The British Chess Magazine
539
Problem World
Christopher Jones
[email protected]
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-+-+p+0
9+-+-+-zPl0
9-+p+R+N+0
9+pwQP+L+n0
9-zP-+rzpPzp0
9snRwqk+Kvlr0
xiiiiiiiiy
Ashot Uzunyan Armenia
Selfmate in 2
Original
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9-+p+p+-+0
9+pzp-+-+-0
9L+lmk-zP-+0
9+pzpPtr-+-0
9-+q+-+-+0
9+-sN-+-+K0
xiiiiiiiiy
K.R. Chandrasekaran India
Helpmate in 2 – 3 solutions
Original
This month we have three new
entries in the BCM Composing
Competition, all from previous
contributors (new contributors especially welcome!).
We start with a selfmate. In this genre,
White is trying to force a reluctant Black
to checkmate White. In Ashot’s example,
there are a number of Black moves that
would enable White to achieve his goal. For
instance if it were Black to play then 1…
c×d3 would allow 2 ×e2+! d×e2. It turns
out that White’s task is to find a move that
does not spoil any of the set mates. Not 1
d4? because then after 1…c×d3! 2 ×e2
cannot be met by d×e2 (pinned) and is indeed mate by White – definitely not what
we want. But it is the e4, not actively involved in any of the set mates, that must
make the waiting key move (would it have
been possible for the composer to involve
the e4 actively in some way? – the sort of
comment that it is easy to make from the
sidelines) and it turns out that the uniquely
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-zp-+-zp-+0
9+-+kzp-+-0
9-zp-+-+P+0
9+-snPsn-+-0
9p+-+-+-+0
9tr-+R+L+K0
xiiiiiiiiy
Christopher Jones Bristol
Helpmate in 3 (b) f1→b1
Original
successful move is 1 f4! Now we have 1…
c×d3 2 ×e2+ as before; 1…c2 2 e3+
×e3; 1…×b1 2 d2+ ×d2; 1…h3
any 2 ×f2+ ×f2; and 1…×g4 2 ×e2+
×e2.
An attractive variety of mates by a variety
of Black pieces. If you compete in the British Solving Championships it is well worth
looking at problems like this: once you get
into the selfmate way of thought the selfmate in 2 is often one of the easiest ways to
gain points.
Our other two problems are helpmates:
Black plays first and collaborates with White
to reach a position in which he is mated. In
the 2-mover, I can do no better than quote
the composer:
“The idea is square vacation by Black followed
by the occupation of that square by the same
black piece (here, the B) with mate on that
square. Three such solutions are shown”.
The mechanism works because White
must be allowed to guard with his a po-