The task’s namesake, Joseph Ney Babson, originated the concept in 1884. Crafting a fulfilling Babson task is widely considered as one of the most formidable endeavors in chess composition. For nearly a century, there was uncertainty surrounding the possibility of such a task.
Category: Curiosities
What is Allumwandlung in chess?
Allumwandlung, also known as complete promotion or AUW in German, is a chess problem motif that involves the transformation of a pawn, or multiple pawns, into different pieces such as a queen, rook, bishop, or knight during the course of the solution.
Plachutta Device, as seen in famous Tarrasch combinations
The pattern was named after Joseph Plachutta, a chess player and problem composer, who lived in the 19th century in Croatia. Let’s see his famous study that introduced the mentioned tactic.
What is the Novotny device and why does it sound Czech?
The Novotny is a chess problem device that honors Antonín Novotný’s 1854 problem, although Henry Turton created the first instance in 1851. In this technique, a piece is intentionally sacrificed on a square where two opposing pieces could capture it, but whichever piece captures it, it will obstruct the other piece’s path.
What is the Grimshaw Device?
The Grimshaw, named after the chess problem composer Walter Grimshaw, is a popular technique used in directmates, especially in “checkmate in two or three moves” kind of problems. It involves two pieces interfering with each other upon reaching a specific square, and can be found frequently in chess problems.
Is this the most complex zugzwang problem ever created?
Zugzwang has been a frequent topic of discussion on this blog. When I searched for this term in the search box while writing this article, seven previous articles appeared in the results, and I anticipate that more will be added in the future.
Economical mate: No piece left behind
An economical mate is when a checkmate is achieved using all the remaining knights, bishops, rooks, and queens of the attacker in the attack. The attacker’s pawns and king may also participate in the mate, but their contribution is optional and doesn’t affect whether the position is considered an economical mate or not.
Pure mate: Do not overkill the king
A pure mate is a special type of checkmate, mostly used in chess compositions for its aesthetic value. A mate is called “pure” when the opponent’s king is being checked by only one piece, and each square around the king is being attacked by only one piece, or if the square is occupied by a friendly piece.
Famous chess study: Win against an unstoppable pawn?
The following study is a very interesting example of a position where a rook is actually stronger than a queen, and White can win the endgame that would be otherwise a draw in most configurations. It was composed by the Czech composer and international master Josef Moravec (20. 3. 1882-29. 8. 1969).
The shortest games of masters: Nobody’s perfect
What is the minimum duration of a chess game between grandmasters? Assuming pre-arranged draws and timeouts are excluded, it is unlikely for a game to end quickly, as top players are typically well-versed in opening theory. Nevertheless, there are exceptions to this rule. Here are three historical examples to illustrate.