‘Chess Problems: Tasks and Records’ 3rd edition

The late Sir Jeremy Morse authored Chess Problems: Tasks and Records in 1995, and an updated edition of this definitive work – devoted to compositions showing all kinds of maximum effects – appeared a few years later. In 2016, a substantially revised and expanded third edition was published, containing 960 problems by about 400 composers. Problem enthusiasts would be pleased to learn that the British Chess Problem Society has recently made this book available for free from their website. Here’s a link to the page where you can download all the chapters of this wonderful collection, in the PDF format. (Preferring the convenience of a single file for the book, I have combined these chapters into one large PDF, sized 9MB. Drop me a line if you’d like a copy.)

In the Introduction, Morse first explains the general characteristics of chess problems and how they differ from tactical game positions and endgame studies. Then he discusses what is meant by a task and a record in the problem context. Essentially, task refers to the realisation of a difficult constructional effect that may or may not be expressed numerically. Record, on the other hand, is a narrower term that indicates an achievement of the greatest number of a repeated element of play. Because of the emphasis on maximising an idea in task and record problems, they often contravene artistic principles which favour subtlety (for instance, “brutal” key-moves could be tolerated). Nonetheless, Morse prefers to strike a balance between the quantitative and the aesthetic sides, saying “I believe that artistry is the problemist’s primary aim, and that tasks and records serve to show how far the artistic medium and material can be stretched.”

The main contents are divided into three sections, where the first two focus on two-move problems. Part One, “The Power of the Pieces,” examines ways by which the various types of pieces are maximally utilised in a problem. Typically this means multiple variations executed by the same white piece (in mating moves) or by the same black one (in defences), and all sorts of combinations of such. Part Two considers “Strategic Records,” where a thematic or recurring effect involves some kind of interaction between the pieces. Again, this is a broad category that encompasses different types of white play (e.g. sacrificial key) and black play (e.g. self-interfering defences). In Part Three, “Beyond the Two-Mover,” Morse covers many problem genres in an assortment of topics, ranging from the famous Babson Task and other pawn promotion themes, to length records (the longest dual-free directmate is a mate-in-226 moves). Let’s look at three representative problems from this great anthology.

Our first selection blends two separate white mating tasks while incorporating some attractive bonus features. One such feature is that the problem is a mutate, i.e. all possible black moves are already provided with set mates before White starts, but some of these mating replies are changed after the key. In the set play, 1…Bb~ allows the queen to guard c4 and enables 2.Sb3, while 1…Bxd2 admits 2.Rxd2. The key 1.Qa1! (waiting) creates a battery with the b2-pawn, which then performs four mating moves in distinct variations – the maximum task for a pawn. 1…Ba3 2.bxa3, 1…Bc3 2.bxc3, 1…Bxa5 2.b4, and 1…Bxd2 2.b3. Because all of these pawn mates are provoked by the same black bishop, a duel between the two units is additionally rendered, not to mention that these are changed mates from the set play! The second task demonstrated is the white king delivering six different battery mates, the maximum possible for the piece. 1…Sc~ 2.Ke7, 1…Bxe6 2.Kxe6, 1…Bf7/Bh7 2.Kf7, 1…Rxg6+ 2.Kxg6, 1…Rh4 2.Kg5, 1…Sxf5 2.Kxf5. There are a few subsidiary variations: 1…Sxc4/dxc4 2.Sb3, 1…Se-else 2.Rxd5, 1…R-else 2.Rxf4.

This two-mover illustrates how an interesting record is achieved at the cost of a poor key-move. A queen-promotion key in directmate problems is generally frown upon for being too obvious, and here it’s worsened by the fact that 1.e8=Q! aggressively takes away the c6-flight from the king. The threat is 2.Sdxe4, and in response to various defences, White remarkably mates on the exact same square seven times with different pieces. 1…Ba4 2.dxe4, 1…Qg5/Qxg6 2.fxe4, 1…Sxd6 2.e4, 1…cxd6 2.Sxe4, 1…Bg5 2.Qxe4, 1…Rf6 2.Bxe4, and 1…exd4 (the f4-bishop, responsible for a main variation, is neatly used to thwart the threat here) 2.Qxe4. Since the threat-move goes to e4 too, there are no less than eight thematic mates on the one square. The black knight has one more defence, 1…Sf6, which permits 2.Bf7.

Records that accumulate certain strategic effects can be divided into two categories. The thematic variations bearing the effect may all occur after the key-move in the actual play, or they could also appear in other parts of the solution, such as the set play and try play. In the next problem, a strategic idea called focal play is repeated after multiple try-moves by White, not only after the key.

In the focal theme, a black line-moving piece is guarding against two mates at different angles; when it moves, the piece will “lose the focus” and unguard one of the mating squares. Here the g5-bishop is the defender in question, holding off various knight mates depending on how White begins. After the first try 1.Sh5?, the bishop prevents mates on f6 and f4, but Black is in zugzwang. Let 1…Bd2 represents a random move along the c1-h6 diagonal, and 1…Bd8 likewise on the d8-h4 diagonal. Then the try play is 1…Bd2 2.Sf6 and 1…Bd8 2.Sf4. (The by-play 1…dxe5 2.Qxe5, 1…f2 2.Qxg2, and 1…B2~ 2.Qa2 is the same throughout the solution.) This try is subtly defeated by 1…Be7!, cutting off the e8-rook, since 2.Sf4? shuts off the queen too and allows 2…Kxe5!

The second try 1.Sf5? leads to another pair of mates after the same defences, 1…Bd2 2.Se7 and 1…Bd8 2.Se3. But now 1…Bf4! refutes by closing off the queen, anticipating that 2.Se7? interferes with the rook and permits 2…Kxe5! again. The third try 1.Sg4? employs the other knight for more changed mates, 1…Bd2 2.Sf6 and 1…Bd8 2.Se3. Because this knight has abandoned control of c6, Black counters with 1…Bxc1! when 2.Sf6? is met by 2…Kc6! Lastly, the key 1.Sg6! (waiting) produces a fourth pair of mates, 1…Bd2 2.Se7 and 1…Bd8 2.Sf4. Notably, White’s play is precise even when the black bishop lands on a mating square: 1…Bf4 2.Sxf4 (2.Se7? Ke5!) and 1…Be7 2.Sxe7 (2.Sf4? Ke5!). Hence by including the virtual play following the tries, a record of eight distinct variations featuring focal defences is accomplished.

Task and record problems – Part 1

15 Oct. 2013