Selection of studies composed by

John Selman

(Netherlands, 9.4.1910 - 2.1.1978)

 

 

John Selman was born in Amsterdam. He studied chemical engineering and became archivist at Shell in the Hague. He called himself junior because he had an older brother, dr. J.Selman, who ran a chess column in Limburgs Dagblad. He was of great importance for Dutch composing and was study editor of De Schaakwereld from 1940-1942 and Schaakmat from 1947-1949. In 1958 he became FIDE judge of chess composition. Besides composing he also carried out important historical research and he was able to reconstruct the history of Saavedra's move.(Source: Endgame study composing in the Netherlands and Flanders, Jan van Reek and Henk van Donk.) 
Harrie Grondijs published a book "No Rook Unturned" about this history.

John Selman composed one study which was awarded first prize.

 

Selman had great thematic ideas. 
His most famous study is his first prize #153 in 1949. It anticipated a Korolkov study.
After J. Selman´s death, Korolkov wrote to Roycroft:
"Concerning the study J. Selman, 1st Prize in 1949 I did not know of it, since at 
the time foreign studies did not reach me". 
Selman did not like the fact that Korolkov´s more economical version was often
published without reference to his study, but he was too kind to make a fuss about it.

He is International Judge of the FIDE for chess compositions since 1958.

 

 

Book issued in 1998 by Harrie Grondijs.

 

 

This book was issued in 1992 by Jan van Reek, which contains a selection of articles

written by Selman for Dutch newspapers in the period 1938-1941 and 1947-1952.

 

When smoking was still safe, April 1958.

 

(All his studies, more exact dates, possible corrections or cooks and exact details about sources can be found in the

Harold van der Heijden (HHdbVI))