ChessBase India brings The Big Summer Camp Chess Solving Cup 2026. Sponsored by the World Federation for Chess Composition, the event marks the beginning of a larger initiative to promote awareness of the art of chess composition in India. The competition will take place on 24 May, the final day of the Big Chess Summer Camp, from 12 pm to 2:30 pm at the Phoenix ChessBase India Chess Club, which has already hosted several such events in the past.
What Is Chess Solving?
Perhaps it makes sense to say a few words about what chess solving actually is. Well, it is exactly what it sounds like: you are given a sheet of chess positions with specific goals — chess puzzles, if you will — and have to solve them within a fixed amount of time.
But these are not positions from real games. They are carefully composed to showcase a particular strategy, theme, or surprising point, and to solve them is really to uncover this hidden intent of the composer — quite different from, say, doing tactics online, where you make a move and receive immediate feedback from the system. Here, you are simply given a collection of diagrams and must work out the correct play for both sides entirely on your own. There is no opponent (unless one considers the composer to be one!), no feedback, and no guiding hand; you rely solely on your reasoning, imagination, and persistence to discover the solution.
One advantage, however, is that you may set up the positions on a board and work through ideas by moving the pieces around. In a game, of course, you do not have this privilege of trial and error. The finality of touch-move dictates that you must visualise and weigh the consequences of every decision beforehand.
The above image is from the recently concluded European Chess Solving Championship, held in Skopje, North Macedonia. You can see the solvers seated at individual tables, some using multiple boards to analyse several positions at once. This allows them to move quickly from one diagram to another and work more efficiently under time pressure. They are provided with sheets containing the positions, along with separate answer sheets on which they record their solutions.
The forthcoming event in Mumbai will be organised along very similar lines. Are you motivated yet? Let us now take a look at the details.
Format
The contest will consist of a single round and a single category, with no separate sections for different age groups. It is open to all: everyone tackles the same set of questions under the same time limit.
Participants will have to solve the following 10 compositions in 150 minutes, or 2.5 hours:
- 2 two-movers (#2)
- 2 three-movers (#3)
- 2 moremovers (#n)
- 2 studies (+ or =)
- 1 helpmate (h#)
- 1 selfmate (s#)
Roughly half of the positions will be relatively easy and suitable even for chess players with little or no prior solving experience.
Each correct and complete solution will fetch 5 points. Hence, the maximum possible score is 10 x 5 = 50 points.
Prizes
The top three performers will receive the following prizes:
- ₹5000 — First Prize
- ₹3000 — Second Prize
- ₹2000 — Third Prize
There is one catch, however: participants must score at least 15 points (30%) to be eligible for the prizes listed above.
Registration
To register, please fill in the details here: Google Form
The entry fee is just ₹199. Payment can be made via the QR code provided in the form, and participants are requested to upload a screenshot of the payment confirmation.
Please note that we can accommodate a maximum of 50 entries. The form will close once that limit is reached. There is no fixed registration deadline as such.
General Instructions
- Please reach the venue at least 10 minutes before the start of the event and confirm your attendance.
- Remember to carry a pen.
- Write your answers only on the designated answer sheet, and make sure to fill in your details (name, date of birth, etc.) in the space provided on it.
- You may take the sheet containing the diagrams home afterwards.
- Please do not use any unfair means during the event. Discussion with other participants, as well as the use of phones or other electronic devices, is strictly prohibited and may result in disqualification.
Technical Instructions
- In all positions, except the helpmate, White makes the first move. Hence, “#n” means White to play and mate in n, “+” denotes White to play and win, and “=” denotes White to play and draw.
- All diagrams will be displayed from White’s perspective, with a1 located at the bottom-left corner.
- To earn full marks (5 points) for a mate-in-2 (#2), you only need to provide the correct key move, which is the first move of the solution.
- For three- and more-movers, you must provide the key and all variations of full length up to White’s penultimate move. Black’s last move and White’s mating move need not be written.
- For studies, give all moves up to an obvious win or draw.
- In a helpmate in n moves (h#n), Black plays first and both sides cooperate to get the black king mated in the stipulated number of moves. A helpmate may have multiple solutions or multiple parts, also known as twins. When this occurs, it will be clearly indicated in the question. To score full marks, you must provide all solutions or solve all parts, as required.
- In a selfmate (s#), White makes the first move, and the goal is to compel Black to mate the white king in the stipulated number of moves. Unlike in a helpmate, where Black cooperates with White, in a selfmate Black does not comply willingly and is instead forced to deliver mate. To score full marks, write the key move and all full-length variations up to White’s final move.
Note: if you are new to helpmates, selfmates, or solving problems in general, going through the material in the Problem World section of Peter Wong’s excellent website OzProblems is highly recommended.
Contact
For any queries regarding the competition, you may reach out on WhatsApp: +918928374667
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