Miniatures

Miniatures are not in general my flavor. Just a reminder, a miniature is 7 total pieces or less. Don't get me wrong I love an elegant miniature with beautiful mates but there is generally not a lot of strategy. Here are some of my favorites including some of my own.

Moen, Kabe
StrateGems 2018

#2

5 + 2

​Starting out with one of my own which I think is quite nice. The key is obvious but does allow two checks. This has a definite theme: Karstrom-Fleck. The key makes 3 threats which are each individually forced and there are three total defenses.  

1.Kc2! (2.Be2/Bd3/Bxc4)
   1...Be2 2.Bxe2
   1...Bd3+ 2.Bxd3
   1...Ba6 2.Bc4
   1...Bb3+ 2.axb3
   1...Bd5 2.Bg2
   1...Bxf2 2.Rxf2

Six mates, five of them with batteries, in a miniature.

Schönberger, Tibor
L'Échiquier Marseillais 1925

#2

4 + 3

 
The pawns stacked on the d-flie are not desirable and point to the key. That being said the key gives three flights. Unfortunately they all lead to the same mate.  But they are all model mates.

1.Qe8! (-)
  1.Kf6/Kf5/Kf4 2.Qe5
​  1...Kh6 2.Qg6

​

Lazard, Frédéric G.
L'Éclaireur du Soir 1924

#2

3 + 4

 
Here is a classic.  The problem is a complete block:

1...B~ 2.Q(x)c2
1...S~ 2.Q(x)d2
1...c3 2.Qb5

The key gives a flight threatens a mate thus making it a block-threat.

1.Rg2! (>2.Qd4)
   1...Ke3/c3 2.Qe2
   1...Sd2 2.Qxd2
   1...Sf2 2.Rg3

Two observations about this problem. First, it is a nice exercise to see why the wR has to go to g2 for the key instead of say h2. Second, it has a minor dual after 1...Sc3 2.Qd2/Rg3.

Shinkman, William
The Dubuque Chess Journal 1874

#2

5 + 2

Another classic from the great American composer. The key-piece is out-of-play but the changed mate, corner to corner wQ mates, Black correction, and accurate play.  The wS could be a wP, but that is a matter of taste.

1.Ra7 (-) 
   1...Kxa2 2.Rxa6
   1...B~ 2.Qh8
   1...Bc8 2.Qa1

Shinkman, William Anthony
La Presse 1901

#4

3 + 2

One good Shinkman deserves another.  Composing in the early 1900 must have been nice when simple, neat ideas like this were still possible.  Here the wR takes the LONG way around the board back to its original square.

1.Rh8 (>2.a8=Q)
 1...Kxa7 2.Rxh1 Rb8 3.Ra1 Rc8 4.Ra8
​

Lincoln, Robert A.
SuperProblem, TT-190 2017

#2

5 + 2

Here is a beautiful idea by the late American miniaturist Bob Lincoln (1937-2017) who composed thousands of miniatures.  This one is really special with battery mates and an unusual aspect: change of rear battery piece.

1.Re5? (-) 
   1...B~ 2.Re1
   1...Bg3 2.hxg3
   1...Bf2!

Of course the best play is reserved for post key. Changed mates after a flight giving, sacrificial key.  

1.Rg3! (-)
  1...B~ 2.Rg1
  1...Bxg3 2.hxg3
  1...Kxg2 2.Rxg4

The problem won first prize in a tournament for miniatures with battery play.

Mansfield, Comins
La Salut Publique Miniature Ty. 1929

#2

4 + 3

Mansfield didn't make many miniatures but here is a nice one with, of course, an excellent sacrificial  flight giving key.

1.Sf4! (>2.Qg5)
   1...Bxf4 2.Be4
​   1...Bf6 2.Qe4

Kirillov, Stanislav
Problemist Juga 1996

#2

4 + 3

This might be one of the greatest two move miniatures of all time (IMO).  It was an inspiration for my problem above. Notice the moves of the bR north, including the set check, have a response with a battery mate.

1...Re~ (Re2+) 2.B(x)e2
1...Rxd1 2.Qxd1

1.Qh8! (2.Re4/Re3/Re2/Rxe1)
   1...Re4 2.Rxe4
   1...Re3 2.Rxe3
   1...Re2+ 2.Rxe2 
   1...Rxd1 2.Re1
   1...Rf1 2.Rf5
   1...Rg1 2.Rg5
   1...Rh1 2.Rh5
   1...Rxe5 2.Qxe5

Absolutely amazing! A perfect Karlstrom-Fleck with 4 threats and 4 total defenses separated by exactly that many moves.  Two changed mates from the set play and a corner to corner wQ key.  One may criticize the out-of-play wR which begs to form a battery, but that is it.

Marandyuk, Mikhail
Melnichenko-60 2000

#3

4 + 2

One of the few miniatures in an FIDE album.  A beautiful corner to corner key and some nice distant self-blocks.

1.Bh8! (-)

   1...c6 2.Re5+ Kd6 3.Qe7
   1...c5 2.Rb6+ Kd5 3.Qd3
   1...Kd6 2.Qf7 (-)
       2...Kc6 3.Qd5
       2...c6 3.Be5
       2...c5 3.Rb6

Nice variety in a beautiful open position.

McDowell, Michael
The Problemist 1996

#2

3 + 4

Now for something mathematical.  The key makes three threats and the Black moves allow all possible combinations of the threats. Mathematically if we have three threats A,B, and C the possible combinations are {A}, {B}, {C}, {A,B}, {A,C}, {B,C}, {A,B,C}, \(\varnothing\).  

1.Ke2! (2.Qe3/Qe5/Qg4)
    1...Sg6 2.Qe3
    1...Sg2 2.Qe5
    1...Sf3 2.Qg4
    1...f5 2.Qe3/Qe5
    1...f6 2.Qe3/Qg4
    1...Sf5 2.Qe5/Qg4
    1...g4 2.Qe3/Qe5/Qg4
​    1...Kd4 2.Qd3

Lewis, Tony
The Problemist 1996

#2

5 + 2

We end our direct mates with a light-weight from the great mutate creator Tony Lewis.  The idea uses the focal theme and has a nice little added mate.

1...Bb3 2.Qd3
1...Bb5 2.Qd5

1.c3! (-)
   1...Bb3 2.Qe2
   1...Bb5 2.Qd5
​   1...Bd3 2.Qh1

Paros, György
BTSB 1956

h#3

3 + 4

Away from the combative and on to the collaborative.  A beautiful helpmate. The feature here is the White tempo move Qa7.

1.e4 Qa7 2.Ke5 d4+ 3.Kd5 Qd7

Moen, Kabe
SuperProblem 2019

h#2.5

2 Solutions

4 + 3

Here is something beautiful and possibly one of my best. The idea of R+B and B+R batteries is well worked in helpmates.  But this seems to be a perfect form of the idea.  One piece performs all moves in each solution.

1...Bb1 2.Rd7 Bg6 3.Be5 Bf7
1...Rh3 2.Be5 Rb3 3.Rd7 Rb6

A very high risk of anticipation and there are some front runners, but overall very elegant.