Chess Online

Very neat.
It's all in the timing; being able to check with the white bishop immediately after KxN.
e.g. RxP doesn't work because the king can escape back to b6,c6 after taking the N.
3% success rate sounds harder than 4* to me.
I was obsessed with getting the B to d8 and then mate with N on e7, but fastest I could do that without stalemate was 7 moves.

Proud to be one of the 3%ers! (Also a 49ers fan.) I was so close earlier, seeing 1. Rd1 e3 2. Re1 exf2 3. Kxf2 Kxd5 4. Bf3#, but of course Black plays 2...Kxd5 and it took me so long to put it all together. The White king's position is a big clue: We don't want to allow a pawn check, as every tempo is critical. Once you see that White wants to allow ...Kxd5 at the right time -- with the rook on the e-file, ready to play Bf3# -- you're halfway there. The toughest part (at least for me) was figuring out how to allow Black's pawn to do its "dance" around the White pieces so the timing is just right! Beautiful! Of course, the f6 pawn is there to stop 1. Bd8 and 2. Ne7#, so another clue is figuring what purpose the dark-squared bishop serves. I originally rated it 4 stars, but I agree with "eddeebee" -- if only 3% get it right, it should be higher than that.

Now the only unanswered question is... who is the wizard who composed this? I suppose I can do a search by FEN as Kingdawar told me about, back when he was only a heinzcat!

Yes, this problem can be found on ICC's problem database.
I know, because I added it there (I am sdrawkcab on ICC, lead problem editor for many years).

Back then, I was unable to locate the author -- thus, it was presented as "author unknown."
The fact that this particular problem is presented in such a similar fashion (on GameKnot) probably suggests it was taken from my entry into ICC's database (either directly, or perhaps via some secondary source).

A good friend of mine -- a gifted (and FIDE-Titled) solver -- showed me this problem, which he solved in an international tourney (with limited time).
I particularly enjoyed it, but failed to follow up on locating the author's information.

Since then, I located the source (in the Win Chloe database -- a commercial chess problem database & solving tool, with over 400k chess problems, of all genres):

author: Kurt Bacmeister
award: 5th Commended
source: Lucerne Olympic Tourney, 1983


A word of warning:
ICC may be entitled to legal remedy against individuals that can be demonstrated to have made bulk infringements upon their database collection.
If done for the benefit of a commercial site, this may lead to substantial damages!
This is not a difficult thing to demonstrate (simple statistical means will trace an individual's source).

Personally, I believe problems should be shared in a widespread, non-commercial manner.
But, I also recognize that large scale piracy of a protected collection does constitute an abuse for which commercial sites should be entitled to legal retribution.

My advice is this:
If you happen to see a problem you particularly enjoy on ICC's database, I see little harm in sharing it with others.
However, don't abuse this in ways that can be demonstrated as a routine piracy.

I am not implying the individual who posted this problem has acted in such a manner.
That is a matter for ICC/GameKnot to determine.

Finally, I would also encourage GameKnot to present problems with formal stipulations.
It is bad practice to allow individuals to add their own captions/commentary within the stipulation (e.g., "A tricky mate in 11...").
I'm quite sure the problem's author would welcome feedback, but not within their stipulation.

Regards,
umop-apIsdn

I have discovered further evidence, suggesting that the problems jakey101 contributed on GameKnot may have come entirely from problems taken directly from ICC's database.

Dozens of them.

It is not my desire to deprive enthusiasts on GameKnot of the opportunity to see such problems.
Quite the contrary! More than one of these problems I previously attempted to add to GameKnot's collection, myself.

However, if I discovered an ICC member was routinely posting problems from this site, I would take corrective action.