Wednesday, January 05, 2011

The twelve puzzles of Xmas


Shuriakov and Syzonenko, 1985

Mate in twelve


[Thanks to Martin]

5 comments:

Martin Smith said...

Yesss! Feeling very pleased with myself cos I think I just solved it. Utilizing the threat of mate white forces the BK to oscillate in the centre and moves 1 to 5, Ne8,f6,h5,g3+ and takes on e2. Then 6.Nc3+ 7.Nb5 and 8.Nd6 (where it started, very witty) 9. Nd3 Kc6 10 d5+ and either (a)10...Kxd5 11.Nb4 and 12. f4 mate, or (b)10...Kd7 11.Nb4 and 12. Na6 mate.
Loads of Geometry, and with 12 moves to play with, loads of Flow.
Just hope not loads of egg on face!

Anonymous said...

Nice idea! I suspect, without looking in depth at it, that 4. ... h1=N is a defence that needs to be worked out - more nice geometry, with two cornered Black knights.

Anonymous said...

Now that I think about this again in an all-too-brief idle moment, I have a distant recollection that the e2 pawn also promotes to a knight at some point.

Martin Smith said...

Anon,
Should've mentioned in my euphoria that the black promotion, which would have to be 3...h1=N, fails to 4. f3 and 5 Ng7 mate. Neat, eh!
P.S. have checked SOSC and it's right. They call it a Rundlauf or "round-trip".

ejh said...

I'm particularly impressed with Martin solving this one as he actually sent it to me in the first place.

It was originally published in Chervony Girnik and he suggests in the last comment, he found it in Levitt, J and Friedgood, D, Secrets of Spectacular Chess, 2nd Edition, Everyman, 2008, p. 95.

Thanks to everybody for problems, solutions, guesses, comments and suggestions and I hope to do another set next Xmas.