What’s the Problem? By Stanley Kravitz Puzzle 4. Mating an opponent can sometimes
take a lot of moves especially if you do not know the right technique. When an opponent will not resign it is very satisfying to demonstrate that you know how to finish a game quickly. Basic mates are those mates with
just a few pieces and a set technique. Those with one or two rooks or a queen are the most usual. Check- mating with two bishops or a bishop and a knight is not very common, but knowing how to mate with them will improve the way you coordinate their power and it will improve your playing strength Once you have mastered the cor-
rect mating patterns they can be applied to actual game positions. These puzzles are designed to
show mating techniques using these types of mates. Imagine you are white. You have a
won game and want to show your opponent you can mate quickly. So try to solve each of them in no more than three moves.
These puzzles are all miniatures
with less than seven pieces on the board. If you can solve a problem in under
1 minute give yourself 4 points. Solve in under 2 minutes give yourself 3 points. Solve in under 5 minutes 2 points. Over 5 minutes give yourself 1 point. Master Solver 15-20 points. Good
Solver 10-14 points. Fair solver 5-9 points. Under 5 points needs work.
Puzzle 1.
White to move and mate in three. The problem here is how best to keep the black king from escaping.
8 7 6
5 4 3 2 1
-+k+-+-+ +-+-+-+- -+-+-+-+
tR-+K+-+- -+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+- -+-+-+-+
+-+-+-+- ab c d e f g h
Puzzle 2.
White to move and mate in three. If a rook can do it in three so can
a queen.
8 7 6
5 4 3 2 1
-+-+k+-+ +-+-+-+- -+-+-+K+ +-+-+-+- -wQ-+-+-+ +-+-+-+- -+-+-+-+
+-+-+-+- ab c d e f g h
Puzzle 3.
White to move and mate in three Without the white king in the way this would be easy.
8 7 6
5 4 3 2 1
R+-+-+-+ +-mK-+-mk- R+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+- -+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+- -+-+-+-+
+-+-+-+- ab c d e f g h
October 2011 Chess Life for Kids! 11
White to move and mate in three. This is near the end of the
standard mate with two bishops: be careful not to stalemate.
8 7 6
5 4 3 2 1
k+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+- L+K+-+-+ +-vL-+-+- -+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+- -+-+-+-+
+-+-+-+- ab c d e f g h
Puzzle 5.
White to move and mate in three After a long mating sequence that
can take over 30 moves from the worst setup, you can finish in three forced moves.
8 7 6
5 4 3 2 1
k+-sN-+-+ +-+-+-+- L+K+-+-+ +-+-+-+- -+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+- -+-+-+-+
+-+-+-+- ab c d e f g h
Solutions on page 16 E
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