6
$\begingroup$

This morning, at the coffee corner in our office, I met a colleague who mentioned he'd be joining a chess club. So I asked him: "And, how was your first evening at the chess club?"

"Well, it was a rather short one.", he replied, looking rather sad.

"Oh, what happened?"

"I had the black pieces. Because I was new, my opponent let me make three moves for free. You told me king safety is important, so I first concentrated on getting my king into safety in the corner. However, after we both made three more moves, I was still mated on the next move."

I thought back to when I showed him the smothered mate. I said: "King in the corner, let me see... did you let your king be smothered perhaps?"

"No, my bishop's pawns were still in their original positions. I still had all my pawns, for what it's worth."

Unfortunately, I had to rush to a meeting, so I couldn't ask him for the complete game. I didn't see him again that day, but on the way back home I was able to figure out which moves were played. That was a sad loss indeed ...


TL;DR: Construct a chess game where

  • White skips the first three moves
  • Otherwise, play continues normally
  • White gives mate on the 7th move
  • The black king ends in the corner
  • Black still has 8 pawns, including two on c7 and f7

(story inspired by previous questions; the puzzle itself is original)


This puzzle is an entry in the Fortnightly Topic Challenge #40: Retrograde Analysis.

$\endgroup$

1 Answer 1

6
$\begingroup$

I found this one which I think works:

1... g6
2... Bh6
3... Nf6
4. d4 O-O
5. Qd2 Kh8
6. Qxh6 Ne8
7. Qxf8#

Final position

$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ Yep, that was the intended solution. Congratulations for finding it so fast! $\endgroup$
    – Glorfindel
    Oct 22, 2018 at 17:57

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.