Marco Campioli

Councillor for Sport Giulia Pigoni and Marco Campioli (Monday, 4 August 2014)

Marco Campioli (* Thursday, Sassuolo, 10.06.1954  -  † 17.10.2021 on a Sunday)

“Mi sono avvicinato al mondo degli scacchi dopo il diploma”, ha detto, ‘e poi mi sono dedicato a uno studio che credo sia la ricerca della bellezza degli scacchi’. Marco Campioli

Titles in chess: OTB Candidate Master and Correspondence (ICCF) Master

Judge

He also was very often a judge for international endgame study tournaments. 

His chess compositional style

His great passion and energy for chess studies was extraordinary.

Mario Campioli had composed chess studies that were quite close to a game of chess. The collaboration with Prof. Pietro Rossi is worth mentioning. However, a large number of his endgame studies have a part-deep starting position, which as a rule cannot occur in a chess game. His compositional style therefore can be described as grotesque. He was a very creative and original composer. His style can be compared with Michael Roxlau, who also often needed strong passed pawns immediately before the promotion to a queen, or a knight for the construction.

Italian study composer from Sassuolo

Campioli's style compared to Pietro Rossi

While Pietro Rossi largely composed in the style of the old masters, Marco Campioli was comparatively much freer and more experimental. Marco Campioli did not have a study composer whom he imitated. While Campioli had the great help of powerful chess engines, like Stockfish with which Campioli built his chess studies, Professor Rossi had to rely largely on his own analytical skills and endgame knowledge during his many compositional years. This is also one of the reasons why Rossi is regarded as Italy's greatest ever study composer. -This partly explains the difference in style between the two endgame study composers. Since the chess engines became better than the best chess player in man, chess as a whole became freer and more experimental. The same can be said of the chess compositions of the 21st century.

Study composers: Marco Campioli & Pietro Rossi White wins, (study 1) 1/3.prize Sukharev MT Shakhmatnaya Kompozitsia 2006.04.12 1-0

Collaboration with the well known chess study composer, Pietro Rossi

Marco Campioli also composed a lot with the well known study composer Pietro Rossi. Together they created some perfectly formed, high-quality works of chess art.

Pietro Rossi-Marco Campioli

1/3.p Sukharev MT (c), 2005;

White Ka5,Bh1,Rh6,Pc6,d5,e7 / Black Kc7,Qf7,Ne5,Pa6 White to move and win:

Solution 1.d5-d6+ Kc7-b8 2.Rh6-h8+ Kb8-a7 3.Rh8-a8+! Ka7xa8 4.e7-e8D+! Qf7xe8 5.d6-d7! Qe8xd7! 6.c6xd7+ Ka8-a7 7.d7-d8B! (7.d7-d8Q? Ne5-c6! 8.Bxc6 stalemate=) and wins 1-0 "After a tactical introduction, Black still has a stalemate defence in store, which White prevents at the very end with an underpromotion into a bishop." (Peter Krug)

Campioli´s view on the subject of chess study

“Mi sono avvicinato al mondo degli scacchi – ha detto – dalla fine del liceo, poi mi sono dedicato alla studistica che, a mio parere, rappresenta la ricerca della bellezza degli scacchi”

Marco Campioli Bertellini Award 2012

Bertellini Award

Marco Campioli from Sassuolo won the "Bertellini Award 2012"

He won the prestigious "Bertellini Prize 2012", an award that has been presented annually since 1989 to well-known and respected personalities in the national chess movement in Italy and abroad. The "Bertellini Prize" is the second most important chess award in Italy after the "Greco Prize". As stated in the communication to the chess master, "the Paolo Bertellini Club has unanimously decided to award you the "Paolo Bertellini" prize as part of the 2012 Festival, in recognition of your passion, your merits and the prestigious results you have achieved in the chess field, especially in the field of scientific composition". "Marco Campioli will be awarded the prize on Sunday 13 May at 7pm at the end of the International Chess Festival in Salsomaggiore Terme."

Pietro Rossi & Marco Campioli, 2.prize Ceskoslovensky Sach 2005 (study 2) 1-0

One of the best chess studies from Italy

Pietro Rossi (Italy, Matera) & Marco Campioli (Italy, Sassuolo)

2.prize, Ceskoslovensky Sach 2005 (study 2)

Solution 1. Rh3! Pin 1...Bg6+! 2. Rxg6! Rc4+! 3. Ke3! Re2+! 4. Kd3 Qxh3+ 5. Rg3!! Qxg3+ 6. Kxe2+! Rc2+! 7. Bxc2+ Kh8! 8. Qf8+! Qg8 eg 9. Qh6+ and White wins easily 1-0 "The battery of the white king on e4 and bishop on b1 against the black king on h7 already reveals the key move. This very original study is all about counter-chess and deduction chess. The pawnless, materially completely balanced initial position is remarkable. This composition presents grandiose tactical fireworks. The use of space is very good. With this work, the two authors have written themselves into the history of chess study composition." (Peter Krug)