Merry Christmas everybody! In place of the usual Monday and Thursday puzzles and to keep you amused over the festive break we offer you:
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5 Christmas chess puzzles
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5 Easier Christmas Catchphrases for local players
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5 Christmas Caterpillar puzzles, some easy, some more challenging
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5 Harder Christmas Catchphrases for local players
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5 Unusual Chess puzzles
The answers will be published on Tuesday 28th.
Have fun!
5 Christmas Puzzles
Santa has had a very long day delivering presents and has forgotten which way round the board is in this puzzle.
So White can be playing up or down the board. Either way it is mate in 3! Can you find both solutions?
It wouldn’t be Christmas without an Xmas Tree puzzle. Here is a nice easy one to start with. It is Black to move. How many ways can Black deliver checkmate in one move?
Another Xmas Tree puzzle. White to play and mate in 2.
Again it is White to play and mate in 2. This one is a little more challenging.
And once again it is White to play and mate in 2. This one is perhaps a little harder still.
5 Easier Christmas Catchphrases
Can you name the local chess players, one from each club. We start with an example and 5 easier puzzles.
Example
Answer = Bar Ray Jolly i.e. Barry Jolly
Hint: Ringwood
Hint: Poole
Hint: Southbourne
Hint: New Milton
Hint: Bournemouth
5 Christmas Caterpillars
Each of the puzzles below has a pawn caterpillar in it. In three of the puzzles the caterpillar wriggles around the board, in one it stays still, and in one case it gets eaten!
White to play and mate in 6
White to play and mate in 8
White to play and mate in 11
White to play and draw
White to play and mate in 6
5 Harder Christmas Catchphrases
Name the Local Chess Players. We continue with 5 harder puzzles, including a very tricky one to finish!
Hint: Dorchester
Hint: New to Wimborne
Hint: Highcliffe
Hint: Weymouth
Hint: Purbeck
5 Unusual Christmas Chess Puzzles
While nobody was looking the pieces decided to play a game on their own. However, they have had a little too much Christmas, ahem, spirit and have been staggering drunkenly all over the board. Can you work out on which square the white queen was captured?
Santa, playing White, and his friend, playing Black, have been having a game. Black has been playing like a beginner and Santa is winning easily. Just as Santa was about to deliver mate in 1 his queen got knocked off the board. Can you put it back in the right place and deliver the mate in 1? We didn’t say if Santa was playing up or down the board… can you find the solution for both cases?
Santa was playing White in a friendly game and had just made his move when he realised it was a mistake. His opponent allowed him to take back the move whereupon Santa delivered mate in 1. What move did he take back and how did he deliver mate?
Once again, Santa was playing White in a friendly game and had just made his move when he realised it was a mistake and again his opponent allowed him to take back the move. Again Santa delivered mate in 1. What move did he take back and how did he deliver mate?
For the final time Santa was playing White in a friendly game and had just made his move when he realised it was a mistake and again his opponent allowed him to take back the move. Once more Santa delivered mate in 1. What move did he take back and how did he deliver mate?
