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The Problemist, 2014

R#2

1.Rf5?  (2.b7   Qd8#) 1...Rg7! 2.Qh5#
1.Rf4?  (2.b7   Qd8#) 1...Qd8!
1.Rf3?  (2.b7   Qd8#) 1...Qd8!
1.Rf2?  (2.b7   Qd8#) 1...Qd8!

1.Rf1!  (2.b7   Qd8#)

1...Bb7  2.Sb5  Sc6#
1...Bxa4 2.Sc4  Qb5#
1...Sd7  2.Kxa6 Qa8#
1...Qd8  2.Qxa6 Qxd2#

The key rook has to get right out of the way and plays no further part in the action. At least, though, it provides five tries. No attempt at a theme here, just four variations with mixed strategy. For me, this will always by my Bob Craig problem. One night in early 2014, I turned up late for a non-match night at my chess club. There were just two people there — my friends Bob and Craig — and they were playing each other. I waited for about a quarter of an hour but nobody else turned up, so I sat down at a board and decided to compose a chess problem. As I only had a normal chess set available, it had to be an orthodox problem. Wanting to be original I thus decided on a reflexmate. But I still had no inspiration. In desperation I asked my friends to give me two specific moves, one for Black and one for White. The black move suggested was 1...BN2, while the offered white move was 2.N-N5. The work started and by the time I had to return home, the position above had been reached. If the problem has a theme, it is in the first variation, in which the suggested moves appear.