This week will be devoted to an interesting form of chess you have been shown before. The helpmate puzzles, which although lesser understanding chess types sometimes sneer at, actually are a form of useful chess mental exercise. One of the biggest difficulties amateurs have is envisioning the final mating positions that a series of moves will bring about. Masters see the final position first and then see how it is possible to get there. Helpmates are a kind of callisthenic in that you don’t have someone (your opponent) operating against you. Here you control all the pieces and have them conspire to create a mating position. Thus, our problem for today requires Black to move first and help White mate Black in two moves by White. Try visualizing possible mating positions and then see if you can get the pieces to cooperate to mate Black.

Solution:

Black plays 1...Bd8 2.Re6 Bg5 3.Bh3 mate. A cute construction by A. Roese. Next one will be a little harder.

We've received several emails asking why Black doesn't do this or that to stop the mate. We tried to make it clear and will try one more time! Black is helping White to create a mate. Black doesn't want to stop the mate. He wants to assist White in creating a mate....that final position we were talking about above. It's a special form of chess composition that interests many chess composers.

Send questions and comments to PTamburro@aol.com.