Can you help me with the unique problem of only knights?
On the chessboard, A has some knights, while B has only one knight. They are engaged in a game. A aims to 'checkmate' B by moving one piece at a time, while B can capture A's pieces while escaping.What...
View Article“Experimental 4/4 reciprocal Babson idea (QR–RQ–BN–NB) using mandatory...
Experimental 4/4 reciprocal Babson idea(QR–RQ–BN–NB)I am experimenting with a complex Babson-type idea involving a full 4/4 reciprocal scheme:Q → RR → QB → NN → BTo my knowledge, no fully correct 4/4...
View ArticleLeast active pieces checkmate
What's the checkmate with least pieces moved if everyone plays optimally?I was wondering, if I always went first and had perfect memory, what was a move sequence I could remember, that uses the least...
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Could you show me some very easy mate in 20?
I am looking for some puzzles where there is a forced mate in as many moves as possible (ideally 20 or more). Yet the puzzles need to be as easy as possible!You will probably need to find some puzzles...
View ArticleCan you switch the black piece to prevent helpmate in two?
StoryYou have been afflicted with a terrible illness called “Irritating Blunder Syndrome (IBS)”. When playing chess, this syndrome often flares up, and you can’t help but play the worst move...
View ArticleA position with the only legal move resulting in checkmate
Theoretically, is it possible that for some position, the only legal move for a side leads to a checkmate (that is, the opposite king gets checkmated)? If so, has this ever occurred in a real game?
View ArticleWhat is the longest forced mate optimally played in documented competition?
There are tons of questions about the longest forced mate on here and other chess forums. Usually the answers are the 2 Knights forced mate and another one that evidently takes 549 optimal moves....
View ArticleAre there any hard mate-in-2 problems?
I'm interested to know if there are any particularly challenging mate-in-2 problems. Since the second move will be essentially forced, the problem essentially comes down to 1 move. Typically, the...
View ArticleWhy is it illegal to move into check?
In chess, it is against the rules to move into check, or to not move out of check. But why? Obviously, if you went against this rule, you'd immediately lose. But it seems strange to make it illegal to...
View ArticleHow 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 teacher):......
View ArticleIs it possible to force a checkmate with only premoves in king + rook vs king?
Sometimes in blitz/bullet games, one ends up with a king and rook vs a king. If both sides are down to seconds, the easiest course is to just premove (sometimes checking) and win on time.However, is...
View ArticleQuestions about legality of last move
Question for FIDE Arbiters and similar knowledgeable folk...FIDE Law Article 5.1.1 The game is won by the player who has checkmated his/her opponent’sking. This immediately ends the game, provided that...
View ArticleWhat is sufficient mating material?
The FIDE chess rules describe that "The game is draw when a position is reached from which a checkmate cannot occur by any possible series of legal moves" (FIDE rule 9.6). This rules is sometimes...
View ArticleWhat pieces can deliver checkmate on an infinite board when considering the...
Of course, I could just say that pawn + the already guaranteed checkmates on an infinite board like two rooks, rook and two minors would work here since the pawn can provide free moves.So more...
View ArticleCan someone tell me if this is a checkmate or stalemate?
[FEN "5rk/Q1p2p1p/4p1p/2Pq2b/3P2n/4P1Pb/PP1B1P1P/R2R2K w - - 0 1"]Apparently, the system says that it's checkmate, but I don't get it. Can someone please explain it?
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Is there a checkmate in the next move?
My friend claims that there is a mate in the next move. White to move and checkmate. I am aware of 3 mates in 2 variations:1. Qd1 Kd3 2.Rxd5#1. Qd1 Kc5 2.Qg1#1. Qd1 Kxe5 2.d4#But I cannot seem to find...
View ArticleA 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 still has a...
View ArticleHow much would chess change if Black always had the last move?
In a hypothetical minor variant, could White's first-move advantage be compensated for by Black's right to last move?Normally, White wins have White play N+1 plies to Black's N. How would the game...
View ArticleCheckmate with pawn moves only
Same as this one (also note this), only replace "king" by "pawn". (I.e. shortest 960 helpmate, the mating side only uses pawn moves.) Yes, it can be done in the near-lying 5 moves with wK remaining...
View ArticleIs there a chess AI that can force checkmate on a specified square?
I'm looking for a program that can force a lone king into checkmate on a specific square. Are there any programs out there that can do this?
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