The venue for Society meetings has changed and the directions to it given on p. 126 of the July 2017 issue are incorrect. Meetings are held at the Hall of St. Botolph’s Church, Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3TL. The Hall is set in a small garden behind the church, less than 2 minutes’ walk from Liverpool St. mainline and underground stations.
This week’s problem is an orthodox threemover. The presence on the board of two
black R+B pairs will serve as a valuable clue to the experienced solver!
This problem neatly demonstrates the two famous R+B mutual interferences, Nowotny and
Grimshaw. The key is 1.Rd1 which threatens the Nowotny 2.Qg6+, with the pair of
mates 2...Bxg6 3.Nxg5# and 2...Rxg6 3.Bf5#.
Black's main defences involve cutting the white Rd1's guard of the d-file, so as to
create a king flight after 2.Qg6. However, the two black piece moves to d2 constitute a
Grimshaw: 1...Bd2 blocks the Rb2's guard of the second rank, allowing 2.f3+ gxf3 3.Nf2#,
whilst 1...Rd2 blocks the Bc3's guard of e1, and thus permits 2.Re1+ Re2 3.Rxe2#.
There is one by-play variation, 1...Bd4 2.Rxd4+ exd4 3.Qxd4#.
Any comments or questions on this problem should be addressed to
Steve Giddins (our Libarian and Archivist) using the 'Contact'
item in the menu on the left.
2013 