Mate in two

Have a look at the board below:



This is a beautiful Chess problem. White has to move and checkmate Black king in 2 moves.

Let us analyze the problem now. What do you see on the board?

You see the Black king almost smothered. He has only one legal move, which is to capture the white rook in d5. Lets think about it's consequences later. Let's continue with analysis of the position.

Besides the king, Black has 4 pieces: 2 pawns and 2 rooks. The pawns are blocked. The rooks can move. In fact, the rooks are attacking white's pieces.

What about white?

White has an overwhelming superiority over Black. If this were a real game, only an enthusiastic newbie will continue playing as Black. Black's fate is sealed unless white is brain-dead in the next minute or two.

But thats not our problem. Our problem is to checkmate Black in 2 moves.

Lets try the most obvious-looking possibilities first. Lets capture the Black rook sitting in d7 with rook in f7. Will this achieve our purpose? No. The remaining Black rook could capture the knight. And, forget about checkmate in next move.

You can try various moves, till you get fed up or accidentally arrive at the correct move.

Try moving the Bishop, pinning the rook. Or a check with Knight at g5. Move the Queen, or the King, even. Try the pawn push, making it a queen , or any piece you like. The more you try, the more you appreciate the depth of the problem.

Now, those who have seen or solved problems like these know that first move is never an obvious move. It is never a Check or a capture. It is silent, with minimum of ripples and yet, when unveiled, it is a certain death sentence for the opponent.


The answer is Nc6!

Now, if Black replies R(f)xf7, Re5 mate.
If Black plays R(d)xf7, Re6 mate.
If R(f)xd5, Rf6 mate.
If R(d)xd5, Re7 mate.
If Kxd5, Qa2 mate.
If Kxf7, pawn at g8 becomes queen and mate!

Hmmm... really good!

The above problem was coined by Comins Mansfield, one of the best chess problem composers of all time.

Did I solve it? Heck no. Wasted 15 minutes and 50 grams of keratin -hairs and nails put together. And when finally I couldnt hold it any longer, like everyone else, peeped at the answer and wondered how I could have missed it.