To illustrate his point, he showed the following problem, composed by a distant cousin of his:
Milan Vukcevich
White moves and mates in 3
(drag mouse over black block for solution)
1.Qb3! threat Qa3# 1...Bc5
[1...Rh4 2.Bd4 Ra7 or Qa3 next; 1...Rg3 2.Bf3 Nc6 or Qa3 next; 1...Rh3 2.Be3 Ra7 or Qa3 next; 1...Rg4 2.Be4 Nc6 or Qa3 next]
2.Bb6+ Bxb6 3.Qxa3#
Kholmov - Bronstein
(drag mouse over black block for solution)
1.d7! Same type interference as in the Vukcevich problem! 1...Rxd7 Pick your poison... [1...Bxd7 2.Rg7! This works now that Ra7 is blocked.] 2.fxe6 Nxe6 3.Bxe6 Q is overloaded, so Black got desperate 3...Rd1+ 4.Rxd1 Bxe6 5.Kxb2 Rb8+ 6.Ka1 Bxa2 7.Rgd3! Black can't hold the Bishop and defend the King both 7...Qe7 8.Kxa2 Qe6+ 9.Rb3 1–0
After spending what felt like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes, Newcomer was able to solve them both, especially once he realized they shared the same theme. If anything, the problem was able to show the same theme multiple times, where the game example could only show it once. Was there hope? Was it possible that there was something of interest to him even in a desolate torture camp such as this? He kept his optimism guarded, not keen on being disappointed at such an early stage.
However, he was forced to attend classes with a portly, heavily mustached, older guard named Sam, who delighted in the perversity of the problem ideas he showed, and how UNLIKE real games they were.
Incidentally, he also shared the same first name as his favorite composer.
Sam Loyd
White mates in 14
Sam Loyd
White mates in 3
Even under penalty of going to bed without supper, and spending literally hours on the two problems, Newcomer was forced to go bed hungry for three nights straight. Damn Sam Loyd and his creations, so suited for this kind of place, he thought.
All this takes only 9 moves, if only the black black bishop were on the other field (g1).