In this release of our chess marathon we fulfill the promise given in the previous release, and we’ll tell you about heroes of the intermediate finish. We will start, of course, with the winner!

As you already know, the first on the intermediate finish with the result of 67 points from 72 possible was the citizen of Poltava Valery Kopyl, the grandmaster of Ukraine and the international solving master.

Valery Kopyl. There is one more victory!
Championship of Ukraine, Poltava, 2010

There is nothing surprising in this victory. Valery Kopyl became the champion of Ukraine 9 times on solving chess compositions and for today he is one of the strongest solvers in the world.

There are many bright victories in his track record in various international stadia. There is the 2nd place in the 22nd the World Chess Solving Championship which was in St.-Petersburg in 1998. Only the annoying oversight on finish didn’t allow Valery to become the world champion on a solution of chess secrets …

Alone with figures…
The Championship of Ukraine, Odessa, 2008

And in 1972 - Valery's chess career began with the participation in the correspondence competition of the newspaper "Komsomolec Poltavshchinj" where he took the second place.

In the 70s there was the debut of Kopyl on a composer path as well. For today he thought up more than 300 problems and studies.
Some of these creations have got on gold pages of "Album FIDE" …
Our hero does much for propaganda of chess art. He is the Chairman of the Commission of chess composition at Federation of Chess of Ukraine. Thanking his financial support the magazine "The Problemist of Ukraine" is published and national chess solving championships take place…

And still Valery passionately likes to study! In 1977 it graduated from electro-technical technical school. After his work at the Poltava factory "Electromotor" and services in the army, Valery in 1984 entered the Poltava construction institute. In three years he moved to the well-known Kiev polytechnic institute.

Having graduated from it in 1987 he worked as the chief of one of work-shops of the "Electro motors". In the end of 1991, just before the disintegration of the Soviet Union, he created The Open Company "Hope" where he held the post of the deputy- director. On-the-job studies he studied at the Poltava university of consumers' co-operative society.

Well understanding that without knowledge of laws and legal subtleties it is heavy to keep afloat in the ocean of modern business, Valery in 2005 (in a year after graduating from the university) became a correspondence- student of National Academy of Law after the name of Yaroslavl the Wise (Kharkov) and … simultaneously with the beginning of his studies he created and headed The Open Company "Transport Union". In 2010 Valery Kopyl finished the academy and received the diploma "The Expert of the Right" …
I am for some reason confident that it not the last educational institution on Valery Kopyl's course of life!

Three grand masters! From the left to the right: Valery Kopyl, Ostap Bender and Sergey N.Tkachenko.
Elista, December, 2010

In following release of our chess marathon we will tell about two heroes who have occupied prize-winning places on the intermediate finish. And now let's try to solve the next portion of chess "nutlets".

№21.	№22.	№23.
#2                                                       9+8	#3	Prize
On the diagramme №21 one of black pawns prevents White to declare a mate in 2 moves. Remove this hindrance and you will solve a problem.	Instead of one of the white pawns on the diagramme №22 there should be a white bishop. Replace a pawn with a bishop and mate the black king in 3 moves	Position on the diagramme №23 is sad for White - a black pawn h2 is just about becoming a queen.... But not all so is sad, our Marathon racers! There is a white pawn in your in hands which is possible to put on any field in the bottom half of the board. Find a haven for "the soul of chess" and win a duel!

№24.A chess question

The evolution of reason! It is known that the first international composing tourney was held by the English weekly magazine with the similar name. Name this edition? The help: this name often flashes on the main page of our site.

Meet you in a week!
Your heading leader, Honoured Chess Master of Sports of Ukraine Sergey Tkachenko.