From Markovich Simkhovich

From Markovich Simkhovich (Russia, 1896-1945 or 1947?)

(His surname is also sometimes  spelled like Shimkovich. Simkhovich or Simjovich; His firstname also Froim).

Extraordinary composer of Kishinev who in 1925 settled in Leningrad, where he worked as a pharmacy clerk and carried out university studies of chemistry.

He began to compose problems from an early age and later became interested in studies, applying in this field many novel concepts such as the "mined squares" theme, and that of "positional tables".
In the latter case Shimkovich considered that the study of tables had been "in crisis" by a certain "uniformity" and "mechanization" in the treatment of drowning, perpetual check and repetition of movement, based on the ideas of A.A. Troitsky coined the term "positional tables" for new ways of engaging.
It is very probable that the defiant originality of many of his works also comes from the adaptation of certain problematic ideas in such a different medium and with admirable technique. But while it is true that Simjovich was a composer fundamentally "romantic style", I do not discard the composition of miniatures, and some of them account for their extraordinary versatility.
Simjovich's life was as agitated as the hard times in which he lived, and even after his death some of his personal problems were transferred to his story. It is not known exactly if he died of hunger, as many hundreds of thousands of inhabitants during the long siege to Leningrad, or if he could escape. In any case, the "official" fact is that his life went out the same year that ended World War II. (Source: “El arte del Estudio del Ajedrez”- T.IV (Ex Unión Sovietica) Autor: Zoilo R. Caputto- Bs.As. (Argentina) - 1996.

Composer of chess problems and endgame studies. Worked as a trainee pharmacist in Kishinev, Moldavia. In 1925 he moved to Leningrad which was then the centre for the emerging artform of the endgame study. He joined a group of composers which included Salkind, Levmann, Isaev, and the brilliant Leonid Kubbel who was regarded as their leader. Simkhovich made an original contribution by bringing a number of ideas from the problem world and reworking them in an endgame setting. He formulated and categorised the theme of the positional draw which was probably his most outstanding achievement. (Source Chessending.com)

Source: www.arves.org