My favourite studies – 1 December 26, 2002
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Solutions

M. Klyatskin, Schachmat, 1924

White to play and win

Solution: 1.c7 Kxc7 2.axb6+ (sacrificing the rook!) Kxb8 3.b7

Black is in deadly zugzwang. He has to move his king away and allow the sole white pawn to capture the rook, promote to a queen and win the game.

Leonid Kubbel, Shakhmatny Listok, 16.9.1922

White to play and win

Solution: 1.Nc6!! Kxc6 2.Bf6 Kd5. Now we have the same position as in the diagram above, except that the knight is gone (and the bishop is on f6). That is progress?? 3.d3! a2 (the queening of the a-pawn still cannot be prevented) 4.c4+! Kc5. Taking the pawn en passant allows White to recapture with the bishop and stop the pawn: 4...dxc3 5.Bxc3, and, as Fritz would say, it is mate in 21 to follow. 5.Kb7 a1Q 6.Be7#!

In 1983 I wrote: "We do not know if your chess computer will find the solution. At least two sets need less than ten minutes (!) to see the knight sacrifice. We do not know exactly how they can do so and urge you to experiment with the position to find an explanation." Today Fritz 8 does not waste a blink on any other move. It finds the key in 0:00 seconds and stays with it for as long as you let it compute.

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Frederic Friedel