Yes indeed โ This is the opening position of a fresh Artistic-puzzle, though it may look familiar.
(This time it is Whiteโs turn, while the position you recall had Black to move.)
Having just solved
the previous puzzle โ by a winning zugzwang โ you now recognize the interesting situation: In todayโs starting setup, it is White who prefers to pass the move, if only the rules of chess would allow it. But they do not.
So we are left with the question: Is there a move White can play right now that keeps every mating net intact, without spoiling a single one of his prepared checkmates?
And we are also left with, of course, another mate-in-two challenge.
But not just any problem โ this one stands among the most striking creations we have encountered. Here, the composer ‘Shlomi Yerushalmi ‘ demonstrates extraordinary artistry, weaving layers of elegance and sophistication into the tight fabric of the 64 squares.
Good luck and we’re sure you’ll enjoy it ๐
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Suggestion: Try solving it yourself first
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In the presented position, White already has an immediate mate prepared against any Black move:
โก๏ธ If the โ moves โ โg4#.
โก๏ธ If the โ moves โ โf6#.
โก๏ธ And if the โ travels โ the โ from c2 delivers the appropriate mate (d4 or e3).
It almost looks as if White has already played his first move. Was the puzzle accidentally shown with the solution? Not at all ๐. It is White to move, and he cannot simply maintain the current setup. We must find the โspoil in order to repairโ move.
The key is 1.โe4! โ a pure zugzwang move, with no immediate mating threat.
This does spoil the original possibility of the โ on c2 responding to a โ move (since the opened line of the โ now covers d4 and e3). However, the newly placed โe4 takes over and will itself deliver mate according to the โโs direction (d6 or g3). Donโt worryโthe knight from c2 isnโt dismissed; his help will still be needed shortly.
After 1.โe4! , the situation is:
โก๏ธ If Black moves his โ โ โg4#.
โก๏ธ If Black moves his โ โ โf6#.
๐ โฅExcept for the special move โd4 , which keeps f6defended ๐ค
โก๏ธ If Black moves his โโ the โ(e4) delivers the appropriate mate.
๐โฅExcept for the special move โd4, which prevents that knightโs action ๐
In each of these special moves to d4 , the arriving Black piece (โ or โ) blocks the other๐ก
1.โe4!
โฆโd4 โ โd6#
โฆโd4 โ โe3#
๐๏ธWe especially liked:
๐ The mutual blocking of โ and โ on the square d4 . At first glance it seems almost incidental, yet it greatly enriches the problem. Here we see not only the replacement of prepared mating moves with new ones, but also the addition of a very cool twist ๐ค .
๐ The composerโs careful decision to give the lower โ an active role in the second act of the show impressed us a lot. Not only because of his โconsideration for the knightโs feelingsโ ๐, but also due to an unwritten rule of fairness in mate-in-two problems: one should not place unnecessary pieces on the board just to confuse the solver. After all, the true artistry is not only in making a puzzle difficult, but also in making it elegant and beautiful. The composer made sure that every piece on the board has (at least one) role to play โ both in the previous position and in the one shown here.
๐ And finally, there is a very nice โAlmost-solutionโ : โe8 โฆ Did you think of that?