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.
29 questions from the last 365 days
2
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1
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51
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Engine to solve direct mates on larger boards?
Does anyone know of a problem engine that will solve direct mates on larger boards (e.g. 10x10, 12x12 etc), please?
- 13.6k
2
votes
0
answers
66
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Chess problem content in Ludwig TV Show?
My UK-based brother informs me that a recent popular TV series called Ludwig contains some chess. According to one review there is a scene of "reverse chess (where maths, probability and reason ...
- 13.6k
15
votes
2
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4k
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Is it possible to create a board position where White must make the move that leads to stalemating Black to avoid Black stalemating White?
It's pretty common to see positions where White has to checkmate Black to stop Black from checkmating White. I was wondering about the same concept with stalemate.
At first, I thought it was ...
- 401
0
votes
1
answer
100
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Can a series of legal moves end in this position?
With white having all pawns promoted to queens, and all pieces in their original positions, and black only having their king left, checkmated?
- 936
4
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2
answers
843
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Threefold repetition: what's the minimum number of pieces and/or material points required?
I found the following position online where White's best course is to force a threefold repetition with the sequence Qg5-Kh8-Qf6-Kg8 because all other moves lose:
[Title ""]
[FEN "q4rk1/...
- 401
8
votes
1
answer
688
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What is the greatest number of moves a game can be from a checkmate?
I should specify that I'm not asking about the longest forced checkmate (or forced checkmates in general); I am aware that the longest known forced mate is(was?) about 600 moves long, and this is not ...
- 83
0
votes
2
answers
168
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What's the answer to this castling rights problem?
[Title "#2 - Leonid M. Borodatow. Die Schwalbe 163 02/1997"]
[FEN "r3k3/2pN3P/5PPP/6pp/7p/6P1/N5P1/R3KB2 w - - 0 1"]
Different sources give different answers.
- 509
2
votes
0
answers
61
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Long proof game with rooks
I am trying to track a very special proof game I saw many years ago when I learned about proof games (a board position is given, and the challenge is to find the unique sequence of moves from the ...
- 2,082
16
votes
1
answer
3k
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Zugzwang where the side to move must be mated in exactly 2 moves
On page 6 of this PDF, it mentions the existence of a legal position such that whoever moves first must be checkmated in exactly 2 moves. Can someone please show me this position?
- 1,003
3
votes
3
answers
115
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Does this problem work under the standard AP condition?
[Title "André Hazebrouck. Die Schwalbe 47 10/1977 4. Preis"]
[FEN "r1b1k2r/P2p4/2p1n2p/ppPq4/1np5/p7/P2PP3/R3K2R w - - 0 1"]
а) h#2,5
b) h#2,5 (AP) 2 solutions
What is meant by ...
- 509
3
votes
0
answers
46
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Maximum saved moves to win caused by zugzwang
For a zugzwang where x>y and:
If white has the move, White can force checkmate in x full moves
If Black has the move, White can force checkmate in y full moves
The score of such a zugzwang is x-y....
- 1,003
3
votes
3
answers
267
views
What conditions must/should be added to this fairy selfmate stipulation?
[Title "s#2 (?) Maximummer - Anatolii Vasylenko Die Schwalbe 132 12/1991 4. Lob"]
[FEN "1K2k2r/r4R2/8/QPp4p/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
1. bxc6ep Rxf7 2. Qxh5 0-0#
1. ...
...
- 509
4
votes
2
answers
189
views
What is A Posteriori (AP)?
A number of problem-related questions recently mention AP by which they mean “A Posteriori”.
What are they talking about?
It seems as if the guys talking about it don’t have a common understanding. Is ...
- 13.6k
10
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Can a unique position be deduced if pieces are replaced by checkers (can see piece color but not type)
Inspired by a video where top players guess which famous game a position is from, except pieces in the position are replaced by checker pieces (so they can see the piece color but not type). Of course ...
- 602
3
votes
2
answers
2k
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Longest checkmates in (almost) fully covered boards?
What are the longest checkmates from initial positions which are (almost) fully covered in pieces? Down below I'll give examples of what I mean. An almost fully covered position can't be legal, ...
- 99