Alexey Alexeyevich Troitsky, or Alexei, or Troitzky (March 14, 1866–August 1942) is considered to have been one of the greatest composer

Chess composer

A chess composer is a person who creates endgame studies or chess problems. He usually specializes in a particular genre, e.g. endgame studies, twomovers, threemovers, moremovers, helpmates, selfmates, fairy problems...

s of chess

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

 endgame studies. He is widely regarded as the founder of the modern art of composing chess studies . Troitzky died of starvation

Starvation

Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 at the siege of Leningrad

Siege of Leningrad

The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...

, where his notes were destroyed.

One of his most famous works involves analyzing the endgame with two knights versus a pawn, see Troitzky line. John Nunn

John Nunn

John Denis Martin Nunn is one of England's strongest chess players and once belonged to the world's top ten. He is also a three times world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician....

 analyzed this endgame with an endgame tablebase

Endgame tablebase

An endgame tablebase is a computerized database that contains precalculated exhaustive analysis of a chess endgame position. It is typically used by a computer chess engine during play, or by a human or computer that is retrospectively analysing a game that has already been played.The tablebase...

 and stated that "the analysis of Troitsky ... is astonishingly accurate" .

Compositions

Troitzky was a prolific composer of endgame studies. Irving Chernev

Irving Chernev

Irving Chernev was a prolific Russian-American chess author. He was born in Priluki in the Russian Empire and emigrated to the United States in 1920. Chernev was a national master strength player, and was obsessed with chess...

included nine of them in his book 200 Brilliant Endgames. The diagram shows one of them.
The main line goes:

1. Nb6! Qe8

2. Nd7! Kc4

3. Qxc7+ Kb4

4. Qc5+ Kb3

5. Qc3+ Ka4

6. Qd4+ Ka3

7. Nc5 Qb8

8. Qa1+ Kb4

9. Na6+

and White wins .

Books

• Troitzky, A. (1924), 500 Endspielstudien, Verlag Kagan Berlin
• Troitzky, A. (1992), Collection of Studies, Tschaturanga Ed. Olms, ISBN 3283001146. Reprinted in 2006 by Ishi Press, ISBN 0-923891-10-2. The 360 studies above plus a supplement on the theory of the endgame of two knights against pawns.

External links

• Chess Circle brings pictures and studies
• Troitzky Chess, invented by Paul Byway, a chess variant where checkmate by two knights can be forced.