THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO

One of the reasons for the game of Chess to be so fascinating is that chess games usually replicate real war situations & real war strategy.

Over the years there have been several attempts by chess composers to replicate the battle of Waterloo which famously caused the downfall of the mighty french emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. None is more beautiful & aesthetically pleasing than the one below.

WHITE TO PLAY & MATE

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SOLUTION TO “THE INVISIBLE KING”

(This is a solution. To have a look at the problem first, click here)

The position looked like this couple of moves ago.

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THE INVISIBLE KING

This is a fascinating old problem. A mere glance at the below position is sufficient to detect that something is wrong with the position. Oh yes… THE WHITE KING IS MISSING.

WHERE IS THE WHITE KING?

But invisible to us, the white king is somewhere there on the chess board. The challenge is to locate the square. Not only that, you also have to find the final sequence of moves that led to this position.

Looks impossible !!! So let's do some logical thinking.

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ROOK, LINE & SINKER

There is something about Rooks that makes them less mysterious than all other chess pieces. Its rigid appearance & movements may have got something to do with it. Even in chess literature, rarely one comes across enjoyable chess problems with Rooks performing a major role. While knights, queens & pawns usually perform star roles in chess problems & studies, Rooks are usually condemned to perform supporting acts. 

So as a tribute to all the neglected rooks in the chess world, I present the following chess problem. (Composed by O.Dehler in 1911)

WHITE TO PLAY & MATE IN 03 MOVES

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SOLUTION – SUICIDE MISSION

(This is a solution. To have a look at the problem first, click here)

This problem is very straightforward if you understand the main concept behind it. The idea is to promote all the pawns (starting with the g pawn) to ROOKS (!) to drive the white king towards a6, where it’ll assist the white queen to deliver the mate on a7.

Still can’t get it? Here we go then.

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SUICIDE MISSION

The debate about the game of chess being an art, a science or just another board game still rages on, but one thing that cannot be denied is that chess is aesthetically pleasing. If you have doubts, then just look at the following little problem.  

A warning then, before you look at the following position. THIS IS NOT A NORMAL CHESS PROBLEM , hence the title ‘suicide mission’.

OK. Now have a look at the weird position below. These kind of problems are generally called 'Self mates' in chess terminology. (This selfmate was composed by E. Hasselkus in 1948)

WHITE TO PLAY & FORCE BLACK TO MATE WHITE IN 07 MOVES

What is this? You might wonder....

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HORSES FOR COURSES

In THE DANCING KNIGHT’S ‘WALK IN THE PARK’, we saw the amount of mayhem a knight can cause. To explore the beauty of knight maneuvers further, let’s have a look at this fantastic example from the book Practical chess Endings by Irving Chernev. (Created by A.S.Gurevich in 1927)

WHITE TO PLAY & WIN

At first it appears that white can’t prevent the black g pawn from queening. But there is a way…

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THE DANCING KNIGHT’S ‘WALK IN THE PARK’

The Knight, being the only piece with “hopping privileges”, is an integral part of the game of chess. Many a chess masterpiece would not have been possible if not for this special ability of the knight.

Somewhere during our chess careers we all have experienced that nasty jolt of pain inflicted by an overlooked knight maneuver which is usually followed by a deadly fork. Nothing is more annoying than having to let your more powerful pieces dance to the tune of an enemy knight. This problem composed by Christoph Fieberg in 2006 elevates our theme further.  

WHITE TO PLAY & WIN

The position looks a bit of a mess & it is indeed bit of a chaotic muddle. But bear with me because what follows is worth the effort.

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POSITION SET UP FUN – 2

The solution of the problem posted at the end of POSITION SET UP FUN – 1 is as follows.

1.    e4            e6

2.    Bb5          Ke7

3.    Bxd7        c6

4.    Be8          Kxe8

As you can see, position set up problems can definitely be fun.  

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MOST STUPID CHESS PUZZLE EVER

How can you define a ‘stupid’ chess puzzle?

How about those easy ‘mate in one’ chess puzzles that we solved when we first started chess. But that is basically ‘easy’, not necessarily ‘stupid’. In my quest to find the most stupid puzzle in the history of chess, I came across many entertaining puzzles but none of them were as stupid as this one.

Why do I call this puzzle stupid? Because this puzzle does not give you a remotest chance of finding anything other than the correct solution. You cannot find an incorrect solution even if you try.

Now that’s got to be stupid. Let’s have a look at the puzzle.

WHITE TO PLAY & MATE BLACK IN 06 MOVES

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POSITION SET UP FUN – 1

Setting up positions (more commonly known in chess circles as "Retrograde Analysis")  is one of the favourite & most addictive chess pastimes. All you have to do is set up a given position by moving pieces legally. In most instances exact number of moves is given. But as opposed to making it easier, this usually makes it even harder.

Let’s have a look at a basic position set up problem to understand the concept of retrograde analysis.

REACH THIS POSITION AFTER FOUR MOVES

Your task is to reach the above position by playing 04 moves each for both White & Black from the starting position. Mind you, those moves must be legitimate.

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STALEMATE STUNNER

WHITE TO PLAY & DRAW

White’s immediate prospects appear bleak with many threats hanging over his King. 1.Qc2+ fails due to 1. … Kb4+ (2.Kb1  Na3+ or 2.Qa2 Qe5+ 3.Kb1  Nxe2). So it seems that the only move to prolong the game is...

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THE KIDNAPPED KING

Chess literature is full of instructive games where a piece sacrifice is made in order to force the opposition King out of its protective shell. There are many sad stories of such Kings who went walkabout only to wonder aimlessly before being overpowered by enemy pieces but none more spectacular than this 1912 classic between Edward Lasker & G. Thomas.

1.    d4             f5

2.    e4             fxe4

3.    Nc3          Nf6

4.    Bg5          e6

5.    Nxe4        Be7

6.    Bxf6         Bxf6

7.    Nf3           O-O 

8.    Bd3           b6

9.    Ne5          Bb7

10.  Qh5

The threat is fairly obvious. White is going to play Nxf6 & Qxh7. So Black played......

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