Checks on the wK are always of interest in a two mover. Recently I have been exploring an idea that changes a set capture reply to a check by exploiting a self-pin. Specifically, there is a battery aimed at the bK with the front piece pinned. In the set play the capture of the front piece checks the wK and is countered by a capture by the rear piece of the battery. The key will make some type of error that abandons this reply but now White exploits the fact that Black self-pins when it checks. This idea can lead to some fantastic keys. Please also see my arcitle in the September 2016 Problemist Supplement. We begin with a classic by Mansfield.
Finally we end with some of my problems that have been published but whose solutions are not yet available. Happy solving!
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We are interested in situations where Black can double check White in a two move problem. Since a King in double check must move, we see that such a double check by Black must be met by a royal battery. We will explore this situation in depth in this post. This was one of my first research experiences in in the theory of chess problems. We also refer readers to the July issue of StrateGems in 2016 (SG 75) for my article.
The above problems give you a typical way for Black to double check in a two mover: Black fires a battery that leaves the rear battery piece pinned while the front piece is captured by the wK which at the same time fires its own battery. I set out to investigate the following question: is it possible for Black to double check with out the checking pieces being captured? The answer is yes and here are some examples.
In my investigation I noticed that I could not find an example in which a bR and a bB delivered the double check without capture. The geometry will not allow for a R+B or B+R battery to be fired with the pinning that is required. However, there is another way! It turns out that it is possible for a bR and bB to double check without either piece moving!
The Novotny theme is probably one of the oldest ideas in chess compositions. The mechanism is due Antonin Novotny (1827-1871) and is related to the Grimshaw interference. The idea is the following: if a rook and bishop's lines cross each other, at a square called the critical square, then if white places a piece on the intersection of the two lines it will block both lines so that white can exploit this. The key usually makes a double threat and the captures of the key piece force the individual threats (not always though!). Since the Novotny's have been around for close to two centuries, problems that have only a Novotny mechanism are generally not very interesting. However, when combined with other ideas the Novotny has given rise to a large number of excellent problems.
One way to etch your name into chess problem history is to invent your own theme. Walter Grimshaw (1832-1890) did just that. A Grimshaw interference is a mutual interference by two line pieces that play to the square where the lines intersects. A Grimshaw interference occurs be between a pawn and bishop or more commonly a rook and bishop. We begin with a simple example that illustrates the idea perfectly.
The Good Companions Two Mover defines a cross check as a check in which white replies by interposition - by crossing the line of check.
We have already examined the Albino theme in the September 2015 post entitled Pawn Moves. Let's take a closer look. We also urge you to check out David Shire's article in the March 2015 Supplement www.theproblemist.org/2015. We kick things off with my own.
Let's step aside from directmates for awhile and visit the wonderful genre of helpmates. In a helpmate, Black moves first and cooperates with White to checkmate Black on White's last stipulated move. It would be impossible to cover even a fraction of the ideas and themes of the helpmate genre in a single blog post. In fact an entire blog could be dedicated to helpmates. Rather, I will cover some of my favorite helpmates.
Here is one of the first three move themes on the blog. The grab theme goes back to the time of Loyd. The idea is that Black has a free piece that it can move instead of dropping it guard. White's strategy is then to capture this piece wherever it goes.
Israel Abraham Schiffmann was one of the greatest two move composers of all time. Amazingly he only composed problems from 1924 to 1930. It is my humble opinion that he composed some of the best keyed problems in existence. Here's a look at a few of my favorites.
After a hiatus I realized that there are so many more half-pin problems that I want to put on the blog. In this post I will focus on problems that use a half-pin as a means to achieve something else.
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Chess ProblemsOn the side I like to dabble in chess problem composition. I am mostly interested in two and three move direct mates. I hope to convey the beauty and logic of chess problems with this blog. In the entries are some of my favorite problems and my own problems. Before looking at the problems I suggest reading this introduction to the chess problem world by the British Chess Problem Society. Also, here is a list of terminology and themes. Here is a link to my problems on yacpdb. ARTICLES
1. "Choose wisely" The Problemist Supplement, Sept. 2016 2. "Double checking white in a two mover" StrateGems July 2016 3. "Double check without capture" The Problemist Supplement, January 2018 4. "The disappearing Nowotny: Part I" The Problemist Supplement, March 2018 5. "The disappearing Nowotny: Part II" The Problemist Supplement, May 2018 6. "The disappearing Nowotny: Part III" The Problemist Supplement, July 2018 7. "Castling with half-battery and Fleck themes" StrateGems, July 2018 8. "The Baku Nowotny" StrateGems, January 2019 9. "The Romanian Nowotny with Fleck" The Problemist, March 2019 10. "Mirror Image" The Problemist Supplement, May 2019 11. "White King in Check" Problemas, July 2019 12. "A Simple Mechanism", StrateGems, July 2019 13. "Miniatures with castling and (partial) Fleck" Problemist Supplement, September 2019 14. "Taking the Straitjacket off the Fleck" The Problemist Supplement, November 2019 15. "Unforced threats" The Problemist Supplement, May 2020 16. "Ojanen in Miniature" The Problemist Supplement, May 2020 17. "Developments in the Finnish Nowotny" The Problemist, July 2020 18. "Categorising the Fleck theme" The Problemist, January 2021 19. "Masking the Bristol" The Problemist Supplement, March 2021 20. "My love of the Novotny" StrateGems July 2021 21. "Masked Novotny" The Problemist Supplement, November 2021 Archives
August 2022
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