Henri Rinck (born January 10, 1870 in Lyon, † February 17, 1952 in Badalona) was a French chess composer and endgame theorist.

Life
Henri Rinck was born on January 10, 1870 in Lyon, where his family were brewers (Brasserie Rinck). He studied technical chemistry at the Technical University of Munich and, after graduating as an engineer in Munich, worked as an assistant at the Faculté des Sciences in Lyon.

In 1897 he discovered a refining process for green vegetable oils, which was first used in Marseille and subsequently adopted by various olive oil refineries in Spain. In 1900, Rinck founded his own factory in Badalona, Spain, where he also lived with his family. Before the end of the Spanish Civil War he first left Spain, established himself again in Lyon, but later returned to Spain.

His first endgame study in chess appeared in the Deutsche Schachzeitung in 1902. His collection 150 fins de partie was published in 1909, another edition followed in 1913, and a third in 1919 (300 fins de partie). 700 fins de partie followed in 1927. In 1947 his work Las sorpresas de la teoría (The Surprises of Theory) and, together with Louis Malpas, Dame contre tour et cavalier (Queen against Rook and Knight) were published. Rinck was one of the most prominent chess composers, publishing over 1,650 endgame studies, 58 of which won first prizes.

Rinck died in Badalona on February 17, 1952.

Six days before his death he received the first printing of his 1414 fins de partie.

At his request, he was buried with this book under his arm.

Composition of endgame studies

Rinck composed around 1,670 endgame studies. His life's work, 1414 Fins de partie, contains most of his endgame studies. They are characterized by their extensive correctness. The accuracy of the analyzes was achieved through joint testing in chess clubs. If a study turned out to be incorrect, Rinck often spent weeks improving it. Only when he had found a correct position or was convinced that the piece could not be repaired did this work stop. Rinck provided many of his studies with in-depth analyzes to prove their accuracy.

Rinck successfully transferred topics from the composition of chess problems to studies. He composed studies with line combinations and directions, such as the Indian theme, the Grimshaw and the Plachutta. However, many of his material studies do not go beyond a certain mechanical play. These often lack an invigorating counterplay from Black.

Rinck admired Johann Berger and disliked Alexei Troitsky, whom he verbally attacked on many occasions. He did not admire other composers.

André Chéron considered Rinck to be the best finals composer in the world.

Works
150 fins de partie. 1st edition, Veit, Leipzig, 1909, 2nd edition, Veit, Leipzig, 1913.
300 Fins de partie 3ème edition de 150 Fins de partie, Paluzíe, Barcelona, 1919.
700 fins de partie. 4ème edition de 150 fins de partie, Tipografía La Académica, Barcelona, 1927.
1414 Fins de partie. 5th edition of 150 fins de partie, Tipografía La Académica, Barcelona, 1952.
Web links
Literature by and about Henri Rinck in the catalog of the German National Library
Compositions by Henri Rinck on the PDB server
Portrait of Henri Rinck (French)
Article about Henri Rinck with picture and short biography (French) (MS Word; 58 kB)

Source: Germain Wikipedia