Questions tagged [problems]
Chess problems consist of a board position and a task. Most ask for a line of play that mates black in a set amount of moves, or a combination that results in a winning position. Many other types exist, including, but not limited to, construction tasks for various positions and proof games that have numerous goals, selfmates, helpmates, and retrograde analysis. Tournaments and championships exist for composing of original problems and for speed-solving.
262
questions
2
votes
3answers
179 views
Why is Ng5 a draw here?
Was shared a chess position and reached this position. I didn't understand why Ng5 is a draw. I analyzed h6 and h5 as responses but they fall to the same checkmating theme of rook checkmate on h8. ...
13
votes
4answers
2k views
Difference between chess puzzle and chess problem in this episode of The Queen's Gambit?
While a chess puzzle is any puzzle involving aspects of chess, a chess problem is an orthodox puzzle in which one must play and win or draw a game, starting with a certain composition of pieces on the ...
10
votes
2answers
507 views
+100
Chess positions that are easy for humans but near impossible or confusing for computers
I noticed that one student is performing exceptionally well and beyond his level during an online class. I was wondering if there are particular chess positions that I can use during class to find out ...
11
votes
3answers
6k views
Why is the queen considered lost?
In this game, white just moved the queen from b7 to c6, and the computer marks this as a "critical blunder" (and suggests that the bishop should take the knight). In this position it ...
4
votes
2answers
172 views
Cyclic attack puzzle
I saw this puzzle and a solution sometime in the previous century, I don't remember where, and I don't remember the solution.
Place the 16 white men on an otherwise empty chessboard so that the ...
6
votes
1answer
202 views
A New Year's Math Riddle
Here's a fun and clean riddle for the New Year! I found the material for it on Krabbe's site. I will provide the link when it is solved.
How many times can this position be repeated, with both sides ...
4
votes
1answer
182 views
Positions in which only a single long sequence of correct moves avoids forced checkmate sequences
So for n steps, one player can only choose one out of many moves, because all others lead to forced checkmate sequences. Only one path from the root to the leaves of the game tree avoids a certain ...
0
votes
1answer
71 views
Is there a position where it's possible to claim a draw by both the 50 moves and threefold repetition rules?
It doesn't matter which one the player chooses in that situation, but I'm wondering whether someone can come up with a game where this holds true for at least one move.
2
votes
1answer
47 views
Helpmate in four and a half moves
Merry Christmas everyone! Try this problem out that I made yesterday for SuperProblem.ru. With White to move, solve this helpmate, meaning White and Black work together to checkmate Black, in 4.5 ...
6
votes
1answer
481 views
In this position why shouldn't the knight capture the rook?
The white knight is going to move to e6. However, the computer advises the rook to capture the pawn in b2. Even after the knight moves to e6, forking the queen and the rook, it advises to NOT capture ...
8
votes
1answer
127 views
Selfmate problem
[FEN "8/7P/8/p2p4/P2p4/pB1p4/3P4/k2K4 w - - 0 1"]
Composed by IM Geir Sune Tallaksen. White moves first, and must force Black to deliver checkmate. Give the sequence of moves that force ...
3
votes
2answers
64 views
Coordinates probem
[FEN "8/8/8/8/8/4R3/2N2R2/3N1k1K w - - 0 1"]
Given that this position could be reached in a legal game of chess, and that no piece was captured on the last move, are we seeing the board ...
4
votes
2answers
161 views
A mate in two problem
[FEN "8/8/4R3/8/2kBn3/K2pQ3/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
1. Re5?
With White to move, here is a mate in two problem that I couldn't figure out. My opinion is that the first move is 1. Re5, but Black ...
4
votes
2answers
605 views
Where does the black king stand in this specific position?
[FEN "7r/pppppKpP/6P1/8/8/8/n7/8 w - - 0 1"]
Assume that the following position was reached in a legal game of chess. In the last 5 moves, no pawn has moved and no pieces were captured. The ...
7
votes
1answer
412 views
Brainteaser puzzle
So... initial position is
[FEN "7k/8/6KB/8/p7/8/Q7/8 w - - 0 1"]
Now... Neither white's king nor queen has moved in the previous five moves. In addition, no pieces have been captured by ...
6
votes
2answers
208 views
Is it possible to reach King vs King by moving each piece at most twice?
