Chess puzzle

A chess puzzle is a puzzle in which knowledge of the pieces and rules of chess is used to logically solve a chess-related problem. The history of chess puzzles reaches back to the Middle Ages and has since evolved.

Usually the goal is to find the single best, ideally aesthetic move or a series of single best moves in a chess position, that was created by a composer or is from a real game. But puzzles can also set different objectives. Examples include deducing the last move played, the location of a missing piece, or whether a player has lost the right to castle. Sometimes the objective is antithetical to normal chess, such as helping (or even compelling) the opponent to checkmate one's own king.

Chess problems

While a chess puzzle is any puzzle involving aspects of chess, a chess problem is an arranged position with a specific task to be fulfilled, such as White mates in n moves. Chess problems are also known as chess compositions because the positions are specially devised, rather than arising from actual games. Chess problems are divided into orthodox and heterodox types, both covering a variety of genres.

Orthodox problems employ the standard rules of chess and involve positions that can arise from actual gameplay (although the moves to reach those positions may be unrealistic). The most common orthodox chess problem takes the form of checkmate in n moves. The positions are seldom similar to positions from actual play, and the challenge is not to find a winning move, but rather to find the (usually unique) move that forces checkmate as rapidly as possible.

Heterodox problems involve conditions that are impossible with normal play, such as multiple kings or chess variants, while fairy chess problems employ pieces not used in orthodox chess, such as the amazon (a piece combining the powers of queen and knight).

Tactical puzzles

Chess puzzles can also be regular positions from actual games, usually meant as tactical training positions. They can range from a simple "Mate in one" combination to a complex attack on the enemy king. Solving tactical chess puzzles is a very common chess teaching technique. They are helpful in pattern recognition.

Examples

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

Puzzle 1

The solution is 1...Qf2!, attacking the f1-rook; 2.Rxf2 would incur back-rank checkmate after 2...Rd1+. If 2.Rg1, 2...Bc5 sets up a battery targetting g1, where White can stop checkmate only by moving the c1-bishop to connect rooks. Since the only two squares available to the bishop are controlled by the black queen, loss of the bishop is unavoidable from the start. White's best option is 2.Be3, giving up the bishop immediately.

Puzzle 2

The solution is 1.Ne6+!, unblocking White's h4-bishop and g1-rook. Black's f-pawn must guard the g6-bishop, preventing ...fxe6 in all variations; thus, if the black king moves after 1.Ne6+, then 2.Qxf6 leaves Black down a piece and in a mating net. White can force mate in less than 13 moves against any alternative to 1...Qxe6, which sacrifices material to blunt White's attack.

Mathematical chess problems

Some chess problems, like the eight queens puzzle or the knight's tour problem, have connections to mathematics, especially to graph theory and combinatorics. Many famous mathematicians have studied such problems, including Euler, Legendre, and Gauss. Besides finding a solution to a particular puzzle, mathematicians are usually interested in counting the total number of possible solutions, finding solutions with certain properties, and generalization of the problems to n×n or rectangular boards.

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