White to Play

Pete Tamburro on May 10, 2013

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We have a mate in three for you here. The first thing you should notice, which is not uncommon in chess compositions, is that the Black king is not in check, yet can only move into check with the king. That should be a central factor in your figuring out this problem as the key is how you then want that Black pawn on d7 to move and then figure out how get that king to a square where you’ll be able to deliver the decisive blows. That’s our last hint: in one of the three variations in the solution, the king is not being mated on e4. Hmmmm….

Solution:

The hint about one of the three variations not ending in mate on e4 hopefully led you to think that you might have to self-block, so as to let the king move from e4 since it could not do that on its own. 1.Bg8 dxc6 [1...d6 2.Bg1 d5 3.Bh7#; 1...d5 2.Bh7#] 2.Rf7 Kd5 3.Rf4# The self-block by the rook, forcing the king to a mating square on d5, is a popular thematic tactic worth remembering.

Send questions and comments to PTamburro@aol.com.