Twist and Shout

"Chess Braintwisters" by Burt Hochberg, 1999 Sterling Publishing
Co., English Algebraic Notation, Softcover, 128pp., $5.95

Burt Hochberg is a name that should be familiar to most
chessplayers. Under his guidance, "Chess Life" went from a minor
chess magazine published erratically to one of the most influential
and best read magazines in the world. His book on the 1972 U.S.
Championship ("Title Chess") may be the best account of any U.S.
championship tournament and his collection of short stories and
poems about chess, "The 64-Square Looking Glass" should be read
and enjoyed by anyone having even a passing interest in the royal
game - if you can get a copy. It is currently out-of-print.

We were lucky to have Burt as columnist at The Chess Caf‚ for
twelve months, from November 1997 through October 1998. His
column was very popular and we would welcome him back in an
instant (are you listening, Burt?). He is currently a Senior Editor at
"Games" magazine where he edits a regular feature on board and
computer games.

His latest effort is an off-the-wall collection of 111 whimsical,
wacky and witty chess puzzles and problems that have ever been
pulled together in one volume. This is not necessarily traditional
chess as you and I know it. You can take your pick of chess
puzzles and challenges from games like Billiards Chess (pieces
carom off the board edges like pool balls - this variant was the
subject of Hans Ree's first column at The Chess Caf‚; you can find
it in the Archives); Checkless Chess (you may not give check -
unless it is mate!); Circe Chess (captured pieces come back to life
to fight again); Cylinder Chess (pieces move off one side of the
board and re-enter on the other); Double-move Chess (each side
makes two moves in a row); and Refusal Chess (you may veto an
opponent's move and demand another).

Here are two selections from the book. The solutions are at the end
of the column...

It may not be true that inventors of chess variants and composers or
unorthodox chess problems have warped minds, thought it's an
understandable assumption. What they certainly do have is a sense
of humor.

Fuddled men, a droll conception by John Beasley, the long-time
problem editor for the British Chess Magazine and an eminent
constructor, have had too much to drink and must stop and think
after each move. This means that a fuddled man can't make two
moves in succession. An immobilized piece makes no threat, of
course. You can take it from there. (See Diagram: John Beasley,
British Chess Magazine, 1987; Fuddled men; White mates in 2).

Retrograde analysis is a method of logically determining a
position's history to prove or disprove its legality or to establish
whether or not castling or en passant is available. The logic must
be rigorous; no guesswork is allowed. Composers usually set
various traps and red herrings to catch the lazy solver! (See
Diagram: Dr. Niels Hoeg, Skakbladeet, 1916; What was the last
move?)

First, Black is in check, so the last move could not have been by
Black. Second, the checking piece, the bishop on a1, could not
have made the last move. It could have arrived at a1 only from
elsewhere on the same diagonal, which means that Black would
have been already in check with White to move. White's king
could not have made the last move either.

That leaves the White pawn on e6. Using the same reasoning as
before, we know it didn't get there from e5 because Black would
have been in check. So how did it get there? Careful now.

The book is an entertaining mixture of logic puzzles, chess
problems and brain teasers, with a dash of Hochberg's wit and
humor added, resulting in a thoroughly enjoyable read. Regardless
of how serious or dedicated a chessplayer you might be, there
comes a time when you may just want to kick back and relax a
little bit, without the pressure of untangling that latest line of the
Najdorf or figuring out how to play the K+N+B vs. K ending.
Sometimes chessplayers just want to have fun. You'll have lots of
fun with "Chess Braintwisters" .

Solutions:

First Diagram: 1 Qb6. Since this temporarily immobilizes the
queen, there is no stalemate. 1...K-any 2 Kg1, which frees the
queen to move again. Now the Black king is in check, and since it
can't move (because it moved the last time) it is checkmated.

Second Diagram: The last move was dxe6 e.p.+ after Black's e7-
e5. It could not have been fxe6 e.p.+ because in the position with
White's pawn on f5 and Black's on e7, Black is in check and
White has no previous move. With the White pawn on d5,
however, White's last move could have been (in fact it must have
been) d4-d5+,which was followed by Black's e7-e5 and then
White's dxe6 e.p.+.