Chess puzzle

[Prime]

This puzzle is from one of Martin Gardner's books:

The position on the diagram occured when the White King was knocked off the board.

1. Restore the White King to the appropriate square.

2. Find the last two moves.

[k-man]

There is a legal solution, although not realistic in my opinion.

The white king should be on c3 and it's black's turn. The white king got there by moving from b3 and taking a black pawn, which in turn got there from b4 by en passant taking a white pawn on c4. So, here are the previous moves:

... Bd5+

c2-c4 b4:c3

Kb3:c3

The reason I think it's unrealistic is if you think about the moves that preceded this, you'll see that somebody must have made some really silly moves.

Good puzzle, Prime!

[TimeSpaceLightForce]

i solved this puzzle from my Chessmaster 9 program..my concern is.. can we make this thread a Chess Puzzle thread where anyone can post new puzzles?

[phil1882]

knowing Martin Gardner, it's something silly like king on b3.

with the last 2 moves being K a3 (or c3) followed by R b3, B b3, draw.

[bonanova]

Chess puzzle thread is a reasonable suggestion.

Solver can be the one to post a new puzzle.

[k-man]

I haven't played chess in a while, so maybe I'm missing something here, but from what I can see, this position is impossible to arrive to by playing chess and there is no possible position for the white king. Here is why:

If it was white's turn, then the only square the white king could occupy is B3. This is because any other position for the white king would put black king in check. White king in B3 is double checked and there is no possible previous move by black that could create this position.

If it was black's turn then the white king can be almost anywhere. "Almost" because it cannot be in checked state, so it cannot be on B3, which means black king is checked. However, there is no possible previous move for white to create this position - white bishop could come to A4 only from B3 or C2, but in both those cases black king would be checked before the previous move too.

[TimeSpaceLightForce]

ep

[Prime]

ep

That is the key to the solution. You mentioned in your previous post that Chessmaster 9 solved it for you. Or did I misunderstand?

This is not a traditional chess puzzle in a sense of finding winning moves. Although, you must know the rules of the game to ensure all moves and positions are legal. In that sense it is a logical puzzle. Similar to the one I posted few years ago on this forum: which came from the same source.

If there was a chess puzzle thread on this forum, I'd follow it.

[Molly Mae]

Chess puzzle thread is a reasonable suggestion.

Solver can be the one to post a new puzzle.

I would certainly be interested in this thread.

There is no solution to the board as it is.

Assume the White King is anywhere but b3 or c2 (even though one is impossible). It must be black to move, as he is in check. White's previous move, must have been Ba4+, but he has no valid squares he could have moved from that wouldn't have already been checking the Black King.

So the White King must be on b3 (c2 is impossible). If the White King were on b3, however, he would be in check. It must be White to move. White, however, is in a double check and--in this particular double check--couldn't have been on a3 the previous turn because Black was already controlling that square.

Edited January 16, 2013 by Molly Mae

[Prime]

There is a legal solution, although not realistic in my opinion.

The white king should be on c3 and it's black's turn. The white king got there by moving from b3 and taking a black pawn, which in turn got there from b4 by en passant taking a white pawn on c4. So, here are the previous moves:

... Bd5+

c2-c4 b4:c3

Kb3:c3

The reason I think it's unrealistic is if you think about the moves that preceded this, you'll see that somebody must have made some really silly moves.

Good puzzle, Prime!

That’s the solution!

From viewpoint of chess game objective, that position may or may not make sense. But all the moves and resulting positions are legal.

As far as making sense of the game...

How about:

.... Bishop takes White Rook on d5+

c2-c4 b4:c3+ (En passant) (discovered check)

Kb3:c3+ (discovered check)

(Thus the White King must be restored to the c3 square and it is Black’s move.)

This way both sides had equal material and the ensuing sequence of moves leads to a draw. If the position with White Rook on d5 still looks unreasonable, consider some more piece captures preceding immediately. Some big exchange of pieces was going on.

Must recognize TSLF, who apparently has solved this puzzle before and therefore abstained from posting the solution. (Posted a good hint though.)

[Prime]

Here is a diagram for K-man's solution

The sequence of moves found by K-man:
......... Bd5+
c2-c4; b4:c3+
K:c3+ ........
Whereupon White King got knocked off its c3 square.

Edited January 16, 2013 by Prime

[witzar]

There is a legal solution, although not realistic in my opinion.

When one has eliminated the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

This is what Sherlock Holmes used to say, who was a great master in retrograde chess.

You can learn more about it from a great book with retrograde puzzles:

The Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Raymond M. Smullyan.

Highly recommended.

PS Well done, k-man

[TimeSpaceLightForce]

Ultimate Mate

Take all the black pieces except for the King and all the white pawns out of the board on initial position.

Now play White on regular moves, ask someone lift up the Black King and place it anywhere safe

(e.i. unoccupied or unattacked squares) including its previous position.

Lets see how long will it take for you to capture the flying King..

This has a 9 moves solution but less than 20 will do..

[Prime]

Ultimate Mate

um.JPG

Take all the black pieces except for the King and all the white pawns out of the board on initial position.

Now play White on regular moves, ask someone lift up the Black King and place it anywhere safe

(e.i. unoccupied or unattacked squares) including its previous position.

Lets see how long will it take for you to capture the flying King..

This has a 9 moves solution but less than 20 will do..

That's a good puzzle. I suggest, start a new topic for it. This topic has been marked as "solved" on the first page. Some people won't even go to this page and will not see your puzzle.

The wording could be: "From this position White makes regular chess moves. Black King can jump to any unattacked square. Check mate the Black King."

Edited January 18, 2013 by Prime

[Prime]

And, if I understood correctly, Black King is not allowed to capture White pieces.