Greetings from SWEDEN (from TD 100) by Bo Lindgren Tilbage til forsiden

The Sublime Higher School of perfectionism
by Bo Lindgren, Grandmaster in composition 1980




he story goes that Gustave Flaubert
the author of the classic novel "Madame Bovary"
in his stylistic fervour
could spend a whole morning to rub out a comma
and then spend the rest of the day to put it back again
As a composer of chess problems
one laughs and recognizes oneself
That white Pawn on a4
- it's always about white Pawns -
how irritating, how it sticks out
I can take it away, of course I can
there will be a small, a very small thematic imperfection without it
but other qualities also count in a problem
So, after desperate brooding it's taken off the board

And you are satisfied
after all it was right to get rid of that Pawn
Why was it so difficult to come to that!
But on the other hand, there is a strong reason to keep it
esthetically it is a blemish, but from a thematic point of view...!?
But you are sure that you have achieved the best
but, of course disturbing that the variation is not absolutely pure
there are certainly those who would frown on it
but the esthetic aspect of the matter is just as important
but a purely worked out theme
doesn't that also belong to the esthetic side of the composition!

At last, after unendurable torment the problem solves itself
as it happily solved itself for the creator of "Madame Bovary"