Werner Schmoll  (* Thursday, 05.05.1949 in the zodiac sign of Taurus -  † Saturday, 06.07.2024)

Chess player, chess composer, solver of chess problems and more regular (over many years) commentator (Schach Aktiv) of chess problems.

From the outset, his domain was the romantic-nostalgic sector, where he made a name for himself with predominantly two- and three-move direct mate problems, often with distinctive characteristics. Well known to a wider audience, particularly in Germany and Switzerland, W. Schmoll passed away in early July 2024 after a short, serious illness.

Werner Schmoll - a commercial employee at SIEMENS Linz (Upper Austria) until his retirement remained successfully connected to the royal game for many years as a party player: a member of SC Traun'67 since 1964 – one of the most prestigious chess clubs in the country – he was club champion several times and also twice Upper Austrian youth champion.

"Like Gerald Sladek (✝ 2022), Dipl.-Ing. Alois Nichtawitz and IGM Camillo Gamnitzer, a staunch friend of classical music, Schmoll made a lasting contribution to artistic chess, not least through his media publications, namely by competently continuing the problem section of the daily newspaper "Oberösterreichische Nachrichten" daily newspaper, which he took over from G. Sladek in 2012. The married family man and father of two children once memorably summed up what problem chess meant to him personally: Apart from the artistic component, I am fascinated by the objectivity of the genre, because in artistic chess, only the search for truth ( = SOLUTION ) leads to the goal; in contrast, in over-the-board chess, which is also time-dependent, one operates with “good” or “less good” moves.  It is not the luckiest, but the truth-loving who “wins” in this profession!" (Problem chess in upper Austria)

Short biography: Werner Schmoll

Born on 5 May 1949; worked as a commercial clerk at SIEMENS Linz until his retirement in 2009. Married with Claudia Schmoll. He had two children.

Member of SC Traun'67, one of the most prestigious chess clubs in Upper Austria, since 1964. In the 1960s, Werner Schmoll was twice Upper Austrian Youth Champion and several times club champion. A regular and enthusiastic solver since 1983, he made his debut as a problem composer shortly afterwards (1985) in the Austrian trade journal ‘Schach Aktiv’. Schmoll has now composed over 100 chess problems (mainly two- and three-movers), with (Grandmaster) Camillo Gamnitzer lending a hand in special cases and providing the final technical and artistic polish.

The Traun native expresses what “problem chess” means to him personally in words that are perhaps universally valid: "Apart from the artistic component, I am fascinated by the objectivity of this genre, because in artistic chess, only the search for truth ( = SOLUTION ) leads to the goal; in contrast, in over-the-board chess, which is also time-dependent, “good” or “less good” moves are used. It is not the luckier player who “wins” in problem chess, but the one who loves the truth!"

As a solver of chess problems, Werner Schmoll prefers helpmate chess problems, but he also appreciates orthodox problems. Other hobbies by Werner Schmoll: music (classical), hiking. 

His place of residence was: Werner Schmoll lived at: Lärchenweg 13b.     A - 4050 Traun (Near Linz in Upper Austria)

Picture left to right: Peter Krug, Camillo Gamnitzer and Werner Schmoll

Source: Glanz auf 64 Feldern; Problem Chess in Upper Austria - Problemkunst in Oberösterreich (Upper Austria)