Happy New Year! January 1st, 2003
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We start the New Year with the best wishes to all our friends, chess players all over the world, casual visitors to our web site. And we start it with a final instalment to our Christmas Puzzle week, hoping you have enjoyed the puzzles published so far.

Our first puzzle belongs to an area that problemist call "retrograde analysis". It sounds daunting, but is it a very enjoyable form of recreational chess, requiring humour and lateral thinking. The following example by Niels Hoëg became very famous for its simplicity, economy and originality. It is considered a pioneer position because it had a productively creative influence on the development of retrograde analysis.

Niels Hoëg, Skakbladet, 1916

What was the last move?

A very simple position, four pieces on the board, the black king in check. Your task is to reconstruct the last move. Not quite simple, since it could not have been e5-e6, since the black king would have been in check before the move was played. However with a little thought you can in fact deduce what the last three moves (two by White and one by Black) must have been. They are unique and must have been played for the above position to have arisen.

K. Hannemann, Dagens Nyheder, 1933

White to play and mate in 1, 2, 3 and 4

Now this is a really simple problem. White to play and mate in one move. Once you have solved that you are asked to search for a mate in two moves. Then for one in three and then one in four. It is surprising that in each case there is only one solution, and we are sure you will be truly amazed by the solutions once you have found them.

This will be part of our special prize quiz, where you have a chance to win a Fritz program autographed by a world chess champion. Details will follow soon.

Solutions

Frederic Friedel