All Questions
18
questions
4
votes
0
answers
90
views
Puzzles where the goal is to avoid being checkmated in x or fewer moves
Is there a name for puzzles where the goal is to avoid being checkmated in x moves?
An example is this puzzle:
[Title "White to play and avoid being mated on or before move 4 (there is a unique ...
- 796
7
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Most mate options after 6 moves
Found this construction problem from '83 and liked it. I don't know the best solution (yet), and maybe you can top it anyway.
Consider the (help) "game" 1.e4 a6 2.Bc4 a5 3.Qh5 a4. Now White ...
- 16.8k
0
votes
2
answers
192
views
Mate in 2 from "The soviet Chess Primer" but wrong
I found this exercise on page 51 of the "The soviet chess primer" and I think there is a mistake. Chess.com analysis says there is a mate in 13 moves.
I'm correct thinking there is a mistake?...
- 139
1
vote
1
answer
164
views
Can a castling checkmate be engineered from this position?
I get the following position pretty often in online bullet as White. It's mate in a few (for instance, 9. Bf4+ Kc5 10. Qd5+ Kb6 11.Qb5#). Needless to say, the setup is dubious.
This looks like a prime ...
3
votes
1
answer
128
views
How can I mate the black king in 4 moves or less (helpmate)
In this helpmate puzzle, it is White to move.
- 133
2
votes
2
answers
159
views
Most different mate-in-N depending on black's move
The puzzle (this may have a known answer) is to construct a position such that:
If Black makes move A, it's mate in 1 for white.
If Black makes move B, it's mate in 2 for white.
...
If Black makes ...
- 3,340
2
votes
1
answer
228
views
Find a forced checkmate on dark squares only
In a recent Youtube video, the black player reaches the following position
[White "NN"]
[Black "Chess Simp"]
[FEN "r2r4/ppp2p1k/2n4P/4p3/P3n3/B1P1P2P/P1qPK2P/R6R b - - 0 1&...
- 946
3
votes
1
answer
241
views
Longest forced win after 3 moves
It is possible to reach (exactly) #8 after just 3 moves:
[Title "#8 after 3 moves"]
[FEN ""]
1. e3 f6 2. Qf3 Kf7 3. Nh3 Qe8! 4. Ng5+ Kg6 5. Bd3+ Kxg5 6. Qf4+ Kh5 7. g4+ Kh4 8. Qg3+...
- 2,826
27
votes
6
answers
13k
views
Why is this a checkmate?
I'm new to chess and I'm confused about a puzzle I was practicing.
As you can see my black queen has put the white king in check, but I'm confused how this is possible if a rook is right next to my ...
- 311
5
votes
1
answer
299
views
Is there really a checkmate after 1... Bxf5?
This puzzle on chesstempo caught my eye. We play as Black:
[FEN "1r1r3k/7p/5Pb1/p2BpRpq/1pP5/1P1Q4/P5RP/7K w - - 0 1"]
1.Rgxg5
Note: the solution is not quite important here, so no large ...
- 463
11
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How to solve this puzzle of Martin Gardner?
Martin Gardner mentioned the following "chess" problem in his column, Mathematical Games, for Scientific American (he got it from Smullyan, who learned about it from a high school math ...
- 221
9
votes
1
answer
1k
views
From Mate-in-3 to Mate-in-1
Here is my new problem in 3 steps - the key designates here the piece that moves first in the solution. An other way to reach a mate in one I hope you'll enjoy...
[Title "From Mate in 3 to ...
- 571
16
votes
2
answers
966
views
How many moves of head start does white need for a guaranteed win?
As we all know, it is not known whether white can always win in chess with optimal play. If, however, white got to make two moves before black made their first move would they be able to win with ...
- 303
24
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Another Unusual Mate in One
Here is another mate-in-one of my own i.e. a not quite usual one...
[title "Mate in one"]
[FEN "3b4/R3P3/2kPR1n1/P1p1n3/4K1p1/2Nr4/5p2/1b6 w KQkq - 0 1"]
Imagine, you ...
- 571
10
votes
2
answers
654
views
Mate in One the Missing King
The post "A mysterious mate in one" made me think of one of my last problems which is also a Mate-in-One with no black King:
[Title "White to move and mate in one"]
[FEN &...
- 571