Hello, Merry Christmas etc...etc... some of the answers are right below the questions`.
Those that require a more detailed answer are in the 'Answers' section at the bottom.
(1) One condition in Santa’s contract was not only to deliver toys to every corner
of the globe but to also take out ‘The Grinch.’ This is known as Santa’s clause.
This mate in four moves credited to W. A. Shrinkman does it perfectly.
White to play and mate in four moves. (nobble the Grinch which is on h1)
(2) What is the difference between these two positions?
Reveal Hidden ContentThe position on the right is illegal. on the left White has just played h7-h8=Bishop mate.
(3) A World Championship general knowledge question. Kramnik v Topalov in 2006
and Carlsen v Caruana in 2018. All four had one single thing in common. What was it?
Reveal Hidden ContentAt the time of the matches all four players were unmarried. The clue was the word single.
Now one to slip into the conversation during your Christmas dinner.
(and I’m not ashamed to admit I got this one from a Christmas Cracker.)
Two chess players had played each other more than 20 times OTB.
Yet each player had never seen each other. (OTB = Over the Board).
Reveal Hidden ContentBoth Chess players were blind.
(4) The famous eight queens puzzle (with a slight difference)
Place eight Queens on the board without none of them attacking each other.
You are not allowed to put one on a cross. I have put one on the board for you.
(5) This mate in two composed by Fabel is perfect Christmas fodder.
White to play and checkmate in two moves. White is playing
up the board. All those Black pawns are about to promote.
Reveal Hidden Content1.Nc6 h1=Q+ 2.Bh3 mate. 1...a1=Q 2.Ba6 mate. Get the idea and if 1...Kg8 2.Be6 mate.
(6) A problem by P. L. Rothenberg (White to play)
(a) Play a move that checkmates Black in one move.
Reveal Hidden Content1.Qa7 mate.
(b) Play a move forcing Black to checkmate White.
Reveal Hidden Content1.Qb7+ Qxb7 mate.
(c) Play a move that stalemates Black in one move.
Reveal Hidden Content1.Qxb3 stalemate.
(d) Play a move that forces Black to stalemate White.
Reveal Hidden Content1.Qb8+ and either 1...Kxb8 or 1....Qxb8 is a stalemate
(7) We are now warming up. B. P. Barnes 1961
White to play and mate in two moves.
You should see that moving both Rooks will give White a discovered checkmate.
But which one? And where too? Only one Rook move will mate on the next move.
Reveal Hidden Content1.Rxh4 is stalemate. The solution is 1.Rc5 Bg5 2.Rf4 mate. 1...Be1 2.Qd8 mate.
(8) You cannot have a Christmas Quiz without one from Troitsky (1924)
White to play and win. (solution at the bottom)
(9) I use to hate getting a jig-saw for Christmas. So here is yours!
It is achile444 - MARUS RHP 2019 can you put it together.
Clue: Black has just made a move and stalemated White.
(10) Chess Players Picture Charades (groan) Who are they?
Reveal Hidden Contentmic ale Adams
Reveal Hidden ContentRow Bert Fisher
Reveal Hidden ContentToe Knee Smiles
Reveal Hidden ContentJay Cob AA Guard
Bored? OK. one more.
Reveal Hidden ContentRay Rob Sun
(11) Everyone remembers Fischer beating Taimanov and Larsen 6-0 then
Petrosian 6½ - 2½ to get to the 1972 Final v Spassky but there were four
other players in the candidates who were they and who knocked them out.
If you can remember the scores, then next year you do the Christmas quiz.
(12) This is how you place 20 Knights (10 White / 10 Black) on
a chessboard so that only one Knight is attacking another Knight.
You now have to place 32 Knight (16 White / 16 Black) on a
chessboard so that only one Knight is attacking another Knight.
White to play and mate in four moves. (the Grinch is on h1)
(4) The Eight Queens Puzzle.
(8) White to play and win.
(9) The jig-saw position is:
Black has just played 37...Re8-g8 stalemate.
(11) The 1972 World Championship Quiz. Geller, Hubner, Korchnoi and Uhlmann.
Petrosian - Hubner 4-3 (Hubner retired ) Petrosian then beat Korchnoi 5½ - 4½
Korchnoi had beaten Geller 5½ - 2½ and finally Larsen beat Ulhmann 5½ - 3½.
(when I thought about this I forgot Ulhmann. But recalled the Korchnoi - Geller score.
Geller did in fact lose all three of his candidate matches by the same score, 5½ - 2½ .
Geller did win a match v Smyslov in 1965 by the score....yes you guessed it. 5½ - 2½ )
(12) The solution to the 32 Knights problem.
The thread accompanying this blog is Thread 183336
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