Mate in two

Does anybody know its composer? I've been looking for "ages" without result.

Originally posted by heinzkat
[fen]8/8/8/B7/4p3/1Q6/1K2kp2/3R4 w - -[/fen]

Does anybody know its composer? I've been looking for "ages" without result.

Kubbel, Leonid I
1941

I saw this one posed on the Gameknot site. It is a rather interesting mate in 2, and I needed help for it.

My mad mating skills are a bit lacking comparatively though, so that alone doesn't make it an elite problem.

Originally posted by SwissGambit
Kubbel, Leonid I
1941

Excellent, and so quick. Where did you find it/what is your source?

Another "source" question:



White to move, mate in two. Who composed this?

Originally posted by heinzkat
Another "source" question:

[fen]3N1R2/3pk1PK/3p4/3R4/8/8/8/8 w - -[/fen]

White to move, mate in two. Who composed this?

Mortimer, EC
1942

How long would it take now?



White move and mate in three.

Bxd7 mates in 2 I'm sure...

edit: for some reason, in my mind, I wasn't counting KD6 as a move, dunno why.

Originally posted by heinzkat
How long would it take now?

[fen]2BR3N/3pk3/4p3/4K3/8/8/8/8[/fen]

White move and mate in three.

He, cute. 1. Bxd7 Kxd8 2. Kd6 e5 3. Nf7#

Yes, 1. Bxd7 is correct (mate in three). But who composed this?

Originally posted by heinzkat
Yes, 1. Bxd7 is correct (mate in three). But who composed this?

I can't find this one on either PDB or google.

Originally posted by heinzkat
White move and mate in three.

Could some of you retrograde experts confirm if this position is even possible to reach, and if so a possible set of the previous 2-3 moves for it?

I suspect the position is an impossible one, but even if it isn't, it would probably require black to make completely unlikely blunders like not capturing unprotected pieces at no cost.

Just in a few moments:



1. ... Qc6
2. Rd8 Qxe6+
3. Qxe6+ fxe6

Not attractive, but shows that this definitely is legal enough (I think).

edit: oh made a silly mistake. My fault.

Originally posted by geepamoogle
[fen]2BR3N/3pk3/4p3/4K3/8/8/8/8 w - -[/fen]

Could some of you retrograde experts confirm if this position is even possible to reach, and if so a possible set of the previous 2-3 moves for it?

I suspect the position is an impossible one, but even if it isn't, it would probably require black to make completely unlikely blunders like not capturing unprotected pieces at no cost.

This position is trivially legal. Black has several possible last moves, including:

-1...Ke8(x)e7 [preceded by -2.c7xd8=R]
-1...Kf7(x)e7 [preceded by -2.h7-h8=N, -2.g7xh8=N, or -2.Ng6-h8]
-1...Kf8(x)e7 [preceded by -2.c7xd8=R]
-1...f7xe6 [preceded by just about any move/capture by any white piece!]

And so what if the game's history contains blunders, however unlikely? That is of no consequence. If there were no previous blunders, there would be no forced mate. And the line between an unlikely blunder and a likely one is far more blurry than you might think.