OzProblems

Australian Chess Problem Composition

Welcome to OzProblems.com, a site all about chess problems in Australia and around the world! Whether you are new to chess compositions or an experienced solver, we have something for you. Our aim is to promote the enjoyment of chess problems, which are at once interesting puzzles and the most artistic form of chess.

Problem of the Week


724. Rauf Aliovsadzade
Original

An in-depth introduction to the art of chess composition, examining various problem types and themes.

Prominent Australian problemists write about their involvement in the contemporary problem scene, and present some of their best compositions.

A comprehensive collection of Australian chess problem materials, including e-books, articles, magazines and columns (all free downloads).

A chess problem blog by Peter Wong, covering a range of subjects. The main page provides a topic index.

See latest post below, followed by links to other recent entries. 

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Walkabout

Carving problems with shortest games


16 Sep. 2024

Retro-analytical problems, where solvers logically deduce what must have occurred before a given position is reached, include many interesting sub-genres. Proof games are a popular type that’s regularly featured on this site. Another sub-category that is far more unusual but still very accessible is carving problems. In this form of retro, the diagram presents a position in which all of the pieces’ identities are hidden, and your task is to uncover the colour and type of every unit. This might seem daunting at first sight, but as a rule such problems include extra stipulations that drastically reduce the options to be considered. Here I’ll focus on two conditions that are commonly used together: (1) the position arises from the opening array in the specified number of moves, i.e. it’s also a (very brief) shortest game problem, and (2) White has a mate-in-1 available in the position. The following problems all apply such similar pairs of “clues,” though their levels of difficulty vary greatly.