05 Sep 07
Originally posted by FabianFnasOriginally I found the mate with 1. Kb4 after not too much effort and didn't think it was a particularly good problem. I didn't look again until you said that that wasn't the solution and then after a few minutes trying to find a quicker mate it all became clear.
Surprising move, eh? 😉
Thanks, you who knows, for just hinting. I'm sure that you have as fun as I have!
05 Sep 07
Originally posted by MahoutI think you mean a king and 2 knights, not a king and one knight. Even with cooperation, there is no K+N vs. K checkmate.
And something similar gave rise to an argument in a tournament (with a cash prize) when there was only two kings and a knight on the board. The player without the knight was timed out and claimed a draw as the opponent had insufficient material to mate. The player with the knight claimed a win because checkmate is still possible (even though it requires a m ...[text shortened]... nent). In the end the aribiter called it a draw as it wasn't possible to "force" a checkmate.
In your scenario, assuming it was K+N+N vs. K, the arbiter erred, and the K+N+N player should have been awarded the win on time, based on FIDE laws, para. 6.10: "Except where Articles 5.1 or one of the Articles 5.2 (a), (b) and (c) apply, if a player does not complete the prescribed number of moves in the allotted time, the game is lost by the player. However, the game is drawn, if the position is such that the opponent cannot checkmate the player`s king by any possible series of legal moves, even with the most unskilled counterplay." The K+N+N CAN checkmate the opposing K by a possible series of legal moves. Unskilled counterplay is allowed in determining whether this is possible.
07 Sep 07
yes, it is indeed...
after a # in less than 5 moves (all forced moves) one does not pay much attention to other possibilities, though.
I mean, some puzzles have positions that were not necessarily "legal" before, while on others we have to account to the previously made move.
nice puzzle, though (mainly because there are 2 solutions).
13 Sep 07
1 edit
Originally posted by FabianFnasThe correct solution is not yet presented.
[fen]rb6/k1p4R/P1P5/PpK5/8/8/8/5B2[/fen]
What does white do?
hSilva has got it wrong from the beginning - but it is a nice puzzle, isn't it? With the correct solution it is still nicer! But he got it right later, so he is one of the solvers.
Fat Lady knows, I'm sure. She was the first one correctly hinting that she knew.
Sicilian Smaug came to know eventually.
But the rest of you? Don't you see it? It's a mate in one!
13 Sep 07
Originally posted by FabianFnasOne wouldn't normally expect a helpmate in a puzzle.
The correct solution is not yet presented.
hSilva has got it wrong from the beginning - but it is a nice puzzle, isn't it? With the correct solution it is still nicer! But he got it right later, so he is one of the solvers.
Fat Lady knows, I'm sure. She was the first one correctly hinting that she knew.
Sicilian Smaug came to know eventually.
But the rest of you? Don't you see it? [b]It's a mate in one![/b]
13 Sep 07
Originally posted by Mephisto2Right! Problem solved!
axb e.p. #
only possible last move was b7-b5
The move here is en passant. As this is a perfectly normal move by the rules, no trick was involved.
The problem is from Laszlo Polgar's book "Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games" from the mates-in-one, the last problem. One of my favourites!