In 1921, British Chess Magazine started publishing a column by J.H. Blake and R.C. Griffith called “Chess for Beginners.” It was a great series that lasted until 1925. Thus, we’ll be picking highlights from this series to share some of the wonderful positions they came up with. They had a great way of making the simple challenging. For example, it’s easy to mate with just two rooks, but can you do it in three moves from the diagrammed position?

Solution:

Whereas one might be tempted into playing only “horizontal” moves, there are two solutions, and they combine the horizontal and vertical. Clever! 1.Ra6 Kc5 2.Rb2 Kd5 3.Rb5# or 1.Rg6 Ke5 [1...Kc5 2.Rb1 Kd5 3.Rb5#]2.Rf1 Kd5 3.Rf5#

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