Chess problem: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:50, 18 March 2024

Revision as of 05:24, 2 May 2024

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The arrangement of the black rooks and bishops, with a pair of adjacent rooks flanked by a pair of bishops, is known to problemists as [[Pipe organ|Organ Pipe]]s. This arrangement is designed to illustrate the effect of mutual Black interferences: for example, consider what happens after the key if Black plays 1...Bf7. White now mates with 2.Qf5#, a move which is only possible because the bishop Black moved has got in the way of the rook's guard of f5 – this is known as a ''self-interference''. Similarly, if Black tries 1...Rf7, this interferes with the bishop's guard of d5, allowing White to mate with Nd5#. Mutual interferences like this, between two pieces on one square, are known as [[Grimshaw (chess)|Grimshaw]] interferences, and are the theme of this problem. The problem exhibits four such interferences, on squares e6, e7, f6, and f7.

{{Chess diagram

| tright

|

| | | | |kl| | |

| | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

| | |nl| | |nl| |

| | | |ql| | | |bl

| | |pl| |rl| | |

|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd

|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd

| White mates in one move!

}}

Although most problems call for straightforward (though possibly difficult) solution, occasionally a problem will involve a humorous trick or twist. The problem at right, shown in Norwegian broadcaster [[NRK]]'s airings from the World Championships in Dubai 2021, calls for White to move and give immediate checkmate in just a single move. The trick is to recognize that despite the arrangement of the Black men, the board is actually viewed from the White side (as shown by the Black king standing on a square of its own color, rather than on the opposite color as in the standard opening position). Thus the solution is 1 Nd3#; the Black pawns are moving ''down'' the board and cannot capture the White knight.

==Abbreviations==