CHESS
• Twelfth Knight
Raymond Keene
This year, for our annual competition, I have set twelve positions to be solved over Christmas and the New Year. Each one is desiged to exercise readers' mental capacities to the full, and there is one puzzle for each day of the holidayfrom 25 December until 5 January. The positions are all checkmates, starting with a mate in one for Christmas Day and culminating, appropriately, with a mate in twelve moves. The positions vary, from actual game situations to composed mates and endgame studies. They test powers of logic as well as chess ability. A prize of two magnums of Bollinger Special Cuvee Champagne, generously donated by Mentzendorff & Co, will be awarded for the best effort at solving these twelve positions, to reach me at The Spectator by 16 January. Mark your envelope 'Twelfth Knight'.
Day 1 Black to play and mate in one move. However, there is no Black King on the board and part of the puzzle is to decide where the King should go for mate to be possible.
Day 2 White to p ay and mate in two moves.
Day 3 Black to play and mate in three moves.
Day 4 White to play and mate in four moves. Day 5 White to p ay and mate in five moves.
Day 6 White to p ay and mate in six moves.
Day 7 White to play and mate in seven moves.
Day 8
White to play and madt in eight moves, but there is a catch. The White Rook in this puzzle is only allowed to move if it delivers checkmate. Day 9 White to play and mate in nine moves.
Day 10
White to p ay and mate in ten moves The key to this problem is to mate in exactly ten moves, ignoring faster wins. The Black King ends up trapped- in the middle of the board, and the problem is affectionately known as 'Tamber- lane's Cage'.
Day 11 White to play and mate in eleven moves. Some modest retro-analysis is required here to rule out a possible Black defence.
Day 12 A real Knightmare of a position. In spite of huge material inferiority, White plays and mates in twelve moves.
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