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Christmas Puzzle Contest 2005
January 1st, 2005 |
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We start the new year 2005 with our special Christmas
Puzzle Contest, to which we will come in the second
part of this extensive page. But before we do we need
to give you the solutions of all the problems that are
not part of Puzzle Contest. At the end of the first part
you will find a link to the positions and their solutions,
which you can replay on a JavaScript board.
Solutions to the Christmas Puzzles
December 27, 2004
F. Kovác, Maroczy Memorial
Tourney 1952
White to play and draw – Twin: a. diagram;
b. bNb1-a1
a. White forces a stalemate with 1.fxe7+ Kxe7
2.d8Q+ Kxd8 3.Bb6 Qxb6 [3...Nc3+ 4.Ka5] ½-½.
b. 1.d8Q+ Qxd8 2.fxe7+ Qxe7 3.Bc5 Qxc5 ½-½.
Astonishing how the small change in position of the knight
can be met with a different stalemate.
December 28, 2004
Joachim Iglesias, France-Echecs
Belgirate 2004
Proof game 5: Position after Black’s
4th move
1.e3 h5 2.Qxh5 Rh6 3.Be2 Rh7 4.Qh6 Rh8.
Black’s moves are forced by the need to lose a tempo.
Lasker,Em - Loman, 1913
After 1.Rf8+ Kxf8 2.gxh7 Lasker's opponent
had 2...Ra4+! 3.Kh3 Rh4+! 4.Kxh4 g5 [or 3.Kg5 Rh4 4.Kxh4
g5+] and Black wins.
Oded Ross of Israel comments on this
position: "It would have been really nice if the sequence
in the Lasker-Loman game was one of trick and counter-trick,
as it was in the way you set up that position, with the
last black pawn deciding the issue. Unfortunately, according
to your own Mega Database that not exactly the way it went..."
Lasker,E - Loman,R [C84]
USA tour sim USA, 1903
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.0-0
Be7 7.Re1 0-0 8.e5 Ne8 9.Bb3 Na5 10.Qxd4 Nxb3 11.axb3
d5 12.b4 c6 13.b5 cxb5 14.Nc3 Nc7 15.Be3 Bf5 16.Qd2 Qd7
17.Nd4 Bb4 18.Rad1 Rac8 19.Qe2 Bg6 20.f4 Bxc3 21.bxc3
Be4 22.Qf2 f6 23.exf6 Rxf6 24.Nb3 Ne6 25.Nd4 Rxc3 26.Rd2
Rg6 27.f5 Nxd4 28.fxg6 Nxc2 29.Bc5 Rxc5 30.Rxe4 Rc8 31.Rf4
Qc6 32.Rxc2 Qxc2 33.Qxc2 Rxc2
34.Rf8+ Kxf8 35.gxh7 Rc1+ 36.Kf2 Rc2+ 37.Kg3?
[37.Ke3 Rxg2 (37...Rc3+ 38.Kd2) 38.h8Q++-] 37...Rc3+
38.Kg4 Rc4+ 39.Kg5 Rh4 40.Kxh4 g5+ 41.Kxg5 Kg7 0-1.
As you can see, Lasker's rook sac was good (even though
Rf8+ one move earlier was simpler), but instead of going
with the king towards the black rook and probably winning
(maybe Black can build a fortress, but that is beside the
point), he blundered and missed Rh4! altogether.
F. Köhnlein, Deutsches Wochenschach
1903
White to play and mate in four moves
There is only one way to mate in four moves, and it involves
all four promotions (it's an example of an "allumwandlung"
– promotion to all four pieces in one position):
1.f8Q Kb4 2.h8B Kxc5 3.b8R Kd6 4.e8N mate.
December 29, 2004
John
Nunn, Original 2004
Helpmate in four moves
Two solutions |
John
Nunn, Original 2004
Helpmate in four moves
a) Diagram; b) black knight on b4 |
Problem one:
1.Rg5 Bxh3 2.Re5 Bxg2 3.Kf5 Kf3 4.Bg5 Bh3#
1.Qc3 Bxg4 2.Qe5 Bh5 3.Kf5 Kf3 4.Bg5 Bg4#
Problem two:
a. 1.Rxb4 Bxd4 2.Rb2 Bxb2 3.Kc5 Kc3 4.Qd5 Ba3#
b. 1.Kc5 Ba1 2.N4d5 Bc3 3.Nc4+ Kxd3 4.Rb4 Bxd4#
Michel Caillaud, Messigny 1997
Proof game 6: Position after White’s
6th move
1 c4 c5 2 Qa4 Nc6 3 Q×c6 d×c6 4 Nc3
Qd5 5 N×d5 c×d5 6 d4. The symmetrical
position can only arise as a result of distinctly unsymmetrical
play.
December 30, 2004
Dr. Erich Zepler, Die Schwalbe
1929
White to play and mate in four moves
White would like to play 1.Qd6 and threaten 2.Qe7 mate.
