Pentti Sola

Pentti Olavi Sola ( 28 May 1907 , Helsinki - 9 April 1940 , Kuopio ) was a Finnish piano artist and an important author of chess problems.                                                                                                                                                                        On his initiative, the Finnish chess problem association Suomen Tehtaväniekat was founded in 1935 .Sola can be regarded as the father of modern problem chess in Finland, as he thoroughly mastered the latest theory of problem chess of his time and created his own problem chess themes.

Personal information and career 
Sola was born in Helsinki as the first child of the famous opera singer Wäinö Sola and the actress Elli Malmi. In the spring of 1925, he graduated from Helsinki Normal University with excellent grades. After graduating from high school, he considered studying law at the University of Helsinki, but the start of his studies was postponed. Wäinö Sola went on a six-month concert tour to the United States and Pentti acted as his father's accompanist on the tour. They gave more than 60 concerts and performed at various events. Along the way, Pentti Sola met the American writer-for-hire Alain C. White (1880-1951). This acquaintance came in handy later on. After returning home, Sola began his studies, but progress was slow. He did not consider law to be his speciality, but would have preferred to study languages or music. [2] The progress of his studies was also hampered by a career as a taskmaster, which began in 1924. Sola began his military service in the summer of 1929, returning home as a lieutenant in the reserves. After his return from the army, he returned to chess.

Sola married Vieno Lehtinen in the mid-1930s. Due to chess activities, his studies were delayed and he eventually changed his major to musicology. He graduated in 1937 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and later with a master's degree. Sola was still planning to begin his dissertation on the history of Finnish opera, but left it unfinished when the war broke out. In addition to his studies, he worked at the Kaleva travel agency between 1936 and 1938 and then as an assistant to the music manager of Yleisradio.

After the outbreak of the Winter War, Sola was drafted into military service and served as a platoon leader in the 3rd/JR 69th  The regiment fought at Syskyjärvi, but was transferred to Kollaanjoki in February 1940. After the Red Army began the attack in the front block at the beginning of March, the Finns had to endure heavy delaying action. Sola was seriously wounded on 12 March while defending the "Rumilus" block from shrapnel from a grenade. He died of his injuries in Niuvanniemi Hospital in April 1940. 

Chess campaign 
In the years 1930-1933 Sola delivered a chess board in Ajan Sana and after the end of operation also in Ajan Suunna . The column was respected and had many readers. From Solan's chessboard he got the inspiration to start his career as a writer, e.g. future top author Osmo Kaila. During these years, Sola's efforts to organise missionary chess activities in Finland began. On his initiative, the Finnish Chess Federation began to organise annual problem-solving competitions from 1932. In 1932 he also organised a composition competition for beginners in two groups at the SSK, the themes of which were the break and the escape screen. Sola edited the Suomen chess problem-solving column 1933-1936.

In 1934 Sola supplied Finnish chess games for a collection published by Alain C. White published as part of his well-known Christmas series. The books in the series are now coveted collector's items. Sola was one of the founding members of Suomen Tehtaväniekok (ST), which was founded in 1935. He had already proposed the founding of the association the previous year, but the idea was not well received at the time. After Sola had revised his proposal, he got Tehtaväniekat excited about the idea. After outlining the association's activities, Sola chaired the meeting in January 1935, which resulted in a project to draw up the association's rules. The draft rules prepared by Osmo Kaila and Leo Valve were accepted and the association was officially founded at the first official meeting of ST in February 1935. Sola was chairman of the association from 1938 to 1939. 

Sola was a representative of Suomen Tehtaväniekiok on the board of the Finnish Chess Federation. He served as an alternate member of the board in 1938 and as a permanent member in 1939.

Sola as task creator and task theorist 
Sola published his first task in Suomen Shaki in 1924. He prepared a total of 1148 tasks. Most of the production consisted of checkmating tasks and auxiliary checkmates, but he also prepared finishing tasks, self-checkmates and fairy tale chess tasks. In Sola's time, satušakki was a despised type of task art, but Sola bravely set about exploring the subject. For his merits as a draughtsman, he was awarded the title of national commission master in 1937.

Suomen Tehtaväniekat honoured Sola's 100th birthday by organising an international composition competition in 2007-2009 in two groups, the themes of which were: 2-layer auxiliary mat tasks and fairy chess. 

Sola was the first Finnish task artist to actively familiarise himself with the modern theory of task art. He can be considered the father of modern Finnish task art. Osmo Kaila regarded Sola as the most important Finnish taskmaster. Sola gave a lecture on the theory of task chess at the Suomalainen Chess Club's game evenings in the 1930s. He was one of the founding members of the club in 1930. Sola also invented new mission chess themes. One of the themes he invented is the Finnish Nowotny. In the mid-1930s, Sola investigated the realisation of the Finnish Nowotny in tasks with as little material as possible. 

He has compiled around 600 chess problems, mainly direct and auxiliary problems, and is considered one of the best Finnish chess problem solvers. From 1933 to 1936 he headed the chess composition section of the magazine "Suomen Shakki". In the Christmas series he published the book "Finnish: a collection of Finnish problem solvers" in English (see bibliography).

Die Schwalbe, Issue 225, June 2007 wrote:

"Pentti Olavi Sola (28.5.1907-9.4.1940) published about 600 problems, including many Bohemian three-moves. From 1933 to 1936 he was in charge of the problem section of Suomen Shakki. In 1934 the volume Suomi, compiled by him with a selection of Finnish problems, appeared in the Christmas series. Not yet 33 years old, the pianist Sola was killed in the Soviet-Finnish war."

Source: fi.wikipedia.org