Article provided by: Esko Nuutilainen
The Finnish Correspondence Chess Federation (FCCF) was founded on January 4, 1961, although CC activity in Finland dates back to the 19th century. The activity, however, was managed by private individuals. The reason for organising the activity was the need to participate in international tournaments, which was made possible by affiliating to the ICCF.
The FCCF has been very active in ICCF. We have organized the ICCF Congress three times: 1979, 1991 and 2011 and every time in Järvenpää.
Raimo Lindroos and Ragnar Wikman have worked in ICCF as vice Presidents and in many other positions.
We have also four ICCF Honorary Members, more that any other country in the world: Eino Heilimo 1967, Raimo Lindroos 1991, Ragnar Wikman 1999 and Esko Nuutilainen 2011.
The FCCF has organised the following international tournaments:
FINJUB-10, 1971-1974
1°. Janis Klovans (SU) 11½ (14); 2°. Sandor Brilla-Bánfalvi (HUN) 11½; 3°. John Kellner (AUS) 11; 4°. Milan Weiner (CS) 9½; 5°. Unto Venäläinen (SF) 8; 6°. Erik Svensson (SVE) 7½; 7°. Reino Miettinen (SF) 7; 8°. Hagen Tiemann (DDR) 6½; 9°. Stevan Letic (YUG) 6½; 10°. Walter Muir (USA) 5½; 11°. Veli-Matti Huuskonen (SF) 5; 12°. Felix Grzeskowiak (D) 5; 13°. Armas Björkqvist (SF) 5; 14°. Göran Lågland (SF) 3; 15°. Usko Koskinen (SF) 2½.
Eino Heilimo Memorial I, 1977-1982
1°. Juhani Sorri (SF) 10 (14); 2°. Pentti Palmo (SF) 9½; 3°. A. den Ouden (NLD) 9½; 4°. Peter Markland (GB) 9; 5°. Risto Kauranen (SF) 9; 6°. Hans-Joachim Hecht (D) 9; 7°. Åke Backlund (SF) 8; 8°. Heinz-Wilheln Dünhaupt (D) 8; 9°. Adrian Hollis (GB) 7½; 10°. Pertti Lehikoinen (SF) 7; 11°. Alex Siklos (CAN) 6; 12°. Gyözö Forintos (HUN) 5½; 13°. Matti Piuva (SF) 3½; 14°. Paul Diaconescu (ROM) 3½; 15°. Reino Miettinen (SF, +) 0.
Eino Heilimo Memorial II, 1977-1982
1°. Duncan Suttles (CAN) 12 (16); 2°. Olli Koskinen (SF) 10½; 3°. Pavao Keglevic (YUG) 10; 4°. Kaarle Ojanen (SF) 10; 5°. Kornelis Dirk Mulder van Leens Dijkstra (NLD) 9½; 6°. Gustavo Bartís (ARG, +) 9; 7°. Matyas Berta (YUG) 8½; 8°. Walter J. Mooij (NLD) 8; 9°. Juliane Hund (D) 8; 10°. Manfred Mädler (D) 7½; 11°. Igor Morosov (SU) 7½; 12°. Kalevi Kaunonen (SF) 7½; 13°. Torsten Hultquist (SVE) 7; 14°. Stevan Letic (YUG) 6; 15°. Lucius Endzelins (AUS, +) 6; 16°. Fazil Atabek (TRK) 6; 17°. Pekka Nikkanen (SF) 3.
FINJUB-20, 1981-1984
1°.Abram Khasin (SU) 12 (13); 2°. Laszlo Barczay (HUN) 8½; 3°. Klaus Engel (D) 8½; 4°. Peter Markland (GB) 8½; 5°. Pentti Palmo (SF) 8; 6°. Eero Hintikka (SF) 7; 7°. Kaarle Ojanen (SF) 6; 8°. Ilkka Kanko (SF) 6; 9°. Sandor Brilla-Bánfalvi (HUN) 5½; 10°. Pauli Aulaskari (SF) 5½; 11°. Olli Koskinen (SF) 5½; 12°. Milan Weiner (CS) 5; 13°. Hagen Tiemann (DDR) 4½; 14°. Dusan Rajkovic (YUG) ½; Peter Clarke (GB) withdrew.
