"Chess on the Pier" Puzzle Answers!
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Puzzle 1
Solution: Rd8#
Black’s king is trapped on the back row, or back rank. White can move their rook to the back rank to attack him, putting the king in check. Even if Black moved the king to f8 or h8, White’s rook would still be able to capture him. Because Black's king cannot get out of check, Black's king has been checkmated. This checkmate is called a “back rank checkmate.”
Original Puzzle - Click to enlarge
Solution
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Puzzle 2
Solution: Qxf2#
Black can check White’s king by capturing the pawn on f2 with the queen. White can’t escape by moving away, because the f1 and e2 squares are also under attack from the queen. The White king also cannot capture the queen because the queen is protected by Black’s bishop. This formation with the queen and the bishop on the same line is called a "battery."
Solution
Original Puzzle - Click to enlarge
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Puzzle 3
Solution: Nc6+
White can use a very important concept to their advantage here: A check is a forcing move. By moving the knight to c6, White is putting the Black king in check. Black has to move the king to escape the check from the knight. White’s knight can then capture the queen on the next move. When you attack two pieces at once, this is called a “fork.”
Original Puzzle - Click to enlarge
Solution
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Puzzle 4
Solution
Solution: b1Q+
If a pawn makes it all the way to the end of the board, the pawn can “promote” and become a more powerful piece (usually a queen). Black can move the pawn to b1 on the first move, giving a check. White’s king can only escape to a3. On the second move, Black can attack again by playing queen to b3, checkmate.
Original Puzzle - Click to enlarge
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