Chess Puzzle #42702

CHESS PUZZLE, FEN 8/8/8/8/4Rb2/3B1k1K/5p2/5N2 w - -

Added by:	blue1
Added on:	20-Jul-11
Description:
Difficulty:	chess puzzle 8/8/8/8/4Rb2/3B1k1K/5p2/5N2 w - -
Attempts:	333
Solved:	34 (10%)


White to move, mate in 4

Comments: (5) » Last

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ej999
18-Feb-21, 21:41

Comment deleted on 18-Feb-21, 21:43

ej999
18-Feb-21, 21:58

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So long as white moves only its bishop, the bishop is the only piece black can move, so it seems as if the first three moves exist only to bring the total moves to four. In any event, hard it is not.

dioneo
18-Feb-21, 22:56

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No, the point is that the bishop in its starting position is perfectly positioned to cover both...

h2 and d2, which are the squares from which the knight can deliver check. Thus the three moves exist so that white can put black into zugzwang and force it (if it takes the 2... Bf4 line) to move the bishop along one diagonal or another, thus allowing the knight to deliver mate on whichever square the bishop is no longer covering.

dioneo
18-Feb-21, 22:59

Comment deleted on 18-Feb-21, 23:00

snailmate
29-Oct-23, 13:28

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There should be a name for this theme...

where Black would be in zugzwang if it were Black to move, but any move by White removes the zugzwang, so the problem is the findthe sequence of moves that bring the board back to the original position but with Black to move. This usually rules out knight and pawn moves, except perhaps for the final mating move.

A favourite I have seen a few times on this site is the one where the white king moves three times ending up back on its original square but with Black now having the move.

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