Christmas Puzzles 5 – Rotary problems

by Frederic Friedel
12/29/2025 – In rotary problems the board is rotated by 180° for a second position with a different solution. It is usually pawns that make a different when you turn the board around. Or the king/queen positions, or castling is involved. Can one devise problems where these factors do not play a role? Yes one can, as our expert for out-of-the-box problems, Werner Keym, proves.
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2025 Christmas Puzzle 11

Werner Keym, Landeszeitung für die Lüneburger Heide 2011

Add one piece to each diagram to construct a mate

In the first diagram, adding a white queen on f1 produces a clear mate. But the question arises: from which square could the queen have legally moved to f1 to deliver mate? And indeed there is a legal solution to constructing a mate with one additional piece. In the second position as well, but a different one. Can you figure this out? 

2025 Christmas Puzzle 12

Werner Keym, Stuttgarter Zeitung 2020

Mate in two moves.

Looks fairly simple: in the first diagram we can play 1.Rc4 K×d3 2.Rf3#. But that is illegal, and the question is for what reason? So how can a mate be delivered in two legal moves instead? And why does this reasoning not apply to the second diagram?

2025 Christmas Puzzle 13

Here's a little text problem I came up with. Werner Keym called it an 'original':

Place a white pawn anywhere on an empty board. What is the least number of moves you need to pass through (not necessarily land on) all nine squares in the a1-c1-c3-a3 square on the bottom left? From where must the pawn start? There is only one solution.

Please do not post any solutions in our feedback section below. Let other readers enjoy the problems. Please submit your solution feedback here.  We will reveal the solutions to all Christmas Puzzle in the first week of January 2026.

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Editor-in-Chief emeritus of the ChessBase News page. Studied Philosophy and Linguistics at the University of Hamburg and Oxford, graduating with a thesis on speech act theory and moral language. He started a university career but switched to science journalism, producing documentaries for German TV. In 1986 he co-founded ChessBase.
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60m English The Elephant Gambit

The Elephant Gambit (1.e4.e5 2.Nf3 d5!?) has never really been given the attention it deserves. It is a very useful surprise weapon. Let us list the advantages of playing this particular opening: 1) Shock value 2) It is very aggressive. Black can take over the initiative early. 3) Many tricky lines 4) Unorthodox. Black is basically taking the game to the opponent as early as move two. Not many openings do that! It's a perfect opening for young players and club players to adopt. Let Andrew Martin select a repertoire for you on this 60 mins, which, if used with discretion, will rack up the points. I am sure that you will enjoy this unusual tour of the Elephant Gambit.