KIRJESHAKKI-25 GM group 1987-92
1°.Csaba Meleghegyi (HUN) 12 (14); 2°. Douglas Bryson (SCO) 9½; 3°. Heinrich Burger (GER) 9½; 4°. Matti Piuva (FIN) 8½; 5°. Kier H. Nienhuis (NLD) 8; 6°. Sakari Räty (FIN) 8; 7°. Jovan Kondali (JUG) 8; 8°. Mladen Gudjev (BLG) 7½; 9°. Norbert Karker (GER) 7½; 10°. Igor Morosov (URS) 7½; 11°. Fritz Baumbach (GER) 6½; 12°. Stevan Letic (YUG) 4½; 13°. Olli Koskinen (FIN) 4; 14°. Eero Hintikka (FIN) 3½; 15°. Kalevi Kaunonen (FIN) ½.
KIRJESHAKKI-25 IM group 1987-92
1°.Ronald Overveld (NLD) 10½ (14); 2°. William Maillard (USA) 10; 3°. Dag Orseth (NOR) 10; 4°. Georg Österman (FIN) 9½; 5°. Vitali Gusakov (RUS) 9; 6°. Ljubin Radulov (BLG) 9; 7°. Jose Pereira dos Santos (POR) 8; 8°. Göran Lågland (FIN) 7½; 9°. A.M. Notten (NLD) 7; 10°. Kalman Mosonyi (HUN) 7; 11°. Roland Beyen (BEL) 6½; 12°. Hagen Tiemann (GER) 5½; 13°. Frans Larsen (NOR) 4½; 14°. Felix Grzeskowiak (GER, +) 1; 15°. Celso Sanchez Pouso (VEN) 0.
FINJUB-30 GM group-1, 1991-1996
1°.Gert J. Timmerman (NLD) 12½ (14); 2°. Jozef Franzen (SLO) 9½; 3°. Hannes Olafsson (ISD) 9½; 4°. Juan S. Morgado (ARG) 8½; 5°. Ken McAlpine (SCO) 8; 6°. Horst Rittner (GER) 7½; 7°. Matti Piuva (FIN) 7½; 8°. John J. Carleton (ENG) 7; 9°. Pentti Palmo (FIN) 6; 10°. Petko Slavtschev (BLG) 5½; 11°. Robert Kiviaho (CAN) 5; 12°. Eero Hintikka (FIN) 5; 13°. Gheorghe Rotariu (ROM) 4½; 14°. Adolphe Viaud (FRA) 4½; 15°. Ernst Eichhorn (SWZ) 4½.
FINJUB-30 GM group-2, 1991-1996
1°. Csaba Meleghegyi (HUN) 12½ (14); 2°. Auvo Kujala (FIN) 11½; 3°. Rodolfo A. Redolfi (ARG) 9½; 4°. Joseph DeMauro (USA) 9; 5°. Alois Lanc (SLO) 9; 6°. Mihai Breazu (ROM) 8½; 7°. Günter Jan Ballon (NLD) 7; 8°. Vladimir Sagorovski (RUS, +) 7; 9°. Ralph Mallee (GER) 6½; 10°. Keith Richardson (ENG) 6½; 11°. Gerhard Zecha (GER) 5½; 12°. Giancarlo Santoro (ITA) 4; 13°. Allan Jensen (DEN) 4; 14°. Sakari Räty (FIN) 2½; 15°. S. James Henri (AUS) 2.
FINJUB-30 IM group, 1991-1997
1°. Ove Kroll (DEN) 11 (14); 2°. Jaakko Kivimäki (FIN) 10½; 3°. Tero Kokkila (FIN) 10½; 4°. Pekka Kauppala (FIN) 9; 5°. Clemens Werner (GER) 8½; 6°. Gary Kubach (USA) 8; 7°. Helmut Glaser (SIP) 7½; 8°. Kevin Embrey (USA) 7½; 9°. Josef Spodny (CZE) 7; 10°. Ossi Koskivirta (FIN) 6½; 11°. Jorge Llorente Galardy (CUB) 6; 12°. Kalle Tanni (FIN) 4½; 13°. Victor Malcoci (GER) 3½; 14°. Dave Dempster (AUS) 2½; 15°. Brian Martin (SCO) 1½.
