Manfred Seidel

Manfred Seidel (25-03-1938 - 28-02-2008 Moers, Fenchelstraße 70) German chess composer

"Manfred Seidel took care of the chess composition column of German magazine Rochade Europa (overtook after his death by Franz Pachl) and of the study column in Problem Forum. As mentioned by Peter Krug in comments, he was also regularly active in the problem section of Schach Aktiv, which was headed by Wilfried Seehofer at that time. According to fellow composers, he was always helpful and gentle with his correspondents."  

Source: chesscomposers.blogspot.com

The civil engineer from Moers was a versatile composer, but many will remember him more as the tournament director of DIE SCHWALBE (and thus responsible for the annual solving championships) from 1988 to 2002. Manfred's communicative nature made him the ideal person for the job, and he played a key role in establishing chess problem solving as a separate discipline. He was also responsible for two problem chess columns in "Rochade Europa" and "Problem-Forum"; the latter magazine is still dedicated to problem chess today.