Genrikh Kasparyan

Genrikh Kasparyan (Surname also spelled Kasparian) (27 February 1910 – 27 December 1995) was an Armenian chess player. He is considered to have been one of the greatest composers of chess endgame studies.

Kasparyan became a national master in 1936 and an international master in 1950. He was awarded the titles of International Judge of Chess Compositions in 1956 and International Grandmaster of Chess Composition in 1972, the first composer to receive this title from FIDE .

Kasparyan was also a very strong chess player, winning the Armenian championship ten times (from 1934 to 1956, including two ties with future world champion Tigran Petrosian) and the Tiflis championship three times (1931, 1937, 1945). He reached the USSR Championship finals four times (1931, 1937, 1947, 1952), but never finished higher than tenth place.

Kasparyan is best known for his compositions. He started with chess problems, mainly , but soon discovered that his best field was in endgame studies. He wrote several books and collections and composed about 600 studies, many on the theme of domination, winning 57 first prizes. He won the USSR Composing Championship several times .

Sample study Irving Chernev included five of Kasparyan's compositions in his book 200 Brilliant Endgames. This study uses a "model mate" in the middle of the board.

Most famous combination from practical play Apart from being a prolific composer of chess problems Kasparyan was, as mentioned above, an excellent tournament player. One of his games, Genrikh Kasparyan–Koryun Manvelyan, Armenian Championship, Yerevan 1938, has found its way into countless books on chess tactics:

Books Domination in 2,545 Endgame Studies by Genrikh Kasparyan. The Complete Studies of Genrikh Kasparyan by A. J. Roycroft. 888 Miniature Studies by Genrikh Moiseyevich Kasparian.

Notable games Vitaly Chekhover vs. Genrikh Kasparian, Erevan, Match 1936, King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Fianchetto (E67), 0–1 Genrikh Kasparian vs. David Bronstein, Ch URS 1947, Sicilian Defense: Grand Prix Attack (B23), 1–0 Genrikh Kasparian vs. Anatoly Ufimtsev, Ch URS 1947, Reti Opening: Anglo-Slav, Bogoljubow Variation Stonewall Line (A12), 1–0