Joke chess problem
Encyclopedia
Joke chess problem are puzzles in chess
which use humor as a primary or secondary element. Though most chess problems, like other creative forms, are appreciated for serious artistic themes (Grimshaw
, Novotny, and Lacny
), joke chess problems are enjoyed for some twist. In some cases the composer plays a trick to prevent a solver from succeeding with typical analysis. In other cases the humor derives from an unusual final position. Unlike in ordinary chess puzzle
s, joke problems can involve a solution which violates the inner logic or rules of the game.
Black in six moves. The joke in this case is that, by the rules of chess, White has no choice but to checkmate Black in six moves: the only legal moves available lead directly to the "solution". The solution is 1. d4 b5 2. d5 b4 3. axb4 a3 4. b5 a2 5. b6 a1=any 6. b7 mate. Tim Krabbé
provides other examples on his chess website.
are fairly simple and clearly defined. Nevertheless, some composers have relied on ambiguities in the rules to create humorous puzzles. A typical example would be the position shown in the diagram on the left. According to chess legend, a composer stipulated "White mates in one move." It appears to be impossible, but the solution is for White to promote to a black knight on b8, thus depriving the black king
of his only escape square. The current FIDE rules require that a pawn
on the eighth rank must promote
to a piece
of the same color.
A more sophisticated example was composed by Krabbé and relies on a loophole that existed in the definition of castling
. In the diagram on the right, White must mate in three moves. The main variation is 1. e7 Kxf3 2. e8=R! (an underpromotion) Kg2 3. 0-0-0-0-0-0! mate. White castles with his newly promoted rook
, moving his king to e3 and the rook to e2. Under the rules of chess at the time, this move was legal because the rook had not moved yet. Afterward, FIDE amended the rules to require that the castling rook must occupy the same rank as the king.
s have been composed with the pieces in the shape of an O, L, 2, or even a tree.
in eight moves; i.e., he must force Black to checkmate White against Black's will. The solution is 1.Nb1+ Kb3 2.Qd1+ Rc2 3.Bc1 axb6 4.Ra1 b5 5.Rh1 bxc4 6.Ke1 c3 7.Ng1 f3 8.Bf1 f2 mate.
The American composer William A. Shinkman (1847–1933) is famous for composing the problem in the diagram at the right, with sextupled pawns on the a-file. As Krabbé writes on his website, "The solution, as it should be in a joke, is not difficult: 1.0-0-0 Kxa7 2.Rd8 Kxa6 3.Rd7 Kxa5 4.Rd6 Kxa4 5.Rd5 Kxa3 6.Rd4 Kxa2 7.Rd3 Ka1 8.Ra3 mate." However, the problem is "cooked" (ruined, in the lingo of chess composition) because 1.Kd2 also forces mate in eight moves. But Shinkman had not intended it to be a sound eight-mover; he intended it to be a retro-analytical exercise including seven consecutive Black captures.
and Excelsior
.
In 2004, Hans Böhm sponsored a chess composing tournament for humorous endgame studies
. The top two entries appear with solutions on Krabbe's website.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
which use humor as a primary or secondary element. Though most chess problems, like other creative forms, are appreciated for serious artistic themes (Grimshaw
Grimshaw (chess)
A Grimshaw is a device found in chess problems in which two black pieces arriving on a particular square mutually interfere with each other. It is named after the 19th century problem composer Walter Grimshaw....
, Novotny, and Lacny
Lacny
The Lacny or Lacny cycle is a chess problem theme named after Ľudovít Lačný, the first person to demonstrate the idea in 1949.It is an example of lines of play being cyclically related: in one phase of play, the Black defences a, b and c are answered by the White mates A, B and C respectively; in...
), joke chess problems are enjoyed for some twist. In some cases the composer plays a trick to prevent a solver from succeeding with typical analysis. In other cases the humor derives from an unusual final position. Unlike in ordinary chess puzzle
Chess puzzle
A chess puzzle is a puzzle in which knowledge of the pieces and rules of chess is used to solve logically a chess-related problem. The longstanding popularity of chess has paved the way for a rich tradition of such chess-related puzzles and composed problems, which assume a familiarity with the...
s, joke problems can involve a solution which violates the inner logic or rules of the game.
Self-solving problems
Some chess puzzles are not really puzzles at all. In the diagram at right, White is asked to checkmateCheckmate
Checkmate is a situation in chess in which one player's king is threatened with capture and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured...
Black in six moves. The joke in this case is that, by the rules of chess, White has no choice but to checkmate Black in six moves: the only legal moves available lead directly to the "solution". The solution is 1. d4 b5 2. d5 b4 3. axb4 a3 4. b5 a2 5. b6 a1=any 6. b7 mate. Tim Krabbé
Tim Krabbé
Tim Krabbé is a Dutch journalist and novelist.Krabbé was born in Amsterdam. His writing has appeared in most major periodicals in the Netherlands. He is known to Dutch readers for his novel De Renner , first published in 1978...
provides other examples on his chess website.
