incorporated in the solution).

If the problem is  not original  (it is anticipated) or if it is somehow  defective, then it is considered totally  useless.

Consequently, the essence of chess compositions is not the competition between two players for victory, but the joy of creation of a unique beautiful puzzle from the side of the composer, and the joy of discovery of the solution from the side of the solver.

The perfection, the originality and the beauty are the elements of the chess compositions. The creations are unique, just like paintings of music compositions

The moment, when a solver tries to find a solution to a problem, can be centuries after the publication of the problem.

In a solving contest the quicker solver wins. There is also ELO rating for solvers.

The conditions that are in effect in a chess problem can be very different from the conditions in OTB chess games. There may be various other chessmen, other chessboards, other laws of playing, the players may be not playing alternately, the objective of the problem may be other than winning.

Anyway, knowledge of the techniques used in chess problems, especially in studies, can be really useful to the OTB player.