White to move and checkmate in 3.
8/8/7b/8/1NpN4/2p1p3/2p1P3/kbK5 w – – 0 1
Loyd, 1792
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Checkmate in 3
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White to move and checkmate in 3.
8/8/7b/8/1NpN4/2p1p3/2p1P3/kbK5 w – – 0 1
Loyd, 1792
After 1. Ne6! Black is in Zugzwang!
Any move by the black squared bishop will result in its capture, thus forcing black to abandon the c2 square.
1. Ne6!, B any move
2. NxB, Ba2 (forced)
3. Nxc2 #
1. Ne6, Bf4(Bf8, Bg5, Bg7)
2. Nxf4(Nxf8, Nxg5, Nxg7), Ba2
3. NxC2#
1. Ne6!
If 1. … Ba2 2. Nxc2#.
Else, Black can only move the Bishop on h6. But to wherever Black moves it, White’s Knight on e6 can capture it, forcing
2. … Ba2 3. Nxc2#.
Rather contrived, but instructive nonetheless.
1- Ne6; Bf8
Other moves of the dark-square bishop also result in its capture.
2- Nxf8…
Black is now in zugzwang, forced to abandon the c2 pawn and to cut off his king’s last escape square.
2- … ; Ba2
3- Nxc2#
At least, it is spelled Loyd this time! Congratulations!
But Sam isn’t that old!!
Samuel Loyd lived between 30.1.1841 and 10.4.1911
Full source:
Loyd, Samuel
Chess Monthly, Feb 1860
The answer, to put it summarily, is
1.Ne6
2.Ne6xB
3.Nxc2#
Method: if black is forced to play Ba2, then it’s mate. The only piece that hinders the zugzwang is the not-so-mobile Bh6. Remove it and…
1. Ne6 (with the idea to eliminate the bishop on h6 and to force the bishop on b1 to move away from defending the pawn on c2)…
1. … Bf4/g5/g7/f8 2. Nxf4/g5/g7/f8 Ba2 3. Nxc2#
1 Ne6 Bg5 or Bf4
2 NxB Ba2
3 NxP#
Cute problem with hard-to-find knight move.
Ne6