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Babson task

A Babson task (or simply Babson) is a directmate chess problem with the following properties:

  1. White has only one key, or first move, that forces checkmate in the stipulated number of moves.
  2. Black's defences include the promotion of a certain pawn to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight. (Black may have other defences as well.)
  3. If Black promotes, then the only way for White towards a forced checkmate in the stipulated number of moves is to promote a pawn to the same piece to which Black promoted.

Joseph Ney Babson [it], the task's eponym, first conceived of the task in 1884.[1] To devise a satisfying Babson task is regarded as one of the greatest challenges in chess composing. For almost a century, it was unknown whether such a task could exist.

The Babson task is a special form of Allumwandlung, a chess problem in which the solution contains promotions to each of the four possible pieces. Such problems were already known when Babson formulated his task.

Forerunners of the Babson task edit

Wolfgang Pauly, 1912
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White to play and mate in four

This 1912 problem by Wolfgang Pauly is, as it were, a three-quarter Babson task: three of Black's promotions are matched by White.

The key is 1.b3, after which there are the following lines:

  • 1...a1=Q 2.f8=Q Qb2 3.Qa8 Qxc1 (Qxb3 4.Qf3#) 4.Qf3#
  • 1...a1=R 2.f8=R (2.f8=Q? a2 3.Qa8 stalemate (3.Qf6 stalemate)) a2 3.Rf6 Kxh4 4.Rh6#
  • 1...a1=N 2.f8=N (2.f8=Q? Nxb3 3.Qa8 Nd4 and no mate) a2 3.Ng6 Nxb3 4.Nf4#

This is not a full Babson, however, because 1...a1=B 2.f8=B does not work; White must instead play 2.f8=Q, with similar play to above.

Selfmate Babsons edit

The earliest Babson tasks are all in the form of a selfmate, in which White, moving first, must force Black to deliver checkmate against Black's will within a specified number of moves. In 1914, Babson himself published such a problem, in which three different white pawns shared the promotions.

Henry Wald Bettmann
1st Prize, 1925–26 Babson Task Tourney
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Selfmate in three

Henry Wald Bettmann composed the first problem in which one black pawn and one white pawn were involved in all promotions, winning 1st prize in the Babson Task Tourney 1925–26.[2]

The key in Bettmann's problem is 1.a8=B, after which play is as follows:

  • 1...fxg1=Q 2.f8=Q (2.f8=R? Qxf1 3.b5+ Kxc5; both 2.f8=B? and 2.f8=N? fail to Qg8!) Qxf1 3.b5+ (3.Qfxf1? Rxa6 is not checkmate, as White can play 4.Qxa6) Qxb5#; or Qxc5 3.b5+ (3.bxc5? Rxa6 is not checkmate, as White can play 4.Kb4; 3.Qxc5 checkmates black, entirely wrong for a selfmate) or 2...Q-any 3.anyxQ Rxa6#
  • 1...fxg1=R 2.f8=R (2.f8=Q? Rxf1 3.Qfxf1 (3.b5 checkmates Black) Rxa6 is not checkmate, as White can play 4.Qxa6) R-any 3.anyxR Rxa6#
  • 1...fxg1=B 2.f8=B (2.f8=Q? Bxc5 3.bxc5 (3.b5 checkmates Black; 3.Qxc5 checkmates Black) Rxa6 is not checkmate, as White can play 4.Kb4) B-any 3.anyxB Rxa6#
  • 1...fxg1=N 2.f8=N (2.f8=Q? Nxh3! 3.Rxh3 Kd7) N-any 3.anyxN Rxa6#

Various other composers later composed similar problems.

Directmate Babsons edit

Composing a Babson task in directmate form (where White moves first and must checkmate Black against any defence within a stipulated number of moves) was thought so difficult that very little effort was put into it until the 1960s, when Pierre Drumare began his work on the problem, which occupied him for the next twenty years or so. He managed to compose a Babson task in which the knight is replaced with the nightrider (a fairy chess piece which moves by making any number of knight moves in the same direction on unblocked squares) but found it hard to devise one using normal pieces: because of the knight's limited range, it is difficult to justify a knight promotion by White in response to a knight promotion by Black on the other side of the board.

Pierre Drumare
Memorial Camil Seneca, 1980
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White to play and mate in five

When Drumare eventually succeeded using conventional pieces in 1980, the result was regarded as highly unsatisfactory, even by Drumare himself. It is a mate in five (first published Memorial Seneca, 1980). The key is 1.Rf2, after which captures by Black on b1 are answered by captures by White on g8.

Efficiency in chess problems is considered a great boon, but Drumare's attempt is very inefficient: no fewer than 30 pieces are on the board. It also has six promoted pieces in the initial position (even a single promoted piece is considered something of a "cheat" in chess problems), which is in any case illegal: one of the white f-pawns must have made a capture, and the white and black b- and c-pawns must have made two captures between them, making three in total, yet only two units are missing from the board. Despite all these flaws, it is the first complete Babson task.

In 1982, two years after composing this problem, Drumare gave up, saying that the Babson task would never be satisfactorily solved.

