Home of the Meson Chess Problem Database and the BDS Ladder

Chess Problems

I have been solving and composing chess problems since 1977. I am a chess problemist. If you don’t know what chess problems are, you may find it helpful to read the introductory material at the BCPS site. When you get there, read the Introduction first; this details the general principles. Articles on the different types of chess problem can also be found linked from that same page.

I am slowly posting all my published chess problems on this site. If you really want to, you can view them by selecting the My Chess Problems menu item. Be warned though, most of them are unorthodox, featuring pieces not found in a normal chess set and/or rules unknown to FIDE. Standard chess is just the way things have worked out. An almost infinite variety of chess-like board games are possible, and I have had great enjoyment exploring a very small number of them.

There was a composing tourney in 2004 to mark my 50th birthday. You can find an introduction to it and the awards in its two sections if you select the BDS-50 JT menu item.

Select the Glossary menu item to read definitions of all those unorthodox pieces and rules that you may not be familar with. Select the Downloads menu item to access a free chess font and a large Word file written by Bob Meadley about chess books. Finally the Ruud Beugelsdijk menu item leads to my tribute to Dutch problemist Ruud Beugelsdijk, who died far too early.


Developed and maintained by Brian Stephenson.
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