(28.11.2013) Here is the biography and selected compositions of the famous Romanian composer Vlaicu Crisan! He is titled FIDE Master for chess composition in 2013 and has 17 FIDE Album points up to now. Vlaicu is a World Cup winner (for Fairies) in 2010 and he won 3 Olympic medals – Golden in 2010 and 2012 (for fairies) and Silver in 2012 (for Retros).

"Born in Cluj-Napoca, Romania on 26th August 1973. Master in Design and Implementation of Complex Systems (1997) and BA in Computers Science (1996). 

I started to be interested in chess problem solving and composing in 1987. It took me 5 years to finish my first chess problem I have composed, but it surely deserved the effort as it was finally selected in the FIDE Album 1992 - 1994. After a long period of learning and admiring chess problems as solver, since 2011 I finally decided to focus solely on composing.

My favourite genres in chess composition are fairies - particularly helpselfmates, which constitute the stipulation of the Romanian Tzuica Tourneys I organize together with Eric Huber during WFCC congresses. I also compose retros, mainly Proca Retractor compositions, especially with Circe Assassin - another Romanian pattern. Most of my best problems are actually joint compositions. 

I am currently the fairy editor of Japanese chess problem magazine Problem Paradise and seldom contributor to the ChessComposers blog maintained and updated by Eric Huber."

Selected compositions

1) 1...hSe7=nhS 2.hPAb5=nhPA Sa6 3.hVAxa6=nhVA Sc5

4.nhSf5=whS+ nhPAxf5=bhPA#

      1...hSb6=nhS 2.hVAf7=nhVA Sf8 3.hPAxf8=nhPA Se6

4.nhSc4=whS+ nhVAxc4=bhVA#

2) a) 1.Rxe6-c8 Sxc5-b3 2.Kxh7-e5 Rxf5-d6 3.Bxd6-a6+ Kxd3-b4#

    b) 1.Bxf4-f1 Sxd3-b4 2.Kxh6-e5 Bxf5-e3 3.Rxe3-c1+ Kxc5-b3#

3) 1.Kxd8(Ke2) Kxc6(Kc3) 2.PAxe5(PAc8) Nbxd6(Na4)

    3.VAxc4(VAe5)+ Kb3#

    1.Kxb7(Ke2) Kxd6(Kf4) 2.VAxc4(VAb8) Nxc6(Nh8)

    3.PAxe5(PAc4)+ Kg5#

4) 1... LEd8 2.PAxe6-c4(Bc1) Rxc4-c3(PAc5) 3.PAxc1-h6(Bc7)+ Kd7#

    1... LEb8 2.VAxc5-f5(Rh3) Bxf5-g4(VAe6) 3.VAxh3-a3(Rd7)+ Kc7#