Leonid Yarosh
Shakhmaty v SSSR, March 1983
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White to play and mate in four

The following year, Leonid Yarosh, a football coach from Kazan who was virtually unknown as a problem composer until that point, came up with a much better Babson task than Drumare's: the position is legal, it is much simpler than Drumare's problem, and there are no promoted pieces on board. First published in March 1983 in the famous Russian chess magazine Shakhmaty v SSSR, this is generally thought of as the first satisfactory solution of the Babson task. Drumare himself had high praise for the problem.

The key is 1.Rxh4, and the main lines are:

  • 1...cxb1=Q 2.axb8=Q Qxb2 (2...Qe4 3.Qxf4 Qxf4 4.Rxf4#) 3.Qb3 Qc3 4.Qxc3#
  • 1...cxb1=R 2.axb8=R (2.axb8=Q? Rxb2 3.Qb3 stalemate) Rxb2 3.Rb3 Kxc4 4.Rxf4#
  • 1...cxb1=B 2.axb8=B (2.axb8=Q? Be4 3.Qxf4 stalemate) Be4 3.Bxf4 Bxh1 4.Be3#
  • 1...cxb1=N 2.axb8=N (2.axb8=Q? Nxd2 and no mate) Nxd2 3.Nc6+ Kc3 4.Rc1#

However, Yarosh's problem has a small flaw: the key is a capture, something which is generally frowned upon in problems. Also, when first presented, the black piece at h4 was a pawn, but a computer discovered an additional solution by 1.axb8=N hxg3+ 2.Kh3 Bxb8 3.Qxc2 and mate next move. Yarosh then substituted a knight on that square; now 1.axb8=N fails to 1...Nf3+ 2.Bxf3 Bxb8 3.Qxc2 Bxg3+ and White is too late. Nevertheless, when Dutch author Tim Krabbé saw this version in the Soviet publication 64, he records that the realisation that somebody had at last solved the Babson task had the effect upon him as if he had "... opened a newspaper and seen the headline 'Purpose Of Life Discovered'."

Leonid Yarosh
Shakhmaty v SSSR, August 1983
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White to play and mate in four

Yarosh continued to work on the problem, and in August 1983, he created an improved version with a non-capturing key, which appeared in Shakhmaty v SSSR. Many chess problemists,[who?] including Tim Krabbé,[3] consider the problem one of the greatest ever composed. Again, it is a mate in four.

The key here is non-capturing and also thematic (that is, it is logically related to the rest of the solution): 1.a7. The variations are largely the same as in the original:

  • 1...axb1=Q 2.axb8=Q Qxb2 (2...Qe4 3.Qxf4 Qxf4 4.Rxf4#) 3.Qxb3 Qc3 4.Qbxc3#
  • 1...axb1=R 2.axb8=R (2.axb8=Q? Rxb2 3.Qxb3 stalemate) Rxb2 3.Rxb3 Kxc4 4.Qa4#
  • 1...axb1=B 2.axb8=B (2.axb8=Q? Be4 3.Qxf4 stalemate) Be4 3.Bxf4 Bxa8 4.Be3#
  • 1...axb1=N 2.axb8=N (2.axb8=Q? Nxd2 and no mate) Nxd2 3.Qc1 Ne4 4.Nc6#
Pierre Drumare
Thèmes-64, 1985
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White to play and mate in five

Yarosh composed a completely different Babson task later in 1983 and another in 1986. Several other Babsons were later composed by other authors, including one by Drumare in 1985. The solution of this Babson is 1.fxg8=Q dxe2 2.Nxe3 e1=Q/R/B/N 3.gxf8=Q/R/B/N and now mate in two in all variations.

The cyclic Babson edit

Peter Hoffmann, Die Schwalbe, 2003
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White to play and mate in four

In a cyclic Babson, rather than Black’s promotions being matched by White, they are related in cyclic form: for example, Black promoting to a queen means White must promote to a bishop, Black promoting to a bishop means White must promote to a rook, Black promoting to a rook means White must promote to a knight, and Black promoting to a knight means White must promote to a queen.

The August 2003 issue of the German problem magazine Die Schwalbe contained the problem to the right, a mate in four by Peter Hoffmann. Hoffmann had previously published a number of conventional directmate Babsons, but this one is significant because it is the first cyclic Babson. However, as with Drumare's original Babson task, the problem uses promoted pieces and has a capturing key.

The key is 1.Nxe6, threatening 2.hxg8=Q and 3.Qf7#. The thematic defences are:

  • 1...d1=Q 2.hxg8=B (2.hxg8=Q? Qd7+ 3.Bxd7 stalemate; 2.hxg8=N+? Kxe6 and no mate), threatening 3.c4+ Q-moves 4.BxQ#
    • 2...Qd7+ 3.Bxd7 Kxg6 4.Rxh6#
    • 2...Qxc1 3.Rxg5 (threat: 4.Rf5#) hxg5 4.Qh8#
  • 1...d1=B 2.hxg8=R (2.hxg8=Q? stalemate; 2.hxg8=N+? Kxe6 and no mate) Kxe6 3.Rd8 3.Kf6 Rd6#
  • 1...d1=R 2.hxg8=N (2.hxg8=Q? Rd4+ 3.c4 stalemate) Kxe6 3.Qxe2+ K-moves 4.Qe5#
  • 1...d1=N 2.hxg8=Q (2.hxg8=N+? Kxe6 3.Qxe2+ Ne3! and no mate) Nxb2+ 3.Kb5(Bxb2) and 4.Qf7#

There are also a number of sidelines.