Per-Erik Ekblom Memorial 1996-2000
1°. Jens Klügel (SWZ) 11½ (14); 2. Jari Mannermaa (FIN) 11; 3. Heikki Arppi (FIN) 9½; 4/5. Jan Pletanek (CZE) and Günter Weinitschke (GER) 9; 6. Hermann Rhode (GER) 8½; 7. Oluf Öe (DEN) 8; 8. Kalle Tanni (FIN) 6½; 9. Teemu Kilpi (FIN) 6; 10. Seppo Lyly (FIN) 5½; 11/12. Reino Kotka (FIN) and Heikki Brusila (FIN) 5; 13/14°. Robert Callergård (SWE) and Jaakko Juntunen (FIN) 4½; 15°. Antti Nokso-Koivisto (FIN) 1½.
FINJUB-40 email, 2001-2002
1.Tony Hedlund (SWE) 8½/12, 2. Bo Jäderholm 8, 3. Sergey Sabaev (RUS) 8, 4. Dov Rozenberg (ISR) 7½, 5. John C.Knudsen (USA) 7, 6. Jose A.Barrios Troncoso (ESP) 7, 7. Jüri Siigur (EST) 6½, 8. Heikki Rissanen 6, 9. Pentti Klemettinen 5, 10. Tapani Sammalvuo 5, 11. Taisto Koskela 4, 12. Olavi Neuvonen 3½, 13. Yrjö Oksanen 2.
FINJUB-40 email-B, 2002-2004
1.Bo Jäderholm 10½/14, 2. Ville Ketola 10, 3. Arif Kucuqali (TUR) 10, 4. Kari Kolehmainen 9½, 5. Taisto Koskela 9, 6. Giora Peli (ISR) 8½, 7. Erkki K. Koskinen 8, 8. Stefan Andéer (SWE) 7½, 9. Heikki Rissanen 7½, 10. Jüri Siigur (EST) 7, 11. Tomi Tocklin 6½, 12. Telmo Sebastio Bueno (BRA) 5, 13. Matti Vainio 3, 14. Henry Lagergren 2½, 15. David Overton (ENG) ½.
FINJUB-40 postal, 2001-2004
1.Yoav Dothan (ISR) 11/15, 2. Hans-Joachim Hofstetter (GER) 10, 3. Horst Staudler (GER) 9½, 4. Heikki Pigg 8½, 5. Markku Pukkila 8½, 6. Teijo Oikamo 8½, 7. Georg Österman 8, 8. Pentti Palmo 7½, 9. Joseph Mercadal Benejam (ESP) 7, 10. Harri Fröberg 7, 11. Lars Hyldkrog (DEN) 6½, 12. Per Söderberg (SWE) 6½, 13. Juri Seljodkin (EST) 6½, 14. Pentti Lehtinen 5½, 15. Matti Huuskonen 5, 16. Pauli Aulaskari 4½. Eckhard Lüers (GER) withdrew.
FINJUB-45 server, 2007-2009
1.Wim H. Pommerel Brouwer (NED) 9½/14, 2. Lars Hyldkrog (DEN) 9½, 3. Moshe Glazman (ISR) 9½, 4. Teijo Oikamo 9, 5. Bo Bredenhof (SWE) 8, 6. Bo Jäderholm 7½, 7. Adri de Groot (NED) 7½, 8. Alpo Vornanen 7, 9. Reijo Hiltunen 7, 10. Heikki Arppi 7, 11. Pauli Hietanen 5½, 12. Jukka Joutsi 5, 13. Christian Jepson (SWE) 4½, 14. Ville Ketola 4½, 15. Risto Mäntylä 4.
