December 3rd

Walter Irving Kennard (03-12-1860 - 31-05-1936) American composer

According to A. C. White and Kenneth Howard, Walter Kennard composed problems without the chess board. He composed many problems that have solver-entertainment value.

Kennard, Walter Irving
Checkmate, Feb 1904

#2

8 + 11

Show Solution

1.Qg1! (2.Bd4#)

1...Kxf6 2.Qg7# Nice switchback of the wQ
1...Rd5 2.Sd7#
1...Se3/Sxf2 2.Qa1#
1...Qxd6 2.Rf5#
1...Sxf6 2.Qh2#

Kennard, Walter Irving
Checkmate, 1904

#3

13 + 2

Show Solution

1.Rf3-f4 ! (2.Rf4-b4/Rf4-d4 ~ 3.Rb1/Rd1#)

1...g5-g4 2.Rf4-b4 ~ 3.Rb4-b1#
1...g5xh4 2.Rf4-d4 (3.Rd4-d1#) 2...h4xg3+ 3.f2xg3#
1...g5xf4 2.Se6xf4 ZZ 2...Kf1xf2 3.Sf4-g2#

Karlström-Fleck.

And the most difficult one as a conclusion:

Kennard, Walter Irving
American Chess Bulletin, 1915

#4

7 + 6

Show Solution

1.Rf1-c1 ! ZZ An amazing key, placing the wR behind tripled pawns.

1...b6-b5 2.c4-c5 b5-b4 3.c3xb4+ Ka5-b5 4.c2-c4#
1...c6-c5 2.Rc1-d1 ! b6-b5 3.Rd1-d5 b5xc4 4.Rd5xc5#

Eduard (Edward) Lasker (03-12-1885 - 23-03-1981) German-American composer

Edward Lasker
[Wikipedia]

Edward Lasker was born in Germany and migrated to the USA in 1914. He helped making the game of Go popular in the USA with his book "Go and Go-Moku" (1934) and he also wrote several popular chess books.
He wittily wrote in "The Adventure of Chess":

"It has been said that man is distinguished from animal in that he buys more books than he can read. I should like to suggest that the inclusion of a few chess books would help to make the distinction unmistakable."

Lasker, Eduard
Chess Strategy, 1915

+

3 + 3

Show Solution

1. Ke2 ! Ke7 2. Ke3 Ke6 3. Ke4 Kf6 4. Kf4 !
{4. Kd5 ? Kf5 5. Kc5 Kg4 6. Kxb5 Kxh4 7. Kc4 Kg3 8. b5 h4 9. b6 h3 =}
4... Ke6 5. Kg5 +-
The white King takes the opposition and does not leave it.

Mario Lucarelli (03-12-1893 - ?) Italian composer

Mario Lucarelli composed threemovers.

Lucarelli, Mario
L'Eco degli Scacchi, 1914
HM

#3

9 + 3

Show Solution

1.Sa4-b2 ! ZZ

1...f4-f3 2.e2-e4 ~ 3.Sb2-d3#
1...Ke5-f5 2.Sb2-d3 ZZ 2...f4-f3 3.e2-e4#
1...Ke5-d5 2.d2-d4 ZZ 2...f4-f3 3.e2-e4#

Three different mates.

Nicolaas Voituron (03-12-1896 - 20-12-1975) Dutch composer

Nicolaas Voituron composed direct mates and helpmates.

Voituron, Nicolaas
Probleemblad, 1971 (7133)

h#2

2.1...

5 + 4

Show Solution

1. Qa1 Sxf6 2. Qe5+ Se4#
1. Qh7 Bxf6 2. Qe7+ Be5#
Battery mates, selfblocks and counterchecks are on the menu.

Josef Louma (03-12-1898 - 07-08-1955) Czech composer

Josef Louma was a chess player of master strength, arbiter and organizer and also the Secretary of the Czechoslovakian Chess Federation in the 1930s. He composed studies.

Kevin Spraggett offered some biographical information about Josef Louma on his now defunct blog [broken link], quoting Ludek Pachman's memoirs.

Louma, Josef
Slovensky Narod, 1926

\+

3 + 3

Show Solution

1.Kxa7? h5 2.Kb6 Kd2 3.Kc5 Ke3 4.Kc4 =
1.g4! a5 2.g5 hxg5
{2...a4 3.gxh6 +-}
3.h5
{3.hxg5? a4 =}
3...g4 4.h6 g3 5.h7 g2 6.h8=Q g1=Q 7.Qa1+ +-

Pierre-Antoine Cathignol (03-12-1949) French composer

Pierre Antoine Cathignol
[P.-A.C. website]

Pierre-Antoine Cathignol is known for his complex moremovers which use corresponding squares in duels opposing white Knight vs black Bishop.
On his own autobiographic article Pierre-Antoine Cathignol admits having composed one study which is often quoted on the Internet due to its exemplary and didactic presentation and to its solver appeal:

Cathignol, Pierre-Antoine
Themes 64, 1981 (3897)
Commendation

+

9 + 9

Show Solution

1. d5
{1. a5 ? bxa5 ; 1. b5 ? cxb5; 1. c5 ? dxc5; 1. e5 ? fxe5; 1. g5 ? fxg5 all draw}
1... exd5 2. exd5 cxd5 3. a5 bxa5 4. b5
{the first breakthrough}
4...axb5 5. cxb5 Ke7 6. b6 Kd7 7. b7 Kc7 8. g5 fxg5 9. h5 gxh5 10. f5
{the second breakthrough}
10... a4 11. f6 a3 12. f7 a2 13. b8=Q+! Kxb8 14. f8=Q+ and wins.