Offbeat interpretations of the rules of chess
The rules of chessRules of chess
The rules of chess are rules governing the play of the game of chess. While the exact origins of chess are unclear, modern rules first took form during the Middle Ages. The rules continued to be slightly modified until the early 19th century, when they reached essentially their current form. The...
are fairly simple and clearly defined. Nevertheless, some composers have relied on ambiguities in the rules to create humorous puzzles. A typical example would be the position shown in the diagram on the left. According to chess legend, a composer stipulated "White mates in one move." It appears to be impossible, but the solution is for White to promote to a black knight on b8, thus depriving the black king
King (chess)
In chess, the king is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its escape is not possible . If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be...
of his only escape square. The current FIDE rules require that a pawn
Pawn (chess)
The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...
on the eighth rank must promote
Promotion (chess)
Promotion is a chess rule describing the transformation of a pawn that reaches its eighth rank into the player's choice of a queen, knight, rook, or bishop of the same color . The new piece replaces the pawn on the same square and is part of the move. Promotion is not limited to pieces that have...
to a piece
Chess piece
Chess pieces or chessmen are the pieces deployed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. The pieces vary in abilities, giving them different values in the game...
of the same color.
A more sophisticated example was composed by Krabbé and relies on a loophole that existed in the definition of castling
Castling
Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. It is the only move in chess in which a player moves two pieces at the same time. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook on the player's first rank, then...
. In the diagram on the right, White must mate in three moves. The main variation is 1. e7 Kxf3 2. e8=R! (an underpromotion) Kg2 3. 0-0-0-0-0-0! mate. White castles with his newly promoted rook
Rook (chess)
A rook is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes...
, moving his king to e3 and the rook to e2. Under the rules of chess at the time, this move was legal because the rook had not moved yet. Afterward, FIDE amended the rules to require that the castling rook must occupy the same rank as the king.
Unusual piece placement or movement
Some problems are notable for extremely unusual patterns of piece placement. For example, direct mates and especially helpmateHelpmate
A helpmate is a type of chess problem in which both sides cooperate in order to achieve the goal of checkmating Black. In a helpmate in n moves, Black moves first, then White, each side moving n times, to culminate in White's nth move checkmating Black...
s have been composed with the pieces in the shape of an O, L, 2, or even a tree.
The "back home task"
A more interesting example occurs in the problem at the right, where the final position echoes a familiar pattern. Krabbé calls this problem the "back home task." He writes that "Strategy and deep themes are absent, Black only has forced moves, but it's one of the funniest chess problems I ever saw." White must selfmateSelfmate
A selfmate is a chess problem in which white, moving first, must force black to deliver checkmate within a specified number of moves against his will. Selfmates were once known as sui-mates.The problem to the right is a relatively simple example...
in eight moves; i.e., he must force Black to checkmate White against Black's will. The solution is 1.Nb1+ Kb3 2.Qd1+ Rc2 3.Bc1 axb6 4.Ra1 b5 5.Rh1 bxc4 6.Ke1 c3 7.Ng1 f3 8.Bf1 f2 mate.
The "caterpillar theme"
Krabbé named the "caterpillar theme" for problems and studies where doubled or tripled pawns move one after the other. The diagram at the left shows a particularly silly example, with White forcing mate in six moves. The solution is 1.Bb1 b2 2.Ra2 b3 3.Ra3 b4 4.Ra4 b5 5.Ra5 b6 6.Be4 mate. Krabbé wrote a whole article on the caterpillar theme, citing about ten examples.The American composer William A. Shinkman (1847–1933) is famous for composing the problem in the diagram at the right, with sextupled pawns on the a-file. As Krabbé writes on his website, "The solution, as it should be in a joke, is not difficult: 1.0-0-0 Kxa7 2.Rd8 Kxa6 3.Rd7 Kxa5 4.Rd6 Kxa4 5.Rd5 Kxa3 6.Rd4 Kxa2 7.Rd3 Ka1 8.Ra3 mate." However, the problem is "cooked" (ruined, in the lingo of chess composition) because 1.Kd2 also forces mate in eight moves. But Shinkman had not intended it to be a sound eight-mover; he intended it to be a retro-analytical exercise including seven consecutive Black captures.
Humor in more traditional chess problems
Humor is a component of some traditional themes, such as grotesqueGrotesque (chess)
In chess, a grotesque is a problem or endgame study which features a particularly unlikely initial position, especially one in which White fights with a very small force against a much larger black army. Grotesques are generally intended to be humorous....
and Excelsior
Excelsior (chess problem)
"Excelsior" is one of Sam Loyd's most famous chess problems, originally published in London Era in 1861, named after the poem "Excelsior" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Loyd had a friend who was willing to wager that he could always find the piece which delivered the principal mate of a chess problem...
.
In 2004, Hans Böhm sponsored a chess composing tournament for humorous endgame studies
Endgame study
An endgame study, or just study, is a composed chess position—that is, one that has been made up rather than one from an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find a way for one side to win or draw, as stipulated, against any moves the other side...
. The top two entries appear with solutions on Krabbe's website.