Author: John Merlino
Date: 23:43:23 12/24/05
Go up one level in this thread
On December 25, 2005 at 02:32:15, Uri Blass wrote: >On December 25, 2005 at 02:24:19, Sune Larsson wrote: > >>On December 24, 2005 at 20:49:48, John Merlino wrote: >> >>>On December 24, 2005 at 20:30:05, Alessandro Scotti wrote: >>> >>>>On December 24, 2005 at 20:14:19, Mark Ryan wrote: >>>> >>>>>http://www2.forthnet.gr/chess/xmasmil.html >>>>> >>>>>I do NOT know the answer. >>>> >>>>[D]8/3p4/3p4/2pPp3/1pPkPp2/1n1p1n2/P2p2P1/3K4 b - - - - >>>> >>>>Kiwi can't see it either... >>>> >>>> 3/ 9 +7.92 00:00 524 Ng5 axb3 Nxe4 >>>> 4/ 4 +7.92 00:00 579 Ng5 axb3 Nxe4 g3 >>>> 5/ 5 +9.44 00:00 3290 Ng5 axb3 Nxe4 g3 fxg3 >>>> 6/ 7 +9.52 00:00 3998 Ng5 a3 Nxe4 >>>> 7/21 M4 00:00 114504 Ng5 g3 Nh3 axb3 Kc3 >>> >>>It's a sort of trick question, but there is still a flaw in it. >>> >>>Unless I'm missing something, for it to be a Mate in 2 for Black White's last >>>move had to have been either c2-c4 or e2-e4. After EITHER of these moves, Black >>>capturing en passant leads to a Mate in 2. >>> >>>However, the designation on the page "there is a single answer" is not correct, >>>because White could have made either of those moves, and therefore there are two >>>possible responses by Black. >>> >>>jm >> >> >> I'm not following you here. How, in the name of all Houdinis, could the >> last white move be e2-e4??? >> >> /S > >I decided to post the solution after the hint that you give and after >understanding that the site is very old site and there is no point in keeping >the solution as a secret. > >Of course it cannot be e2-e4 because it means that the white bishop at f1 was >not captured by a pawn and the position is illegal because black needs too many >captures to get the pawn structure. > > >Uri Indeed, very impressive. I found a complete description of the solution (although the board is flipped such that it is WHITE to Mate in 2) here: www.gtryfon.demon.co.uk/bcc/news/dec98news.htm#Christmas%20tree%20puzzle! Fun problem! jm
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