Lasker chess problem

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  • Lasker chess problem

    Interesting problem from Lasker's Chess Magazine.



    White to mate with the pawn without capturing any of the Black pawns. Computer should be useless for solving this.

    Diagram or fen didn't work?

    <diagram>R4Nk1/2N1Qp1p/5p1p/5p1p/5p1p/5B1K/4R1P1/2B5 </diagram>
    Last edited by Erik Malmsten; Sunday, 5th March, 2017, 10:35 AM.

  • #2
    Re: Lasker chess problem

    Using http://www.chessvideos.tv/genboard.php

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    • #3
      Re: Lasker chess problem

      Lasker Chess Problem

      March 12, 2017

      I have spent a couple of hours on this problem when I should have been doing my income tax return. Most enjoyable. My “solution” does involve a pawn capture but I could not think of a better way to accomplish mate.

      Obviously, the king must be driven down the pipe to be mated by the pawn. It is not easy avoiding other mates!

      My solution:

      1.Nd7+ Kg7 2.Ne6+ Kg6 3.Kh2 h3 4.gxh3 h4 5.Bg4 fxg4 6.Rg8+ Kh5 7.hxg4#

      The white pawn on g2 did mate but it also took a black pawn and that is forbidden. My solution is absolutely wrong.

      Supposedly, in Bondarenko’s 1980 book on studies,
      Stanovienie Shakhmantnovo Etyuda, he says that the author is unknown and it is from an Indian record of the 19th century.

      Another writer attributes it to The Stratagems of Chess, 1818, with the author, Alessandro Salvio.

      I tried to find the problem in my copies of Lasker’s Chess Magazine but I seemed to have misplaced a critical volume. More when it comes to light.
      ___________

      In any case, the mate is in 14 moves, by the white pawn and no black pawn can be taken.

      This is the intended solution:

      1.Nd7+ Kg7 2.Rf8 Kg6 3.Ne6 fxe6 4.Qf7+ Kg5 5.Ne5 fxe5 6.Be4 fxe4 7.Be3 fxe3 8.Qe7+ Kg6 9.Kh2 h3 10.g3 h4 11.g4 h5 12.g5 h6 13.Qf6+ Kh7 14.g6#

      I don’t know what Salvio was on, but that is one terrific piece of analysis!

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      • #4
        Re: Lasker chess problem

        I'm probably completely off on that one, but I have the following solution:

        1. Nd7+ Kg7 2. Qf8+ Kg6 3. Qh8 Kg5 4. Ra4 Kg6 5. Nf8+ Kg5 6. Kh2 h3 7. Qg7+ Kh4
        8. g3#

        All of black's moves are forced and it ends with the pawn giving mate while no black pawns were captured. Took me about 2 minutes to find. What am I missing?
        Last edited by Mathieu Cloutier; Sunday, 12th March, 2017, 01:48 AM.

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        • #5
          Re: Lasker chess problem

          Lasker chess problem

          March 12, 2017

          I can’t see anything wrong with your solution. There doesn’t seem to be an en passant that could avoid mate. I think you have demolished a problem that has been around for 200 years.

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          • #6
            Re: Lasker chess problem

            Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post
            Lasker chess problem

            March 12, 2017

            I can’t see anything wrong with your solution. There doesn’t seem to be an en passant that could avoid mate. I think you have demolished a problem that has been around for 200 years.
            No disrespect to you sir, but... I seriously doubt that, hence why I waited a bit to post my solution.

            Sure we're missing something here.
            Last edited by Mathieu Cloutier; Sunday, 12th March, 2017, 03:57 AM.

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            • #7
              Re: Lasker chess problem

              Originally posted by Mathieu Cloutier View Post
              No disrespect to you sir, but... I seriously doubt that, hence why I waited a bit to post my solution.

              Sure we're missing something here.
              Congratulations on finding a cook to a maybe 400 year old problem!

              Thanks Wayne for the info and solution that is aesthetically pleasing, shifting the two pawn columns. I glanced at the Salvio book on google books but didn't find the "situation." Interesting Italian rules and that he didn't invent the opening named after him.

              I came across the problem in both the Globe and Toronto Star newspapers of 100 years ago.
              Last edited by Erik Malmsten; Sunday, 12th March, 2017, 10:59 AM.

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              • #8
                Re: Lasker chess problem

                some collected history on this problems and variations:
                http://pdb.dieschwalbe.de/search.jsp...6+sBf5+sBh5%27

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