Pandolfini's Puzzler #2 - Ten is Fun
Here we go again ChessKids! You've already solved a position from ProfessorPando where you had to find the worst move, now see if you can checkmate a whole army of Black kings in this zany puzzle!
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Professor Pandolfini gave Lucian an unusual puzzle. “Suppose that you are on the planet Zugzwang, where chess is played with 10 Black kings, and you arrive at the following position.”
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“On Earth this position is impossible. But on the planet Zugzwang, it is a legal position.”------
Question: “On that faraway planet, how can you checkmate all 10 Black kings in one move?”
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Answers Below - Try to solve ProfessorPando's Puzzle first!
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Lucian was confused for a moment. But in less than a minute, he had the answer.
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Answer to Puzzler #2
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Lucian figured out that White can checkmate all 10 kings with 1.Nd3-e5#!
Remarkably, each of the 10 kings is in check and Black has no legal reply. Indeed, all 10 kings are mated!
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Take note
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White’s winning move is called a discovery or discovered attack.
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A discovery relies on two friendly units: a moving unit and a stationary unit.
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The best discoveries are those in which both friendly units, moving and stationary, do something good.
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RELATED STUDY MATERIAL
- Read about the definition of discovered attack;
- Watch PinkHamster's video on discoveries;
- Read BoundingOwl's story about her students and their discovered attacks.