White to Play
Pete Tamburro
on
Published in Chess Puzzles
Yes it’s White to Play, but Black is the one to perform the mating move! Our last puzzle this week is a self-mate. White goes first and forces Black to mate him. It’s a little odd, but the solution is ingenious. It’s a composition by Shinkman. BTW, that Black pawn is there for several reasons, but the White king still has to head toward trouble. It takes four moves.
Solution:
A discovered double check at the climax is quite neat. Remember what I said about the Black pawn? It uses up a move and then attacks an escape square. That is the real genius of the solution: 1.Ke1 Kc1 2.Nd3+ Kb1 3.Kd2 f2 4.Qd1+ Bc1 mate.
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Send questions and comments to PTamburro@aol.com.
