User:Lawrence King/chess



Some very unusual chess problems, whose solutions may require thinking carefully about what the rules of chess permit.

First problem (a bit silly)
White's move. White to mate in 1.

Second problem (surprisingly elegant)
White's move. White to mate in 3.

If you want some hints for this problem, use the mouse to select the invisible paragraphs following the words "Hint" below and you will see the hints.

Hint 1: After white's first move, black has three possible first moves: King --> d3, King --> f3 (takes pawn), and pawn at d5 --> d4. Each of these leads to a different scenario. I suggest that you work out the pawn-to-d4 scenario first, then look at the other two scenarios.

Hint 2: No matter what Black does, White's first two moves advance the pawn at e6 to the eight rank and promote it.

Link to solutions
Both solutions can be found at Joke chess problem.