British Chess Magazine, 1884 (3rd Tourney)

R:
One or two 4–10 move direct mates or selfmates (4 pr. + 1 sp. pr.)
 
If two problems were sent, one direct mate and one self-mate were required. Joint compositions were not permitted. Sealed envelopes and mottos were not required. Corrections were allowed up to the closing date, while withdrawals were allowed until the problem has been published.
 
The special prize was given for the best problem wherein the Black King has the least checks (the problem having the largest numbers of moves taking precedence).
 
J:
H. J. C. Andrews
 
C:
1884-08-31
 
A:
1–2 pr. = H. F. L. Meyer
1–2 pr. = B. Hülsen
3 pr. C. B. Vansittart
4 pr. C. Planck
 
hm. A. M. Deane, A. F. Mackenzie, H. C. Mathisen, A. Oeffner, G. J. Slater
 
sp. pr. C. Planck
'=' indicates a shared prize
 
S:
British Chess Magazine
4/37 (Feb., 1884), p. 33: preliminary programme for comments
4/39 (Mar., 1884), p. 113: reminder of prel. programme
4/40 (Apr., 1884), p. 153–154: announcement of both problem tourney and solution tourney
4/43 (July, 1884), p. 289: additional prizes
4/46 (Oct., 1884), p. 367: tourney closed; additional prizes
5/54 (June, 1885), p. 215: last problems published (no. 31–33).
5/56–57 (Aug.–Sep., 1885), p. 305–307: judge's report; prel. awards.
5/59 (Nov., 1885), p. 410: final awards postponed
5/60 (Dec., 1885), p. 435: list of competitors; final prize problems
5/60 (Dec., 1885), p. 448: Reason for postponement of final awards: the Hülsen prize problem had incorrectly been claimed to be faulty.
 
Deutsche Schachzeitung
40/12 (Dec., 1885), p. 383: Meyer's prize problem described as a correction of a problem from the Deutscher Schachbund 1883 tourney.
 
N:

The tourney was also called The Challenge Problem Tourney.

For the judgement of the competing problems, especially as regarding their difficulty, opinion of solvers would be taken into account. For this purpose a solution tourney was held concurrently with the problem tourney.

Publication of problems were planned to be started as soon as ten problems had been received. In a later clarification, it was stated that all received problems would be published, except for those that appeared to be unsolveable. (In the end all competing problems were published.)

In October, an additional prize was announced for the best problem in which Black King has the least checks.

Of the thirty-five problems that were entered, two were withdrawn. Of the remaining competing problems, two were found to lack solution, and twelve were absolutely demolished, while another two were found to be fatally defective in the mainplay.


After the two months allowed for complaints, Deutsche Schachzeitung referred to the Meyer prize problem as a corrected version of a problem from the Deutscher Schachbund tourney in 1883. H. J. C. Andrews noted that no publication of that problem appeared to have taken place, and concluded that the current problem was original in the all important sense of non-publication prior to its appearance in the B. C. M.

Prizes

1–2 Prize: H. F. L. Meyer

#5

1–2 Prize: B. Hülsen

s#5

3rd Prize: C. B. Vansittart

s#4

4th Prize: C. Planck

s#8

Special Prize: C. Planck

s#8