Good. I'm used to the totalitarian regime at <malthrope>'s forum where one posts the solution at his peril.

Posting solutions doesn't bother me as long as there is a bit of a time lag so that people can actually try to solve the problem on their own.

Maybe there could be a second forum with solutions only. I've tried something like that by posting problems in the Café with answers here, but things just get buried too quickly over there.

Maybe this one will be a bit tougher for you. It's by Hegerman, and is <Helpmate in 5>.

click for larger view

Single-solution helpmates is actually the less common form, I believe. There are usually two or more solutions from the same position, or they take the form of "twins" (like in other kinds of problems) - you change a little detail in the position and the new position has a solution of its own.

Of course, these are intended solutions, not cooks. Point is that the whole composition is supposed to be something bigger than just the sum of its parts. Usually there is a common theme to the solutions, tying them together, but occasionally it's basically the other way around - the <contrast> is so big that <this> is what makes it so impressive.

Anyway, here's a cutie one-solution helpmate in 3 - I suppose it might be a bit tricky:

click for larger view

http://www.softdecc.com/pdb/search....

#1: From the starting position, construct a helpmate in 6, with the final move being 6 gxf8=N#.

#2: Reach the following position after Black's 4th move:

click for larger view

<1.b1N Bc1 2.d1N Bf4 3.f1N Qa2#>

1.Kg4 h8Q 2.Kf5 Qa8 3.Kf6 Qh1 4.Kg7 Qxa1+ 5.Kf8 Qh8#

click for larger view

(C. J. Feather, Arbeiter-Zeitung (Wien), 1975)

<acirce> The Feather three-mover:

(a) <1.Qc2 Bd3+ 2.Kxd3 Re3#>

(b) <1.Qa5 Rb5 2.Kxb5 Bd3#>

For example, I feel like jumping to proof games for a minute. As <acirce> stated, the really complicated ones can be nearly impossible to solve. However, the simpler kind can be attractive to the average player. I posted a few of these back in the Café a couple of years ago (starting with Kibitzer's Café), but here's one which wasn't in that bunch.

White's first four moves are <1.f3, 2.Kf2, 3.Kg3, 4.Kh4>. Black delivers mate on his fourth move. Reconstruct the game.

As for the three-mover, the solution begins <1.Qxh5 gxh5 2.Bh7>. Not up to current standards, I'm sure, but let me tell you where it came from.

Here in Detroit, the huge used bookstore is John R. King. You know the kind of store I'm talking about; a city block square, two or three stories tall, seemingly built of books instead of bricks and mortar.

I don't get down to the main store often, but they have a small branch not far from my house where I browse on occasion. Recently, I found <200 demanding chess puzzles>, edited by Martin Greif (New York : Sterling, 1996).

The blurb on the back cover, taken from the introduction, is worth quoting as a fine example of advertising copy written by somebody who knows just enough about chess to have no idea of what they're saying:

<"Checkmate" is where you want to have your opponent, in these 200 brain-teasing chess puzzles. Try all of these gripping, grueling, and teeth-grating end games, in which a checkmate, or mate, is required in two, three, four, or more moves. You are shown the board with pieces in fixed positions, and given the number of moves in which you must trap the opponent's King in check. Because you are playing as both players, seeing the game as both black and white, you're forced to play both aggressively and defensively, honing your endgame skills from both sides. Since the end of the game is the most critical phase of chess, successful end-game players have a tremendous advantage over opening- and middle-game specialists. Included in the puzzles are Pawn endings, Rook and Pawn endings, Queen endings, Queen and Pawn endings, and minor piece endings. Enjoy end games full of excitement, color, brillance, and subtlety. Accept these challenges and you'll be on your way to victory!>

As it turns out, the positions are all composed direct mate problems and have nothing to do with end games as such. There are no sources or authors given, just the description "classic chess problems".

I also enjoyed the last paragraph of the introduction:

<Finally, several of the puzzles are not only tricky in their own right, but tricky by design--that is, while the correct solution might call for, say, four moves, you might in fact give mate in only thee. The challenge lies in finding the stipulated number of moves, even if there is an easier way! With this caveat in mind, enjoy these 200 classic chess challenges to the full.>

So some of the problems are cooked, but this is actually a plus due to the added difficulty!

click for larger view

Mate in 4