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Topic: Don't mate in one (Read 1977 times) |
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Garzahd
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Don't mate in one
« on: Nov 4th, 2002, 2:12am » |
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B.....KR
.r.....B
......R.
..b.p.p.
..P.k.P.
.p..P..p
.P..P..P
...N.N..
Apologies for the dumb ascii art. I don't have a graphic of the board handy. Capital letters are white pieces, lowercase letters are black pieces.
Your task: Find a move for white that does not checkmate black.
This puzzle isn't terribly hard, but the time it takes you to solve it is an interesting barometer of chess problem-solving ability. Average for beginner chess players (including those who conclude there is no solution) is 10-15 minutes, moderately skilled players can usually get it in less than 5.
I'd appreciate it if you don't post the solution till, say, Wednesday, just to give people a chance to solve it unspoiled. I like this problem, even though it's a nigh impossible position to reach in an actual game, even with cooperating players. But feel free to post your thoughts on the problem as usual.
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| « Last Edit: Sep 20th, 2003, 9:11pm by Icarus » |
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wowbagger
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #1 on: Nov 4th, 2002, 3:50am » |
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Hmpf! It took me 4 minutes!! 
Well, I'll blame that on the use of ASCII art instead of a standard diagram. 
on Nov 4th, 2002, 2:12am, Garzahd wrote:| I'd appreciate it if you don't post the solution till, say, Wednesday, just to give people a chance to solve it unspoiled. |
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I suggest not posting the solution at all, but rather the time it took you to find it (or to give up).
Anyway, it's a really nice problem!
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James Fingas
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #2 on: Nov 4th, 2002, 8:45am » |
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2 or 3 minutes ... I'm not sure (because I didn't look at the second hand on the clock when I started). But it seems like most of my time was spent finding out exactly what the problem was. After that, the solution pretty much popped right out.
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Chronos
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #3 on: Nov 4th, 2002, 11:46pm » |
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I spent a few minutes (didn't time it) transfering the setup to a normal-looking board, but once I did that, it took about 30 seconds. It helped that the second piece I examined happened to be the right one.
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Nick
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #4 on: Nov 5th, 2002, 12:03am » |
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When I was looking at this problem, first of all I'm not a very good chess player. I am assuming that "B" means White's Bishops. Just a curious note, what are both bishops doing on the same color? And no, after 10 minutes, I have not solved it. I'm sure it's quite obvious and right in front of me. Perhaps if I have a smoke then come back...
Nick
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wowbagger
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #5 on: Nov 5th, 2002, 1:29am » |
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on Nov 5th, 2002, 12:03am, Nick wrote:| I am assuming that "B" means White's Bishops. Just a curious note, what are both bishops doing on the same color? |
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Yes, "B" stands for bishop. Actually it is possible to reach the position with legal moves. Note that White could have transformed (hope that's the correct term in English) one of his pawns (namely, the a-pawn) to a bishop.
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Garzahd
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #6 on: Nov 5th, 2002, 10:51am » |
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"transformed" is not ambiguous, but I believe the proper chess term is "promoted".
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Jonathan_the_Red
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #7 on: Nov 7th, 2002, 11:33am » |
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Ah, Mrs. White makes her appearance. I'm sure Garzahd knows what I'm talking about
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Garzahd
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #8 on: Nov 8th, 2002, 1:15pm » |
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Jonathan: Yes, but it took me awhile. This was my first hunt, remember.... but I have read through the previous ones. At first I was thinking along the line of "What's Mrs. White doing..."
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NeedQTIP2StabBrain
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #9 on: Nov 17th, 2002, 3:36am » |
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What can I say? I get bored easy.
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Macduff472y
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #10 on: Jan 23rd, 2003, 2:20pm » |
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whats the answer?   
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Macduff472y
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #11 on: Jan 23rd, 2003, 2:20pm » |
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whats the answer?
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Jeremy Randolph
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #12 on: Jan 23rd, 2003, 7:08pm » |
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move the white rook over to the left... then the black takes white's bishop with his rook
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mistysakura
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Re: New Puzzle: Don't mate in one
« Reply #13 on: Jan 25th, 2003, 9:00pm » |
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More precisely, Rc6.
It took me about 7 minutes, I say.
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