FINJUB 45 postal, 2007-2010
1.Per Söderberg (SWE) 8½/12, 2. Jorma Koponen 8, 3. Heikki Arppi 7½, 4. Wim W. J. Rakhorst (NED) 7, 5. Pentti Lehtinen 6½, 6. Abir Har-Even (ISR) 6, 7. Jukka Joutsi 6, 8. Raimo Sutela 5½, 9. Sverrir Nordfjörd (ISL) 5½, 10. Pauli Aulaskari 5, 11. Heikki Brusila 5, 12. Tonny Christiansen (DEN) 4½, 13. Pentti Saarinen 3.
Achievements
The principal achievements of Finnish CC players are:
- Pertti Lehikoinen 1st place in 20th World Championship final 2004-2011
- Risto Kauranen 3rd place in 12th World Championship final 1984-1991
- X OL-final 1987-1995 Finland 9th
- XVI OL-final has started in 2010 with 13 teams, among them Finland
World record match Finland – Sweden 1994-1999 in 579 boards ended 282 – 282 (wits 15 games not played to the end).
Besides that the Finnish players have won many international invitational tournaments.
The national champions since 1961 are:
1961-62: Göran Lågland; 1962-63: Göran Lågland; 1964: Göran Lågland; 1965 Arno Sauso; 1966 Leo Hällström; 1967 Armas Björkqvist; 1968 Usko Koskinen; 1969 Aarne Ruotanen; 1970 Unto Venäläinen; 1971 Olavi Lampela; 1972 Unto Venäläinen; 1973 Aarne Ruotanen; 1974 Juhani Sorri; 1975 Kalevi Kaunonen; 1976 Pertti Lehikoinen; 1977 Pekka Nikkanen; 1978 Erkki Havansi; 1979 Olli Koskinen; 1980 Timothy Binham; 1981 Jouni Yrjölä; 1982 Jorma Paavilainen; 1983 Jyrki Auvinen; 1984 Olavi Airas; 1985 Kari Tikkanen; 1986 Veijo Mäki; 1987 Auvo Kujala; 1988 Mika Ebeling; 1989 Hannu Salokangas; 1990 Seppo Rastas; 1991 Tero Kokkila; 1992 Reijo Hiltunen; 1993 Asko Linna; 1994 Kimmo Välkesalmi; 1995 Asko Linna; 1995 Jari Mannermaa; 1996 Veli-Matti Huuskonen; 1997 Heikki Pigg; 1999 Bo Jäderholm; 2000 Pentti Lehtinen; 2000 Matti Huuskonen; 2001 Taisto Koskela; 2002 Pekka Asomäki; 2002 Bo Jäderholm; 2005 Bo Jäderholm; 2005 Jyrki Lehtosaari; 2006 Sakari Pesonen; 2007 Pauli Aulaskari; 2007 Alpo Vornanen; 2008 Auno Siikaluoma; 2009 Olof Strengell; 2010 Pentti Lehtinen; 2011 Teijo Oikamo.
Email tournaments: 2002 Pertti Peuraniemi; 2004 Bo Jäderholm; 2004 Taisto Koskela; 2006 Ville Ketola, Bo Jäderholm;
Presidents of FCCF:
1961-68 Eino Heilimo;
1969-73 Matti Uitto;
1974-79 Raimo Lindroos;
1980-83 Leo Lahdenmäki;
1984-90 Raimo Lindroos;
1990-91 Heikki Brusila;
1992-93 Erik Wahlberg;
1994-2009 Heikki Brusila.
2010- Heikki Arppi
Honorary Members of FCCF:
1968 Eino Heilimo
1971 Usko Peltonen
1974 Matti Uitto
Editors of Kirjeshakki:
1961-70 Usko Peltonen
1970-71 Aimo Lehtinen
1972-2002 Esko Nuutilainen
2003- Heikki Arppi
Heikki Brusila, President of FCCF 1990-91 and 1994-2009 (photo: Olavi Riikonen)
Esko Nuutilainen, ICCF Delegate 2011- (photo: Panu Laine)
Heikki Arppi, President of FCCF 2009- (photo: Olavi Riikonen)
Olavi Halme, Board member 1968- (Photo: Olavi Riikonen)
Ragnar Wikman, ICCF-Delegate 1990-2011 (Photo: Panu Laine)