Test Yourself With These Five Incredible Compositions
Time to exercise your chess muscles! ChessBase India's Editor of Chess Composition, Satanick Mukhuty, brings you five intriguing challenges. They are first presented together in a sheet with only the stipulations. Readers can download this sheet and take their time to ponder over each position. Later in the article, Satanick provides in-depth solutions. The selection boasts a remarkable chronological span, with problems from as far back as 1891 and as recently as 2002. Decades apart, yet equally mesmerising – these five challenges are a testament to the timeless allure of chess composition.
Solving chess compositions is fun; did you know we have a WhatsApp group dedicated to just that? I have been running this group for the past 3 months and have already shared hundreds of positions – problems and studies – with elaborate solutions. The thought of churning articles out of the stuff I write here has been in my mind since day 1, but the master procrastinator that I am, only now, after three months, have I embarked upon that task – well, better late than never!
Below are five chess compositions I posted in the group this week. They are roughly in increasing order of difficulty. Before you scroll down, be sure to attempt all of them. I know it's too much of an ask in this age of low attention span. But at least spend a few minutes with each of them before looking at the solution. I promise you will be rewarded.
Solutions:
Sam Loyd, Mail and Express, 1891
Sam Loyd's creations are always a delight; here, even with just nine units, he delivers a perfectly satisfying problem. In the diagram, the bK already has three flight squares. Yet, the key is the paradoxical 1.Be5!, which leaves the e3 knight hanging, conceding a fourth escape square to the enemy king. However, Black is now in a zugzwang. Regardless of where the bK moves, White has a mate in store:
1...Kxe3 2.Rxe2#
1...Ke1 2.Rxe2#
1...Kg1 2.Nh3#
1...Kg3 2.Nd3#
This exemplifies the King's Star theme, where the black king visits all four diagonal flight squares in a striking display of geometric harmony. The next two-mover by Sir Christopher Jeremy Morse is an excellent follow-up to Loyd's dainty production.
Christopher Morse, Israel-England 1960-61, 1st Place
The bK has one flight square in the diagram, namely c5. The astonishing key 1.Qg1! grants it three more escape squares: c3, e3, and e5, yet again giving rise to the star theme:
1...Kc3 2.Qa1#
1...Ke3 2.Rg2#
1...Ke5 2.Re2#
1...Kc5 2.R2f5#
A noteworthy try is 1.Qg7, which also produces star flights, as follows:
1...Kc3 2.R6f3#
1...Ke3 2.R6f3#
1...Ke5 2.Rh6#
1...Kc5 2.Qa7#
But 1.Qg7 fails to 1...c3. After the key move, however, 1...c3 is met by 2.Re2#.
Key moves that yield flight squares to the enemy king are naturally harder to spot, but with experience, one develops an instinct to recognise them. Next up is a pleasant three-mover that shouldn't pose too much of a challenge to experienced solvers.
Olaf Barda, Tønsbergs Blad 1943, 1st Prize
A battery, in the context of chess problems, consists of two pieces so positioned as to be able to deliver a discovered check/attack. In the above diagram, the arrangement on e3-e1 is a case in point. But there is no way to unleash it at once and secure mate in three moves. White needs something subtle yet potent enough to meet the impending ...Rc1+.
The key is the sacrificial 1.Rh1!. This pins the knight on g1, threatening 2.Bf3+ Kf1 3.Qe2#. Now, 1...Rc1+ is met with 2.Bc4+ Kd1 3.Qe2#. 1...Bd3 is answered by 2.Bg4+ Kf1 (2...Be2 3.Qxe2#) 3.Bxh3#. And last but not least, 1...Bxh1 enables 2.Bb5+ Kd1 ( 2...Ne2 3.Qxe2#) 3.Bxa4#. Pretty!
Dieter Müller & Sven Trommler, Siers MT 1993-96, 2nd Prize
A queen-knight battery takes centre stage this time, its crosshairs firmly fixed on the black king on f2. Let’s begin by examining two important tries:
1.Bc4 – by shutting off the rook’s line, this threatens 2.Ne1+ Ke3/Kf1 3.Nc2#/Qg2#. Now 1…Rxc4 is met with 2.Nh4+ Ke3/Kf1 3.Nf5#/Qg2#. But 1…Rb2! refutes mate-in-4.
The other attempt, 1.Bd5, is analogous. By blocking the c5 rook’s line on the fifth rank, this threatens 2.Nh4+ Ke3/Kf1 3.Nf5#/Qg2#. If Black takes 1…Rxd5, there is 2.Ne1+ Ke3/Kf1 3.Nc2#/Qg2#. However, 1…Rf8! throws a spanner in the works.
The missing piece is a preparatory plan – a third, essential idea to make it all work. The unlikely key is 1.Be6!, threatening 2.Nh4+ Ke3 (2...Kf1 3.Qg2#) 3.Qg1+ Kf4 4.Ng6#. If Black simply captures 1…dxe6, then after 2.Nf4+ Ke3 (2...Kf1 3.Qg2#) 3.Nxe6, 4.Qg1# is inevitable. Other defenses permit White to utilise the ideas previously explored:
If 1...Rg8, White now goes 2.Bc4!, threatening 3.Ne1+ followed by mate. 2...Rxc4 is met with 3.Nh4+ Ke3 (3...Kf1 4.Qg2#) 4.Nf5#.
Alternatively, if 1...Nf8, White has 2.Bd5!, threatening 3.Nh4+, etc. 2...Rxd5 is answered by 3.Ne1+ Ke3 (3...Kf1 4.Qg2#) 4.Nc2#.
A masterpiece!
Charles Bent, The Problemist, 2002
White's pawn is on a roll, but Black is on the move. Can they salvage a draw?
1...Nh3+
2.Kxg2 Nf4+
3.Kg3! Nxe6
3...Nh5+ 4.Kg4 Ng7 5.Nc6+ +-
3...Ng6 4.Nc6+ +-
Black has defused the passed pawn threat, and the coast seems clear. This should be a draw, right? Wrong – a nasty twist awaits!
4.Nc6+ Kf5
4...Kd5 5.Nd8 +- Black loses the knight.
5.Ne7+ Ke5
6.Ng6+ Kf5
6...Kd5 7. Nf8 +-
7.Nh4+ Ke5
8.Nf3+ Kf5
8...Kd5 9.Kg4 f5+ 10.Kxf5 +-
9.Bh7#
A shocking finale! It turns out Black either loses the e6 knight or gets mated. In either case, White wins! Note that White's third move is pivotal. Play 3.Kf3 instead of 3.Kg3 and the winning combination doesn't work.
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