CHESS Magazine Christmas Quiz

by ChessBase
12/25/2024 – Some fun and challenging positions, as well as a brain-teasing dose of trivia from Graham Phythian to help you while away the festive period. We bring you some of his chess problems on our live boards, which will defend against your attempts to defeat them. We wish you A Very Happy Problem-Solving Christmas.

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Puzzle 1 – An Early Gift

A super-subtle opening shot, followed by a couple of cute finesses, to get you in the mood.

[Note that the diagram will defend tenaciously against your attempts to win – unless you find the one surprising and unexpected first move to bring it to its knees.]

Puzzle 2 – Almost a Christmas Tree

A nice decoration anyway, with a couple of “flying horses”. (Or are they angels, to go with the baroque design?) White to move and mate in two.

As this is an older problem, it’s okay to start with a check or a capture (or both!) if you wish. Plenty of near-misses, and the key move isn’t easy to spot.

[Here we have the engine switched on, so you can explore all the lines – as well as the key moves that do not work.]

Puzzle 3 – An Equestrian Ring

And the gifts keep coming! Perhaps not everybody’s idea of a Christmas present, unless the recipient owns a horse or likes the odd flutter on the gee-gees, but anyway here’s a well-crafted Equestrian Ring to brighten up your day.

[Can you find the pretty key move? We have switched off the diagram engine, so you can explore all the black defensive moves yourself. Can you find them all? Click the "notation" button – second from right – for an overview of the lines you input.]

Please do not post any results in our discussion section below – just notes on how hard or easy you think the problems were or how long it took you to solve them.


The above Christmas Puzzle Quiz is reproduced from Chess Magazine January 2025, with kind permission.

About CHESS Magazine

CHESS Magazine was established in 1935 by B.H. Wood who ran it for over fifty years. It is published each month by the London Chess Centre and is edited by IM Richard Palliser and Matt Read.

The Executive Editor is Malcolm Pein, who organises the London Chess Classic.

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trishakan trishakan 3 hours ago
I spent loads of time on the first one, I finally got it!!
Formolino Formolino 3 hours ago
Merry Christmas every one!! I am Alex from USA!!
Frits Fritschy Frits Fritschy 3 hours ago
Frederic,
I mentioned it so (novice) solvers wouldn't think they got the solution with h5/Bd2. By the way, tablebases aren't necessary to win this, as white does not have to give up the h-pawn, as I made clear.
onlye4 onlye4 4 hours ago
hello chessbase and happy holidays to everyone, we look forward to your Christmas gift like every year
Frederic Frederic 4 hours ago
The intended solution produces a clear win after five or six move. The 1.h5 alternative may also produce a win -- certainly if Karsten and Frits say it does. But how many moves does it require? And big tablebases? In any case I will inform Graham.
Karsten Müller Karsten Müller 4 hours ago
Frits Fritschy: OK good. I am already very curious...
Frits Fritschy Frits Fritschy 5 hours ago
Maybe I'll look for a better way after our Xmas dinner... But for the moment, I wish you a merry evening!
Karsten Müller Karsten Müller 8 hours ago
One way to correct it, is to add black pawns on b7, d2, g7 and g6. But maybe there is a better way...
Karsten Müller Karsten Müller 8 hours ago
Frits Fritschy: Yes 1.h5 wins as well and so the study is incorrect.
Frits Fritschy Frits Fritschy 9 hours ago
And of course, another possibility is that the study is incorrect, having more than one solution.
I won't give the nice intended solution, but 1.h5 g1Q 2.Bd2 seems to be winning as well. For instance 2... Qh1 3.h6 Qd5 (threatening a repetition) 4.Kc7! or 2... Qg7 and even 3.Kc5 wins (just as simply 3.h6), as the endgame after 3... Qe5+ 4.Kc4 Qxh5 5.Kxd4 is won for white even without the a2 pawn (check the tablebases).
Frits Fritschy Frits Fritschy 11 hours ago
Well, in the first diagram the engine doesn't defend tenaciously enough to prevent me from winning in a normal way by 1.h5. So, either that was not true, or the position isn't right, or the stipulation isn't.
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