White to Play and Mate in Three

Pete Tamburro on Nov 3, 2008

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OK, last of the miniatures this week! We're really getting minimalist with our final one: only four pieces on the board. Some of you may remember that we had a similar mate in two by G. Carpenter (1873) with the pieces on the following squares: White king on d6; Black king on d4; White rook on c2; White queen on f3. The solution to this mate in two and the mate in three below will both be on the solutions page. Today's puzzle is by C.D. Locock.

Solution:

1.Qf4 Kc5 2.Qa4 Kd5 3.Rf5# A real cat and mouse game. No check until the mate. The original idea of Carpenter has this solution: 1.Qh3 Ke4 2.Rc4# As with last week, you can see how problemists are inspired by those who go before them.

Send questions or comments to PTamburro@aol.com.