But unfortunately Black has the defence 1...0-0-0. Whit
must destroy the castling right: 1.Kd4
(threatens 2.Qe5+ and Rh8/Qh8#) 1...Ra4+
2.Ke5 (threatens 3.Qb8/c8#) 2...Ra8
Now Black can no longer castle, so the original
plan may be executed: 3.Qd6 Kd8 4.Rh8#. The
defence 1...Bc4 does not help: 2.Qxd7+ Kf8 3.Qe7+ Kg8 4.Qg7#
H. Mattison, Atputa 1930
White to play and win
The problem is that both white bishops are hanging, and
1.Rxd3 Rxe6 is a theoretical draw, as is any R+B vs R that
White may have on the board. So White must find a clever
mating threat: 1.Rd5!! Rxd5 (forced) 2.Be3!!
[threatens 3.Bf7#. But careful: 2.Bd2 Rf5! 3.Bxf5 is draw
by stalemate!] 2...Rg5 3.Bf7+ Kh6 4.Be8! d2 5.Bxd2
and Black is in deadly zugzwang. 1-0.
ChessBase
Christmas Puzzle Contest
Now to our puzzle contest. We have not given the solution
to five of the problems from the Christmas Puzzle week.
These are the ones you need to solve in the contest. Well,
actually not all of them. The exact conditions are given
at the end. There you will find a printout sheet, so you
can carry the positions around with you to solve on a real
chessboard or show to other people. With each problem we
also give you the link where it appeared in the puzzle
week. Usually there is a more extensive description, and
perhaps broader hints, to be found there.
Proof game 4: Position after White’s
7th move
In this example it is important to remember that the position
must arise after White's seventh move (there are
a number of solutions after Black's seventh). [December
27]
Recently a friend told me the following story about
the death of his grandfather: "My grandparents used
to go to church on Sundays. One day during the sermon,
which was long and dry, my grandfather fell asleep. That
week he had been reading a novel about the French
Revolution and began to dream that he was a rich
aristocrat living in a beautiful chateau in France. Suddenly
there was a commotion outside. A mob of peasants appeared,
stormed the house, grabbed him and tied him up, dragged
him to the market square, where there was a platform
with a guillotine
set up. My grandfather was led up the stairs, a priest
muttered a few words to him and then his head was placed
in the cradle of the guillotine. A hooded executioner
approached and reached up for the lever that releases
the blade. At that moment my grandfather was snoring
quite loudly, so my grandmother reached out and pinched
him on the back of his neck to wake him up. This was
such a shock to my grandfather that he suffered a heart
attack and died on the spot."
My reaction to the story of my friend: "I don't
believe a word of that. You made it up." Why did
I react in this way, how did I know the story is not
true. [December 30]
The solution is not, as some have suggested, that one
cannot dream while one is snoring (people can). It is also
not the fact that the executioner reached up for the lever,
which is much too high for him to reach. Inaccuracies in
a dream do not constitute a logical fallacy that invalidate
the story – – if the grandfather had been reading
Star Wars he could have easily dreamt that he was about
to be decapitated with a laser sword. There is a more basic
and elementary reason why we know that the friend's story
is not true
Proof game 7: Position after Black’s
8th move
Proof game 8: Position after Black’s
tenth move
W. Pauly, 1913
White to play and mate in two (white pawn missing)
In the above position there is a white pawn missing. You
are required to replace it and mate in two moves. We are
not sure we should be telling you this, but there are four
different solutions, each with its own little point.
The Contest Conditions
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To enter in the Puzzle Contest you should use the
feedback form given below.
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Do not change the subject line ("2004 Puzzle
Contest") as your reply may otherwise be deleted
by our mailserver as spam.
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You have two weeks – until January 16
– to submit your solutions. The order in which
the solutions are received by us is irrelevant, so
there is no reason to hurry. Please do not send multiple
solutions.
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In order to qualify for a prize you must solve –
or plausibly attempt to tackle – at least two
problems. The prize winners will be drawn from all
messages received that fulfil this criterion.
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We welcome your comments, which we may quote as feedback.
But please do take a little care with orthography.
For instance we appreciate messages that do not completely
eliminate capital letters, but of course abhor those
that use nothing else.
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There are three prizes in this contest. They consist
of copies of our new DVD training programs, personalized
with autographs of the author. One prize will be a
program signed by top players in the Wijk aan Zee tournament.
Please note that you can only win a prize if you give
your full name and a correct email address.
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Addendum: due to popular request
we are extending the deadline for submissions to January
23. There will also be an additional prize for the
best entry – the one that solves all the problems
correctly and which delivers the best explanations.
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Click here for
a printer-friendly version of the contest problems
- Click here for a PDF
of this entire page
The contest is now closed. Results
will be announce in early February
Frederic Friedel
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