Denis Saunders

Denis Saunders (1930-2009) held a range of teaching and research posts before becoming Lecturer in Geographical Sciences at the University of Queensland in 1968, where he remained until early retirement in 1987. His active pursuits included cricket, golf and pictorial photography, an art form in which he excelled with many published articles and award-winning Exhibition prints.

His introduction to chess problems, in the early 1980s, was purely accidental. On a wet Sunday, when a scheduled golf match was washed out, he turned to the problem column in the Brisbane Sunday Mail and attempted (unsuccessfully) to solve a traditional two-mover. The following week he succeeded, won the $5 prize and developed an interest in problems which continued thereafter.

The set play is 1…Sa6,Sc6 2.Bc6. The key is 1.Sa6!, putting Black in zugzwang. 1…Ke6 2.Qc4; 1…Sb-any 2.Qc6; 1…Bd6 2.exd6; 1…Bxe5+ 2.Rfxe5; 1…Bc-else 2.e6; 1…Be6 2.Qc5; 1…Bg-else 2.Bf7; 1…Sb6 2.Sxc7; 1…a3 2.Qb3. The position is almost a block, but White needs to provide mates for 1…Be6, 1…Sd7 and 1…Sb6. A random try by the knight on c5 gives the black king a flight, changes the reply to the set mate, and provides a mate for the first two of the above defences. However, only the key provides a mate for 1…Sb6. Both black bishops make correction moves, including a fine self-block on the flight square by 1…Be6 2.Qc5.

This unusual problem contains an inset two-mover. The key is 1.Qb8!, threatening 2.Qg3 followed by 3.Qd3. Black seems to have an adequate defence in 1…h4, but this is followed by the startling move 2.Sb5!, placing Black in zugzwang. The variations are then: 2…Kxb5+ 3.Rxc5 (a double pin-mate); 2…Bxb5 3.Qf4; 2…Bb-any 3.Sxa3; 2…Qxc6 3.Rxb4; 2…S-any 3.Sd6. It can be seen that 1.Qb8 ambushes the white queen behind the black knight, so that the knight is pinned after 2…Kxb5+.

All black moves are provided with mates, as follows: 1…Bxd5 2.Qf4; 1…B-else 2.Sc4; 1…exd5 2.Qf5; 1…Sh-any 2.Sf7; 1…Sa-any 2.Bxc3; 1…h5 2.Rg5. Therefore a waiting move will solve the problem. A good try is 1.f7?, which is refuted by 1…Sg6!, because the white knight is unable to move to f7. An even better try is 1.Kg2?, which fails because 1…Bxd5! pins the white queen, preventing 2.Qf4. A random move of the rook (such as 1.Rg2?) fails, because the queen is now pinned, so Black can safely play 1…exd5! or 1…Bxd5! But wait, the white rook can make a correction move, playing to g7 (or g8), so that 1…exd5 is met by 2.Re7. However, this still fails against 1…Bxd5! The key is 1.Rg6!, another correction move by the white rook, which changes two of the set mates. After the captures on d5, the queen cannot move vertically to mate, but instead slides horizontally along the pin line! 1…Bxd5 2.Qg3; 1…B-else 2.Sc4; 1…exd5 2.Qe3; 1…Sh-any 2.Sf7; 1…Sa-any 2.Bxc3; 1…h5 2.Rg5.