Barry Barnes writes: “Years ago, the problem editor of Chess wrote that he had received despairing letters from players begging him for the solutions to two problems by the famous composing brothers, Tom and Joe Warton.” Can you solve the following pair of problems? They first appeared in the Observer newspaper.
White would like to mate by getting his queen to b1, but Black has a strong defence in 1…Rb7 followed by 2…
White can use the move 1...Rb7 to his own advantage by playing 1.Bb7!, threatening 2.Qh1. 1…Rxb7 conveniently removes the bishop from the long diagonal, so that after 2.Qh1 Rxb2 3.Qa8 mates.
T. & J. Warton
The Observer, 1939
Mate in 3
White can try to mate by 1.Re2, aiming to double rooks on the first rank and mate at a1, or to head north and mate down the a-file. This works after 1...Sg3, but 1...Sf2, attacking the rook at d1, is an adequate defence.
White has a better plan, 1.Rh2! After 1...Sf2 2.Bxf2 allows the king to capture at b2, after which 3.Bc5 mates. After 1...Sg3 2.Rh8 mates as before.
Challenge Problems 