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A helpmate is a type of chess problem in which both sides cooperate in order to achieve the goal of checkmating Black. In a helpmate in n moves, Black moves first, then White, each side moving n times, to culminate in White's nth move checkmating Black. (In a helpmate in 2 for example, sometimes abbreviated h#2, the solution consists of a Black move, a White move, a second Black move, then a second White move, giving checkmate.) Although the two sides cooperate, all moves must be legal according to the rules of chess.
The example problem illustrated is a helpmate in 8 (or h#8) by Z. Maslar, published in Die Schwalbe in 1981. The solution is (recall that in helpmate solutions, Black's move is given first):
The first helpmate problem was by the German chess master Max Lange, published in Deutsche Schachzeitung , December 1854. The problem had White to move and White could play in a number of different ways to achieve the same mate ( duals ), considered a serious flaw today.
In The Chess Monthly , November 1860, American puzzle inventor Sam Loyd published the first helpmate with Black to move as is now standard, one intended main line, and an attractive but false solution (a try ) to mislead solvers. However, this problem too had a minor dual, and also had the major flaw (or cook ) of having a second, completely separate solution, not noted by the author. Even so, it was a much better problem than Lange's and its presentation, incorporating a story written by D. W. Fiske, established the genre. [1]
The first completely sound helpmate was by A. Barbe of Leipzig, published in 105 Leipziger Ill. Familien-Journal, 1861. [2]
The term "help-mate" originated in The Problem Art by T. B. and F. F. Rowland (Kingstown, 1897). [3] The helpmate problem task has since increased in popularity to be second only to the directmate and is no longer considered to be part of fairy chess.
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Because the nature of helpmates sees Black and White cooperating, the play in helpmates may seem to be a great deal simpler than in directmates (the most common type of problem, where White tries to checkmate Black, and Black tries to avoid being mated). In directmates, a great variety of play can be found in the solution because although White has only one move at each juncture which will solve the problem, Black can choose between several to try to thwart White's efforts. In helpmates, however, both White's and Black's moves are limited to just one at each juncture; this may seem simple, but a well-constructed helpmate also shows thematic play, and the cooperating moves should not always be easy to find. It has been noted by Jean Oudot that "helpmates are the purest form of all the chess arts"
In order to introduce more lines of play into a problem, various devices can be employed. Most straightforwardly, a problem can have more than one solution. The solutions will usually complement each other in some thematic and aesthetically pleasing way. Each solution can be considered a different phase of play. If there is more than one solution, the composer will state this; if there is no such statement, the problem has only one solution. The example to the right is a helpmate in 2 (h#2) with two solutions. It was published in the June 1975 issue of Schach and is by the helpmate specialist Chris J. Feather.
The two solutions are 1. Bxb8 Bd5 2. Nc7 Bxg5# and 1. Rdxd8 Bc6 2. Nd7 Rxb3#. These lines are very closely linked, with both exhibiting the same basic pattern: first, Black takes the white piece that gives mate in the other solution (this is known as a Zilahi), at the same time opening the line on which mate is eventually given, then White moves a bishop to close a line so that Black's next move will not give check. Black's second move closes another line so that after White's last move, giving check, Black will not be able to interpose one of his pieces.
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Another way of giving variety to the play of a helpmate is twinning. Here, more than one problem is wrought from a single diagram by making small changes to it, such as moving a piece from one square to another, adding or removing a piece, turning the board round or some other device. Twinning is occasionally found in other types of problems, but is particularly common in helpmates. The example shown is a helpmate in 2 by Henry Forsberg (published in 1935 in Revista Romana de Şah). The twins are created by substituting the black queen on a6 with a different piece. The solutions are:
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A further variation is the duplex, another way of getting two problems for the price of one. The first problem is a normal helpmate; the second starts from the same position but has White moving first and helping Black to checkmate him. Again, duplex problems have been composed with other types of problems, but the vast majority are helpmates. To the right is an example by Milan Vukcevich (from CHM avec 6 pieces Bad Pyrmont, 1996).
The solution with Black moving first is 1. Ng6 f8=Q 2. Ne5 d8=N#. With White moving first, it is 1. f8=R Nf7 2. d8=B Nd6#. These two lines are closely linked, with two white pawn promotions covering the black king's flight squares in the first part and promoted pieces blocking White's flight squares in the second. This problem is an Allumwandlung, a problem in which pawns are promoted to each of knight, bishop, rook and queen.
Very popular today also are helpmates where White moves first; then the stipulation contains a "½", for example a helpmate in 2½ moves. Helpmates, like other problems, can be composed with fairy chess pieces or with fairy conditions (chess variant rules), such as Circe chess, Grid chess, or Patrol chess. All of these variations can be, and have been, combined. (So it is possible to have, for instance, a series-helpmate in 7, twinned with two solutions in each phase, using nightriders and Madrasi chess.) Problems related to helpmates can have other kinds of stipulations involving cooperation between White and Black, in particular seriesmover problems, like seriesmates, serieshelpmates, serieshelpstalemates, etc.
The knight is a piece in the game of chess, represented by a horse's head and neck. It moves two squares vertically and one square horizontally, or two squares horizontally and one square vertically, jumping over other pieces. Each player starts the game with two knights on the b- and g-files, each located between a rook and a bishop.
