Friedhelm Schwieger (* Südergellersen near Lüneburg 05.08.1947 -  † Lüneburg 21.7.2016)

Chess composer of chess problems

In memory 

August 5, 1947 (Südergellersen near Lüneburg) – July 21, 2016 (Lüneburg)
by Godehard Murkisch, Göttingen:

"During the North German Problemists' meeting in Lüneburg in November, his wife
Monika brought us the sad news that Friedhelm Schwieger (Lüneburg), a long-time participant in our group, passed away on July 21, 2016, after a lengthy hospital stay from the effects of a viral infection.

Friedhelm, who had worked at the Lüneburg Employment Office, was one of the most successful long-term solvers and commentators in the chess corner of the Landeszeitung für die Lüneburger Heide (LZ) and had also been a member of the Schwalbe (Swallow) since 2003.
Like many others in this circle (including Dieter Hübner and our former multi-move specialist Rainer Ehlers, see the obituaries in: Die Schwalbe, 1996, p. 421 and Die Schwalbe 2011, pp. 332-336), he eventually became tempted to try creating puzzles himself. He did this out of pure joy in "puzzle-solving," without professional ambition or any desire for tournament awards, knowing full well that generations of composers had already reaped rich rewards in his preferred field, the orthodox mate problem. However, he always seemed to take a secret pleasure in presenting his puzzles to a knowledgeable audience when they weren't quickly understood or provoked premature key move announcements. His first work, a three-move puzzle with a beautiful sacrificial key, appeared in the LZ in 1980. In total, Friedhelm wrote almost 90 pieces: about 25 two- and three-move pieces, 50 four- and more-move pieces, and a few pieces of other genres (helpmates, self-mates, and serial moves). Over half of his clever, solver-like pieces appeared in the LZ, a significant number in the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung and in STERN, and two pieces abroad (Solothurner Zeitung). As far as I know, Friedhelm only contributed to chess literature once, namely with the essay cited in the solution to Problem D, containing seven original compositions.
His participation in organizing the "Reunification Congress" of the German Problemists in Lüneburg in 1990, in publishing the accompanying comprehensive congress book, and in documenting the LZ chess corners in Schachbrett (ed. W. E. Kuhn), will remain unforgettable. The
fourth updated edition of this book, covering the period from 1967 to 1997, was produced by Winfried E.
Kuhn (d. 2004), his friend and colleague of almost the same age, in a special edition of
20 copies and dedicated to Friedhelm, the kindred spirit skeptic (but of a down-to-earth, quiet nature), on the occasion of his 50th birthday."

A portrait photo of him is currently unknown on the Internet.

"Friedhelm Schwieger (*05.08.1947 - 21.07.2016) ist gut ein Jahr vor seinem 70sten Geburtstag verstorben. Er stammte aus Lüneburg, wo es auch einen kleinen Problemschachzirkel gibt."  Problemschachaufgabe 229 (DEUTSCHER SCHACHBUND;Wilfried Neef)