King
Tut in Chess Puzzles
By GM Lubomir Kavalek
Last week we invoked memories of King Tut, presenting two chess compositions
in which the black king is mated, surrounded by eight black pawns. You can find
the solutions at the end of this column. This week we present a slightly different
"King Tut motif. " Entombing the king in chess studies is usually
done at the edge of the chessboard and often leads to spectacular stalemates.
It can save draws in tournament games.
Puzzle #1
A simple king tomb was created by the Austrian chess master, theoretician and
writer Johann Berger in his important work on endgames, Theorie un Praxis der
Endspiele, published in 1890.
Johann Berger
White draws
Puzzle #2
The German composer Hans Geiger also used the King Tut motif. Can the black
king find a safe retreat? What can white do about it? The hint? Troika! Published
in the Deutsche Schachzeitung in 1920, the idea was later tackled by other composers,
including Richard Reti.
Hans Geiger
White wins
Puzzle #3
The dazzling study by the French chess master, composer and journalist, Frederic
Lazard, could be called "double-entombing" since both kings get buried
during the solution. Created 65 years ago, this work leaves even today's computers
wondering what is going on. It is a victory of human spirit. Bravo, Monsieur
Lazard!
Frederic Lazard, L'Italia Scacchistica, 1946
White draws
Solutions will appear next week.
Original
column here – Copyright
Huffington Post
Solutions from the last column King Tut in Chess Puzzles
King Tutankhamun, or simply King Tut, is the most famous Egyptian pharaoh [photo
by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen in Wikipedia].
He was called the boy-king since he was only nine-years-old when his ten-year
reign began in 1,333 B.C. He died at the age of 19 and his tomb, undisturbed
for 3,245 years, was well-preserved when it was discovered in 1922 by Howard
Carter. King Tut's golden burial mask became the symbol of ancient Egypt. But
how did he make it into chess?
Protecting a king is vital in every chess game and pawns are best suited to
do the job. When the pawns surround the king in chess problems and studies,
we see some beautiful and astonishing creations. Entombing the king became a
popular theme among chess composers, until things got out of hand after some
of them insisted on burying the king inside a sarcophagus of eight pawns. It
invoked memories of King Tut and his tomb.
We present two puzzles on this theme with the following conditions:
- White mates in specified number of moves.
- All eight black pawns should surround the black king. Not a single black
pawn can be taken.
- Only the white king and knight should remain on the board at the end. White
has to get rid of all his other pieces.
Note that in the replay windows below you can click on the notation to
follow the game.
The next puzzle is more elaborate and the solution is much longer.
Original
column here – Copyright
Huffington Post
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