A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by the composer using chess pieces on a chess board, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is to move first, and checkmate Black in two moves against any possible defence. A chess problem fundamentally differs from over-the-board play in that the latter involves a struggle between Black and White, whereas the former involves a competition between the composer and the solver. Most positions which occur in a chess problem are 'unrealistic' in the sense that they are very unlikely to occur in over-the-board play. There is a good deal of specialized jargon used in connection with chess problems.
A Babson task is a directmate chess problem with the following properties:
Zugzwang is a situation found in chess and other turn-based games wherein one player is put at a disadvantage because of their obligation to make a move; a player is said to be "in zugzwang" when any legal move will worsen their position.
This glossary of chess problems explains commonly used terms in chess problems, in alphabetical order. For a list of unorthodox pieces used in chess problems, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms used in chess is general, see Glossary of chess; for a list of chess-related games, see List of chess variants.
A Grimshaw is a device found in chess problems in which two pieces arriving on a particular square mutually interfere with each other. It is named after the 19th-century problem composer Walter Grimshaw. The Grimshaw is one of the most common devices found in directmates.
Grid chess is a chess variant invented by Walter Stead in 1953. It is played on a grid board. This is a normal 64-square chessboard with a grid of lines further dividing it into larger squares. A single additional rule governs Grid chess: for a move to be legal, the piece moved must cross at least one grid line.
An Albino is a type of chess problem, "in which, at some point in the solution, a white Pawn on its starting square makes each of its four possible moves ." When a Black pawn exhibits similar activity or a quadruple defense instead of "Albino" it is termed a "Pickaninny". The Albino is, "the four possible moves of a WP [white pawn] on its initial square ," and, the Pickaninny, "the four possible moves of a BP [black pawn] on its initial square ". The latter term was coined by Frank Janet by 1916.
The Opera Game was an 1858 chess game, played at an opera house in Paris. The American master Paul Morphy played against two strong amateurs: the German noble Karl II, Duke of Brunswick, and the French aristocrat Comte Isouard de Vauvenargues. It was played as a consultation game, with Duke Karl and Count Isouard jointly deciding each move for the black pieces, while Morphy controlled the white pieces by himself. The game was played in a box while an opera was performed on stage. Morphy quickly checkmated his opponents following rapid development of material, involving a queen sacrifice.
Checkmate is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game.
A selfmate is a chess problem in which White, moving first, must force Black to deliver checkmate within a specified number of moves against their will. Selfmates were once known as sui-mates.
The Saavedra position is one of the best-known chess endgame studies. It is named after the Spanish priest Fernando Saavedra (1849–1922), who lived in Glasgow during the late 19th century. Though not a strong player, he spotted a win involving a dramatic underpromotion in a position previously thought to have been a draw.
A model mate is a type of pure mate checkmating position in chess in which not only is the checkmated king and all vacant squares in its field attacked only once, and squares in the king's field occupied by friendly units are not also attacked by the mating side, but all units of the mating side participate actively in forming the mating net.
In chess, a grotesque is a problem or endgame study which features a particularly unlikely or impossible initial position, especially one in which White fights with a very small force against a much larger black army. Grotesques are generally intended to be humorous.
The bishop and knight checkmate in chess is the checkmate of a lone king which can be forced by a king, a bishop, and a knight. With the stronger side to move and with perfect play, checkmate can be forced in at most thirty-three moves from any starting position where the defender cannot quickly win one of the pieces. The exception is the "stalemate trap". These exceptions constitute about 0.5% of the positions. Checkmates are possible with the defending king on any square at the edge of the board but can be forced only from positions with different material or if the defending king is in a corner controlled by the bishop or on a square on the edge next to a corner; however, mate adjacent to the corners not controlled by the bishop is only two moves deep, so it is not generally encountered unless the defending side plays inaccurately. Although this is classified as one of the four basic or elementary checkmates, it occurs in practice only approximately once in every 6,000 games.
The rook and pawn versus rook endgame is a fundamentally important, widely studied chess endgame. Precise play is usually required in these positions. With optimal play, some complicated wins require sixty moves to either checkmate, capture the defending rook, or successfully promote the pawn. In some cases, thirty-five moves are required to advance the pawn once.
In chess, a blunder is a critically bad move or other poor decision. It is usually caused by some tactical oversight, whether it be from time trouble, overconfidence or carelessness. Although blunders are most common in amateur games, all human players make them, even at the world championship level. Creating opportunities for the opponent to blunder is an important skill in over-the-board chess.
Joke chess problems are puzzles in chess that use humor as a primary or secondary element. Although most chess problems, like other creative forms, are appreciated for serious artistic themes, joke chess problems are enjoyed for some twist. In some cases the composer plays a trick to prevent a solver from succeeding with typical analysis. In other cases, the humor derives from an unusual final position. Unlike in ordinary chess puzzles, joke problems can involve a solution which violates the inner logic or rules of the game.
A seriesmover is a chess problem in which one side makes a series of legal moves without reply at the end of which the other side makes a single move, giving checkmate or yielding stalemate, depending on the precise stipulation. Checks cannot be given except on the last move of the series. There are various types of seriesmover:
Chess on a really big board is a large chess variant invented by Ralph Betza around 1996. It is played on a 16×16 chessboard with 16 pieces and 16 pawns per player. Since such a board can be constructed by pushing together four standard 8×8 boards, Betza also gave this variant the alternative names of four-board chess or chess on four boards.