02 May '08 06:30>
Black
White
White to play. Mate in 60. Composer will be given later.
White
White to play. Mate in 60. Composer will be given later.
Originally posted by JirakonActually, I think the Mate in 60 I just linked is also by Fabel [with help from another composer]. It looks like someone saw this idea and helped him improve it [in this one, wK visits the same triangulation square several times; in the linked one, it is a different square each time].
SOLV'D (heinzkat, SwissGambit)
Composed by Dr. Karl Fabel.
Oh, and I saw this in a Mensa book; I didn't mean to be repetetive.
Originally posted by JirakonTHIS IS THE SOLUTION - IF YOU STILL WANT TO TRY AND SOLVE IT DON'T READ THIS.
Black
[fen]8/4K3/4NN2/p3p3/rnp1p3/1pk5/bp1n4/qrb1N3[/fen]
White
White to play. Mate in 60. Composer will be given later.
Originally posted by d36366I see nothing wrong with 1.Kd6 - this also loses a tempo, and there are no N checks thanks to Pe4/c4.
[b]THIS IS THE SOLUTION - IF YOU STILL WANT TO TRY AND SOLVE IT DON'T READ THIS.
Brilliant puzzle, I thought. But not too hard to solve once you get the key ideas.
First, observe that black is very nearly in zugzwang. Most of his pieces just can't move at all. He has two pawns on the e-file which can lose up to four moves between them, and he has a ...[text shortened]... 58..a4 59 Kb6. Either way, now a knight has to move, and white mates, as discussed above.[/b]
Originally posted by SwissGambitThat also works, I think. The follow up is the same - the second move will still be Kd7, which takes us to the same position. Thus, it's another solution, no better or worse. Do you agree?
I see nothing wrong with 1.Kd6 - this also loses a tempo, and there are no N checks thanks to Pe4/c4.
Originally posted by d36366Yeah. However, the composer should have made sure only one first move works - having two that work is a glaring defect.
That also works, I think. The follow up is the same - the second move will still be Kd7, which takes us to the same position. Thus, it's another solution, no better or worse. Do you agree?
Originally posted by SwissGambitWell, I still think it's a neat puzzle, but then I've never really understood why problem people care so much about that sort of thing.
Yeah. However, the composer should have made sure only one first move works - having two that work is a glaring defect.
Originally posted by d36366You just showed why - why give the appearance of two solutions when it's so easy to nudge a couple units and fix it?
Well, I still think it's a neat puzzle, but then I've never really understood why problem people care so much about that sort of thing.
The odd thing is, if you put the king on f7 and the rook on a3, and stipulate mate in 61, then I think you do have a unique first move in Kf8, equally unintuitive, and a longer number of moves. Have I got that right? Woul ...[text shortened]... composer missed this, after having obviously put quite a lot of work into the composition.