Alexander Seletzki

- a forgotten master of endgame study
by Stephen Rothwell, Henstedt-Ulzburg

1. Biographical fragments
Unfortunately, there is only very sparse biographical information about this Soviet Russian author in the literature. The statements in Sakmatnaja kompozicija v Gor'kom by Yevgeny Fomitschow 1) reveal at best fragments of a biography: "A. Seletzki, who lived in Gorky, was one of the most talented Soviet study composers in the 1930s. Chess problems were his starting point, and so published Between 1930 and 1938 he completed around 150 endgame studies, for the best of which he received first prizes in renowned tournaments." (p. 75) "According to eyewitness reports, Alexander Seletzki was an enthusiastic person. He constantly demonstrated his positions and offered them to solve, so it seems logical that Seletzki built far more than he ultimately published. This indicates the high demands to his own work, and it is not surprising that great success quickly followed." (p. 16) Seletzki's chess biographical trail is lost in 1938. His exact life dates could not be verified in any source that I know of.

2. Seletzki's endgame studies
A total of twelve studies by Seletzki are documented in the Endgame Study Database 2010 by Harold van der Heijden. The best of them are among the classic masterpieces of academic literature.

Source: Article from "Die Schwalbe" Issue 261, June 2013

Selection of endgame studies on Website ARVES:

8 endgame studies are selected on Website arves.org. The first one (Kf2/Kf7) is a famous endgame study. In this natural starting position White starts with a quiet queenside move. In the course of the game the black king is then forced into the a8-corner. The bishop and the white queen are sacrificed and the only remaining knight mates on b6. You can play this fantastic chess study virtually on Website arves.org