Pierre-Antoine Cathignol may confess that he failed in almost everything in life, however he will remain in chess composing history for his length records in captureless moremovers. Let's hope he composes more of them !

Here is one of his simpler ones (this #28 would be a little more complicated):

Cathignol, Pierre-Antoine
diagrammes, Oct 1987 (83/1823)
1^st Prize, 1987-88

#12

4 + 3

Show Solution

1. Sb5! Bc5 2. Sc3 Bd4 3. Se4 Be3 4. Sf6 Bg5 5. Sg4 Bf4 6. Sf2 Be3 7. Se4 f6 8. Sc3 Bf2 9. Sd5 Bg3 10. Sc7 Bxd6 11. Kxd6 f5 12. Se6#

If you still want to investigate in order to understand the above solution, please take your time. If you have not understood much of that solution, please read further by Clicking on the 'Show Detailed Solution' button. The detailed solution below is a summarized translation from the author's own account of his intended solution.

Show Detailed Solution

1. Corresponding squares

First of all the corresponding squares of the S vs B duel must be identified.
1. If the wS arrives to a5, c5, e5, g5 or h6, White mates in 1.
2. If the wS arrives to b3, d3, f3, c4, e4, the bB must come to (respectively) b4, d4, f4, c3 and e3.
3. Likewise, if the wS arrives to g4, the bB must come to f4 or g7. These squares which allow the wS to win, except if the bB is on a certain square (or certain squares) named corresponding squares.

The study of these corresponding squares will show that for the bB d4 is the right square if the wS is on a6, a8, e8 and d5. It also shows that if the wS is on b5, neither d4 nor any other square accessible from a7 is a corresponding square.
This means that the key is 1.Sb5! and not 1.Sd5? Bd4!

Complete list of the corresponding squares (position of the wS / position of the bB):

1. White squares

• a2/a1, b3/b4, b5/b4, c2/c1, d3/d4, d5/d4, e1/e1, f3/f4, f5/f4, g2/g1, h3/h4, h5/h4
• a6/d4, a8/d4, c8/c5, e8/e5, g8/g5
• Squares winning for White but inaccessible to the wS: c4, e4 and g4

2. Dark squares

• a1/a3, b4/b2, a7/a3, c1/c3, d4/d2, e1/e3, f4/f2, g1/g3, h4/h2, b8/b2
• b2, d2, f2, h2, a3, c3, e3, g3, a5, c5, e5, g5, b6, f6 and h6 are winning for White but inaccessible to the wS.

2. Detailed solution

Let's repeat the diagram:


1. Sc7-b5 !
[with the idea 2.Sc3! 3.Se4! threatening both 4.Sc5! ~ 5.Sb7# and 4.Sg5!~ 5.Sf7#. ]
1. … Ba7-c5
[Only 1...Ba7-b4 could grant Black a draw]
2. Sb5-c3 Bc5-a7/b6/d4/f2/g1
3. Sc3-e4 Ba7-e3
4. Se4-f6
[The wS heads towards Black's greatest weakness, square h6. The wS can mate from this square, as from the four other squares a5, c5, e5 and g5 but h6 is not on the same rank, which will lead to overload the bB]
4. … Be3-c1/d2/g5/h6
5. Sf6-g4
[threatening h6 and e5 and disordering the black defence]
5. … Bc1-f4
6. Sg4-f2 
[threatens both 7.Sd3 or 7.Se4 and mate in two by 8.Sc5/Se5/Sg5]
Black cannot defend against all threats, because he must place the bB on d4 against wSd3 or on e3 against wSe4. However, Black can prolong the fight thanks to a zugzwang.]
6. … Bf4-e3
7. Sf2-e4 f7-f6
[Black, in zugzwang, is forced to play this sad move, which offers White a third mating square. From now on, there are no longer corresponding squares for the bB. Black can only delay the mate by sacrificing the Bishop.]
8. Se4-c3 and two variations:

• 8. … Be3-g1/f2/d4/c5 or f6-f5 9. Sc3-d5 Bg1-h2/Bf2-g3/Bd4-e5/f6-f5 or Be3-c5 or Be3-f4 10. Sd5-c7 Bxd6 11. Kc6xd6 f6-f5/f5-f4 12. Sc7-e6#
• 8. … Be3-a7 9. Sc3-d5 Ba7-b8 10. Sd5-f4 Bb8xd6 11. Kc6xd6 f6-f5 12. Sf4-e6#