The Five Coin Dudeney by Jeff Coakley Get out your lucky pennies. It's Friday the 13th! And time for round two of artist appreciation month, featuring four more puzzles by the great Henry Dudeney. Plus a couple Cafe originals. "It is extraordinary what fascination a good puzzle has for a great many people. We know the thing to be of trivial importance, yet we are impelled to master it, and when we have succeeded there is a pleasure and a sense of satisfaction that are a quite sufficient reward for our trouble, even when there is no prize to be won. What is this mysterious charm that many find irresistible? Why do we like to be puzzled? The curious thing is that directly the enigma … [Read more...]
Proof Games: Switchback City
Proof Games: Switchback City The task in a proof game is to show how a given position can be reached in a legal game. The puzzles in this column have a move stipulation. The position must be reached in a precise number of moves, no more and no less. With one exception, they are proof games in 4.0 which means four moves by each side. There is a distinct lack of strategy in these games. But the moves are legal. Proof Game #37 The diagrammed position, with White to play, was reached in a game after each player made exactly four moves. Can you figure out how? A switchback is a move in a chess problem where a piece returns to a square that it previously stood on. This tactic can … [Read more...]
Smorgasbord V: December Sweets
Smorgasbord V: December Sweets This week our dessert menu features a selection of six puzzles with a variety of flavours. Try one, or try them all. We hope you find something to your taste. The types of problems presented in this column have appeared previously on The Puzzling Side of Chess. If you are unfamiliar with any of them, examples with more detailed explanations are available in the archives. 1. Triple Loyd #40 Place the black king on the board so that: A. Black is in checkmate. B. Black is in stalemate. C. White has mate in one. The holiday season means lots of travelling from point A to point B. And sometimes a late trip home. Take care. Take a cab. 2. Passing … [Read more...]
Chess Cafe Puzzlers Cup: The Big Day
by Jeff Coakley Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the awards ceremony of the 2014 Puzzlers Cup. Tonight we are pleased to present the five winning problems from our second annual puzzle composing competition. Special thanks to our generous sponsor ChessCafe.com for hosting the event. Each winner will receive a “shop coupon” from Shop.ChessCafe.com, which can be applied to any purchase from their extensive selection of chess products. The value of the coupons is as follows: First prize $150 Second prize $100 Third prize $75 Honourable Mentions 2 x $50 Like last year, we received many interesting puzzles. The difficult task of selecting the five winners was performed b … [Read more...]
Cyclotronic Joyride
by Jeff Coakley The main attraction in this week’s column is a “carousel of cyclotrons”. But first, let’s play the old switcheroo. In case you’re new to switcheroos, here are the rules. The goal is to put the black king in checkmate by switching the position of two pieces. No actual chess moves are made. The pieces simply swap squares. Any two pieces can switch places. Colours do not matter. You can trade white with white, black with black, or white with black. Switching the black king is a common trick. One important rule is that the position after the switch must be legal. A position is legal if it could occur in an actual game. This rule implies several things. a) A pawn … [Read more...]
The Number 64
The Number 64 by Jeff Coakley Welcome to another cafe smorgasbord of puzzles. Our special menu this week celebrates somebody’s sixty-fourth birthday. The types of puzzles presented in this column have appeared previously on The Puzzling Side of Chess. If you are unfamiliar with any of them, examples with more detailed explanations are available in the archives. 1. Triple Loyd #39 Place the black king on the board so that: A. Black is in checkmate. B. Black is in stalemate. C. White has mate in one. The number 64 is interesting in many ways. For example, it is the smallest number which is both a perfect square and a perfect cube. 64 = 8² = 4³ Do you know what the next hi … [Read more...]
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