I'm interested in short games that reach a King vs King endgame. Sam Lloyd reached King vs King after only 17 moves. This has since been improved to 16.5 moves. (See this and that.) One can show that ...
11
votes
1answer
599 views
Find color of the pieces
Given the following position, what colour are the pieces and what was the last move played?
[FEN "B1KRN3/PP6/2QK1R2/8/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
6
votes
1answer
693 views
Do you know this proof game?
I'm not familiar with this proof game.
[FEN "r2qk1nr/ppp1pp1p/2n1p2p/8/8/1P6/NPPPPPPP/R3K2R w KQkq - 0 1"]
What square was the white queen captured and how?
4
votes
1answer
308 views
Retrograde analysis problem
Given that this position is legal, and could be reached in a legal game of chess, what were the two last half-movess, or one move for White and one for Black?
[FEN "5K2/8/6Pk/8/5Q1R/8/8/8 w - - 0 ...
4
votes
1answer
58 views
Can you help me with this serieshelpmate problem?
I found a different kind of puzzle, a serieshelpmate. I'm trying to get better by thinking outside of the box and solving different type of puzzles. So I found this one but I'm kind of stuck. So you ...
2
votes
3answers
184 views
What's the deep idea behind this puzzle?
I'm trying to get better by doing many tactics puzzles a day. This one I found very interesting.
The solution is 1. Qxg7+ Rxg7 2. Rf8+ Rg8 3. Rxg8#.
I'm trying to figure out what should have jumped ...
10
votes
1answer
2k views
Is there more than 1 solution?
In this selfmate puzzle is there more than one solution? I think I found one but I was curious to know if there is more than one.
4N2k/5P2/3p1rP1/2pP4/2p1K1R1/2B1P1N1/6Pp/8 w - - 0 0
Credit: J. C. J. ...
1
vote
1answer
119 views
Another good chess problem
[Title "The Chess Monthly, 11/1860, Helpmate In 3 Moves (Version)"]
[FEN "6R1/7q/8/5k2/3K1B2/8/8/8 b - - 0 1"]
[startflipped ""]
Now, in this chess problem by Samuel ...
2
votes
1answer
67 views
Help needed with a problem
On an empty board, how can you place a White king, two White, rooks, and a Black king so that White can give mate in 4 ways from that position?
2
votes
2answers
241 views
The quickest selfmate in 1
How quickly can a legal game reach a position where one side must
give checkmate?
This is in effect Evergalo's reading (see
his (now deleted) answer)
of Rewan Demontay's Question 33154; that question ...
0
votes
1answer
132 views
What is the fastest way to reach a position in which one side is forced to choose between checkmate and stalemate?
I had an interesting idea recently. While there are many proof games ending in checkmate or stalemate, why not both, I thought. So, thus I wondered, what is the fastest way to reach a position in ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
How to solve this puzzle of Martin Gardner?
Martin Gardner mentioned the following "chess" problem in his column, Mathematical Games, for Scientific American (he got it from Smullyan, who learned about it from a high school math ...
3
votes
2answers
106 views
How many moves needed to reach this position?
"Homebase" is where all the surviving pieces are apparently on their starting squares. Here is a very easy new example proof game: can you find the unique shortest game that leads to this ...
9
votes
1answer
838 views
From Mate-in-3 to Mate-in-1
Here is my new problem in 3 steps - the key designates here the piece that moves first in the solution. An other way to reach a mate in one I hope you'll enjoy...
[Title "From Mate in 3 to ...
2
votes
1answer
56 views
Fastest way to get both kings to the other side of the board?
Say that both players collaborate to get White's king to the eighth rank and Black's king to the first. What's the shortest sequence of moves that achieves this?
24
votes
5answers
3k views
Another Unusual Mate in One
Here is another mate-in-one of my own i.e. a not quite usual one...
[title "Mate in one"]
[FEN "3b4/R3P3/2kPR1n1/P1p1n3/4K1p1/2Nr4/5p2/1b6 w KQkq - 0 1"]
Imagine, you ...
2
votes
1answer
89 views
Puzzle - Mate in 5 - #001
I've been writing some chess puzzles lately and I thought I would post some of them up here. I'm quite fond of this one so I thought I would share. I traditionally am not a fan of problems that are a &...
7
votes
1answer
352 views
Mate in One the Missing King
The post "A mysterious mate in one" made me think of one of my last problems which is also a Mate-in-One with no black King:
[Title "White to move and mate in one"]
[FEN &...
