The ancient art of Selfmate December 28, 2005
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Edgar Holladay, British Chess Magazine 1965

Selfmate in 10

It is not always possible to solve long selfmates by pure logic, and a touch of inspiration is often necessary for success. It is fairly clear that if several White pieces disappeared from the board then there would be a mate with Black’s rook on a6. One might go on to guess that the problem will end with Black’s rook on a7 and White’s rook on a6, with Black forced to play ...Rxa6#.

In order to achieve this goal White must execute a curious ratchet manoeuvre along the eighth rank and force the black rook to take the white rook. I admit it’s not easy to see the key idea, but we can’t make ChessBase Christmas puzzles too simple!

John Nunn