Three Puzzles from Russia

Alan T. Sherman
Faculty Advisor, UMBC Chess Club
January 1, 1996

After the first round of the 1995 Pan-Am Championship in New York,
Grandmaster Ilya Smirin shared with the UMBC Chess Team the following
three amusing puzzles:

Puzzle 1.  Black checkmates White in four moves.  White's moves are 1
f3, 2 Kf2, 3 Kg3, 4 Kh4.  What are Black's moves?

Puzzle 2.  White checkmates Black in five moves.  White's first move
is a knight move.  On the fifth move, White moves a rook to give mate.
What is the more interesting of the two possible games?

Puzzle 3.  Consider the position that arises after 1 e4 e6, 2 Bb5 c6,
3 Bc6 dc.  How can this position appear after each side moves exactly
four times from the initial position?

Grandmaster Smirin likes these puzzles because their solutions require
imagination. He warns, however, that spending too much time on such
chess oddities can adversely affect your play.  Solutions will be
published in the next issue of the MCA Newsletter.