ArcaMax

If you have time over the holiday and would like to give some young person a chess lesson on using rooks, this is a very instructive position. Can the two rooks defeat two potential queens ready to be promoted?

Before you solve this mate in two, can you figure out why the pawn is on h6?

This reminds me of an old 19th century puzzle. White is threatened with mate in one, but saves the day.

Another thematic finish, but with a heck of a start.

I can’t recall having so much fun looking at all the variations and the cooperation of the white pieces. It’s a great lesson on the power of the rook lift (going up to b4)as well.

This win by I.A. Horowitz from 1931 has a mating pattern finish that everyone should know. The first move is quite spectacular on its own!

If you have been with this column a while, you will probably get the first move, but how about the follow-ups?

The moment for White to launch a mating attack.

H.R. Agnel once composed a problem that was a mate in six:

1.Rg8+ Rxg8 2.Qd8+ Qxd8 3.Rxd8+ Ke7 4.Rxg8 Nd6 5.Bc5 b6 6.Bxd6#,but there was a shorter mate in five. Can you find it?

We’re going to finish off golden oldies with a task problem. White to play and mate without moving the king or taking a pawn.

This Golden Oldie is Edward Lasker’s most memorable finish.

This Golden Oldie is a doozy! White has all his forces arrayed, but what is the most efficient sequence?

Another Golden Oldie. Every player of the White pieces dreams of a sacrificial attack against the Sicilian Defense. Over 60 years ago Troinov got his chance. Here’s the game. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.0–0 Be7 8.Be3 0–0 9.Bb3 a6 10.f4 d5 11.e5 Nd7 12.Qh5 Re8?? At this point Black should have played 12...Qe8,...

Another Golden Oldie. One of the toughest things to do in chess is come up with a plan in a complicated position. Alekhine reached this position years ago and noticed something about a certain pattern based on the placement of the pieces. He noticed that the queen bishop was indirectly attacking the black King. He also noticed that if the a1-a8 ...

I have a hankering for posting some old favorites. So, we’ll do some golden oldies in the coming days, and they will be fun for people who have never seen them. This first one was inspired itself by an older Reti study—White to Play and Draw. That’s a hint for for the experienced players.

You might easily guess the first move, but can you see it all the way to the finish?

When finishing off a mating attack, you always look for the most efficient way. There are two ways to force a mate here, but one is much more efficient.

This time Black gets to give White a lesson on why White should not have been so greedy to go after the rook on a8.

Time for White to finish the game.

We haven’t done a composed problem in a while. This one’s a mate in two and has an interesting story behind it. The great Jose Capablanca couldn’t solve it in 20 minutes. See if you can beat him.