4
votes
1answer
33 views
Timeline of key historical changes to FIDE Laws & WFCC Codex?
A well-answered question here: FIDE Laws of Chess pre-2017 asks for locations of historical sets of FIDE Laws. I am asking for something which partially builds on that.
Is there a timeline of "...
33
votes
3answers
5k views
A mysterious mate in one
Here's a question that's a little off the usual format, but problem questions like this have been done before and are on topic, so here we go!
Question: Can you find the mysterious mate in one? The ...
2
votes
2answers
123 views
A position with a choice between checkmate and perpetual check
For some odd reason I'm searching for a game, or rather a position, where one player can force a win via checkmate (can be check in n, where n is any number), but they can also force a draw via ...
3
votes
1answer
68 views
What is the shortest possible legal game where there are 6 pawns on the a-file or h-file?
I was recently reading a post on this forum which said that there must be 15 captured pieces in order for there to be 6 pawns on the a-file or h-file.
That got me thinking how complicated that would ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
How long can a player hold off a draw by the 50-move rule?
Going by rules strictly about the board state, how long can a player theoretically hold off a draw by the 50-move rule? White will play as long as possible, and not want to lose. Black will claim a ...
1
vote
2answers
124 views
How many times can the king and its surrounding squares be attacked?
In a legal position, how many times can the king and its surrounding squares be attacked? There is a total of 9 possible squares to be attacked-the square the king is on and the eight squares ...
6
votes
3answers
158 views
32 pieces protected once: How many moves?
From the orthodox starting position, how many moves will you need to have the 32 pieces protected exactly once? (The answer is astonishingly low.)
4
votes
1answer
170 views
Shortest game controlling a single square 16 times?
Does someone know the shortest orthodox
chess game such that a single square is
directly controlled 16 times?
After 1. Nf3 for instance, the square d2
is controlled 5 times.
And 2. ... Qa5 pushes the ...
3
votes
2answers
86 views
Retrograde problem websites
I am looking for a good chess website about retrograde analysis problems, but after a few searches, I haven't found anything. Are there any websites that you can recommend?
3
votes
0answers
99 views
Where are the non captured Black pieces?
[FEN "8/8/8/8/8/PP4PP/2PPPP2/NNBQKBRR w - - 0 1"]
Here is a problem from my blog once more. This is the position after White's 14th move. Seven Black pieces were captured during the game ...
4
votes
1answer
136 views
Which White piece moved only once?
Here is a chess problem that uses retrograde analysis. I’ve also posted it on the “France-Echecs” chess forum, which is in French of
course, and on my blog.
[FEN "3qk3/3pp3/8/8/8/3PP3/1PP2PP1/...
4
votes
3answers
812 views
Systematic ways to approach more difficult problems
As I’m done solving easy puzzles (1000–1500), I decided to try some 1700 puzzles, but I’m finding it very hard to solve them as there are no obvious checks, captures and threats. Also, most of the ...
10
votes
2answers
3k views
Maximum number of knights populating a chess board so that no knights are attacking one another?
The 8 queen's puzzle is a well-known puzzle involving placing 8 queens on a chess board so that no queen attacks another queen, and it is more or less obvious that 8 is the maximum number of queens ...
4
votes
2answers
705 views
Chess problem by A. G. Kopnin - Russian notation explanation needed
[Title "Alexey Grigorievich Kopnin - mate in two - 1948"]
[FEN "nR1rB3/2PPPN2/bbk1N3/1p2p3/1p2P1nq/1K1Pp3/7B/8 w - - 0 1"]
(source)
In this problem, it’s white to move and mate in ...
5
votes
1answer
126 views
Pinning Combination
There are are four types of pins.
Absolute Pin-A piece is pinned to the king and cannot move due to the resulting illegal check.
Partial Pin-A piece is pinned to the king and can move along pinning ...
2
votes
1answer
176 views
Castling vertically problem
I've once saw a joke chess study about castling vertically. However, I have forgotten who has composed it. I remember that in the positions, all the pawns were locked, but not much else. Does anybody ...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
Forced mate: 2 queens vs king
On the board, there are 2 queens (of the same color) placed on random squares. The opposing side has only a king, placed on a random square (and not in check). There obviously exists a mating sequence....
