Chessville - Promotion Play – Part 1 - Chess Problems and Compositions in Peter's Problem World with FIDE Master of Chess Composition Peter Wong - chess problems, chess compositions, chess puzzles, chess tactics, chess studies, chess endings, endgames

Chessville
...by Chessplayers, for Chessplayers!

Today is

Site Map

If you have disabled Java for your browser, use the Site Map (linked in the header and footer).

Chessville
logo by
ChessPrints

Advertise
with
Chessville!!

Advertise to
thousands
of chess
fans for
as little
as $25.

Single insert:
$35
x4 insert:
@ $25 each.

From the
Chessville
Chess Store

Promotion Play – Part 1
Peter's Problem World with FIDE Master of Chess Composition Peter Wong

New terms introduced here are also added to Peter's Glossary of Chess Problem Terms.

As one of the special moves in chess, pawn promotion is a popular device among composers who often set it as the focus of a problem.

Rendering promotion as a theme typically entails the recurrence of such a move in a unified way, or the emphasis may lie on selecting the right promoted piece – underpromotions are common.

Sometimes, promotion to a variety of piece types constitutes the main point, as in for instance the Allumwandlung theme, the subject of an earlier Problem World column.

We will here concentrate on directmates featuring this special pawn move, and next month examine its occurrence in helpmates.

90. Allan Werle
Tidskrift för Schack 1945

Mate in 4

When White gives mate in a problem by promoting, we need to distinguish only between the choice of queen and knight as the promoted piece, because the queen encompasses the power of rook and bishop.

85. Henry Bettmann
Good Companions 1923

Mate in 2

Problem 85 illustrates how a single pawn can give the maximum six different mates by promoting in turn to a queen and a knight on three squares.

The key is 1.Rd7!, which threatens 2.cxb8(N), 2.c8(Q), and 2.cxd8(N).

These mates – and three other promotions – are separately forced in the following lines: 1…Kxc6 2.cxb8(N), 1….Nxc6 2.cxb8(Q), 1…Kxa7 2.c8(N), 1…Ne6 2.c8(Q), 1…Rc8 2.cxd8(N), and 1…Kc8 2.cxd8(Q).

In some variations, the queen-promotion mate can be replaced by a rook- or bishop-promotion, but such dual mates are not regarded as a flaw, unlike other cases of non-unique White play.

In Problem 86, Black initially has only two legal moves, and set mates are prepared for them: 1…Kg7 2.f8(Q), and 1…Rxg8 2.fxg8(Q). The diagram is hence a block position, but White lacks a simple waiting move that will maintain the set play.

Instead, the key 1.Rxe7! (waiting) changes the white play to a pair of knight promotions: 1…Kg7 2.f8(N), and 1…Rxg8 2.fxg8(N). An added variation is 1…Kxe7 f8(Q).

This problem exemplifies a class of directmate problems called mutates. In this type, White has set responses provided for all of Black’s moves in the diagram, but after a waiting key, White changes the reply to at least one of these black defences.

86. Raschid Ponomarev
Shakhmaty v. SSSR 1939
2nd Hon. Mention

Mate in 2

If Black promotes in a two-mover, again only the choice of queen or knight is relevant (though in some longer directmates, Black may pick a rook or a bishop to attempt stalemate).

Problem 87 uses two black promotions as the thematic defences to generate the Zagoruiko scheme. In the set play, White exploits the self-blocks of the promotion moves by 1…e1(Q) 2.Rd4, and 1…e1(N) 2.Be3.

Virtual play arises after the try 1.Ne3? (waiting), giving 1…e1(Q) 2.Qc2, and 1…e1(N) 2.Nf1, but 1…Bb2! refutes the try by pinning the knight (1…Ba3 2.Ne4).

The actual play incorporates a third pair of mates in answer to the promotions: 1.Nf2! (waiting), 1…e1(Q) 2.Qd3, and 1…e1(N) 2.Nfe4.

The key grants a flight on e3, and leads to good by-play, 1…Ke3 2.Qd3, 1…Ke1 2.Qxc1, and 1…B-any 2.Nfe4.

87. Ottavio Stocchi
L’Italia Scacchistica 1958

Mate in 2

In Problem 88, the white rook can threaten mate on the third rank by moving east, but the two black pawns seem capable of defending any of the third-rank squares by promoting to a queen or a knight.

To deliver mate in four, White takes advantage of the fact that once a black pawn has promoted to one type of piece, it loses the option to become another one. If White plays 1.Rc8? immediately, it is defeated by 1…e1(Q)!

To preclude this defence, White can induce the pawn to promote to a knight instead, with 1.Rd8? e1(N) 2.Rc8, but unfortunately 2…f1(Q)+! now refutes.

Therefore White must take another step to force the f-pawn to promote to the wrong piece as well: 1.Rg8! f1(N) 2.Rd8 e1(N) 3.Rc8, and now 4.Rc3 is unstoppable.

88. Erwin Guttmann
Miniatures Stratégiques 1935

Mate in 4

White’s strategy, to counter an adequate promotion defence by provoking Black to promote to a different type of piece, i.e. commit to the wrong one, is called the Holst theme and it is shown twice here.

Problem 89 is a marvellous demonstration of a triple-underpromotion by White.

The black king is in a fortress-like position, which cannot be breached even if White gains a queen by promoting to one on f8. A potential stalemate also looms, when the three mobile black pawns have exhausted their moves.

However, White is able to exploit this impending immobilisation of Black’s force by setting up a zugzwang position. This involves under-promoting on f8 and using the new piece to create a battery on the long diagonal or the first rank.
The key 1.Bh8! contains no threat but waits for Black to move the three pawns, each of which causes a different weakness:
1…d6 un-guards e6 and allows 2.f8(N) h5 3.Ne6 g3 4.Nd4, relieving stalemate and forcing 4…Rxb3 5.Nxb3 or 4…Rxc2 5.Nxc2.
1…g3 un-guards f3, permitting 2.f8(R) d6 3.Rf3 h5 4.Rc3, then 4…Rxb3 5.Rxb3 or 4…Rxc2 5.Rxc2.
Lastly, 1…h5 vacates the h6-square and enables 2.f8(B) g3 3.Bh6 d6 4.Bc1 Bxc2 5.Bcxb2.

89. I. Rosenfeld
USSR Tourney 1955
4th Prize

Mate in 5

This bishop promotion would not have worked against the other initial pawn moves, e.g. 1…d6 2.f8(B)? g3! 3.Bxh6 stalemates. Also, the key-bishop must pick the corner square; otherwise it would have interfered with a promoted piece in one of the ensuing variations.

Problem 90 is for you to solve. The best play requires both sides to choose the right promoted piece with care.

The solution will appear next month.

90. Allan Werle
Tidskrift för Schack 1945

Mate in 4

84. Gerhard Latzel
Die Schwalbe 1956
5th Hon. Mention

Mate in 2

Solution to Problem 84 in the previous column.

The white knight makes the key and seven tries; the latter are refuted by Black in seven different ways, in spite of Black’s small force. 1.Nf6? d5!, 1.Nxd6? g2!, 1.Nc5? dxc5!, 1.Nc3? Kd4!, 1.Nd2? Ke6!, 1.Nf2? gxf2!, 1.Nxg3? Kf4!. The key 1.Ng5! has a threat, 2.Qe4, that is still playable after 1…Kd4 or 1…Kf4. 1…d5 is answered by 2.Qf6.

Return to Peter's Problem World

Tactics, Tactics, Tactics...