Peter Hoffmann, Schach, 2005
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White to play and mate in four

In the September 2005 issue of Schach [de], the first cyclic Babson without promoted pieces in the initial position was published. Again, the composer was Peter Hoffmann.

The key is 1.Nxb6. The thematic defences are:

  • 1...d1=Q 2.exf8=B (2.exf8=Q? Qd4+ 3.Bxd4 stalemate; 2.exf8=N+? Kd6 3.Be5+ Kc5 and no mate)
    • 2...Qd4+ 3.exd4 Kxf6 4.d5#
  • 1...d1=B 2.exf8=R (2.exf8=Q? stalemate; 2.exf8=N+? Kd6 3.Be5+ Kc5 and no mate)
    • 2...Kd6 3.Qd2+ with mate after any move by black
  • 1...d1=R 2.exf8=N+ (2.exf8=Q? Rd4+ 3.Bxd4 stalemate; 2.exf8=B? Rd7 3.c8=Q(B) stalemate)
    • 2...Kd6 3.Be5+ Kc5 4.Qxc2#
  • 1...d1=N 2.exf8=Q (2.exf8=N+? Kd6 3.Be5+ Kc5 and no mate)
    • 2...Nxc3+ 3.Kxa5 Ne4 4.c8=Q#

References edit

  1. ^ Tim Krabbé. "De man die de Babson task maakte" (in Dutch).
  2. ^ Howard, Kenneth S., The Enjoyment of Chess Problems, Dover Publications, 1961, p. 213.
  3. ^ Krabbé, Tim. "The Babson Task". De website van Tim Krabbé. Retrieved 10 April 2022.

Bibliography

Further reading edit

  • Jeremy Morse, Chess Problems Tasks and Records (Faber and Faber, 1995, revised edition 2001) – contains a chapter on the Babson task

External links edit

  • Peter Hoffmann. "100 Years: Babson Task in the Orthodox Directmate" (PDF).
  • Tim Krabbé. "The Babson task". (a detailed analysis of Yarosh's second Babson)
  • Tim Krabbé. "Sons of Babson". (lists Babsons published later)
  • Tim Krabbé. "Hoe de Babson task orthodox werd" (in Dutch). (mentions two forerunners of the Babson task)
  • Zalmen Kornin. "Babson-Task: A Key, And Beyond".
  • Zalmen Kornin. "The Birth Of The Babson-Task".

babson, task, simply, babson, directmate, chess, problem, with, following, properties, white, only, first, move, that, forces, checkmate, stipulated, number, moves, black, defences, include, promotion, certain, pawn, queen, rook, bishop, knight, black, have, o. A Babson task or simply Babson is a directmate chess problem with the following properties White has only one key or first move that forces checkmate in the stipulated number of moves Black s defences include the promotion of a certain pawn to a queen rook bishop or knight Black may have other defences as well If Black promotes then the only way for White towards a forced checkmate in the stipulated number of moves is to promote a pawn to the same piece to which Black promoted Joseph Ney Babson it the task s eponym first conceived of the task in 1884 1 To devise a satisfying Babson task is regarded as one of the greatest challenges in chess composing For almost a century it was unknown whether such a task could exist The Babson task is a special form of Allumwandlung a chess problem in which the solution contains promotions to each of the four possible pieces Such problems were already known when Babson formulated his task Contents 1 Forerunners of the Babson task 2 Selfmate Babsons 3 Directmate Babsons 4 The cyclic Babson 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksThis article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves Forerunners of the Babson task editWolfgang Pauly 1912abcdefgh8 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 877665544332211abcdefghWhite to play and mate in four This 1912 problem by Wolfgang Pauly is as it were a three quarter Babson task three of Black s promotions are matched by White The key is 1 b3 after which there are the following lines 1 a1 Q 2 f8 Q Qb2 3 Qa8 Qxc1 Qxb3 4 Qf3 4 Qf3 1 a1 R 2 f8 R 2 f8 Q a2 3 Qa8 stalemate 3 Qf6 stalemate a2 3 Rf6 Kxh4 4 Rh6 1 a1 N 2 f8 N 2 f8 Q Nxb3 3 Qa8 Nd4 and no mate a2 3 Ng6 Nxb3 4 Nf4 This is not a full Babson however because 1 a1 B 2 f8 B does not work White must instead play 2 f8 Q with similar play to above Selfmate Babsons editThe earliest Babson tasks are all in the form of a selfmate in which White moving first must force Black to deliver checkmate against Black s will within a specified number of moves In 1914 Babson himself published such a problem in which three different white pawns shared the promotions Henry Wald Bettmann 1st Prize 1925 26 Babson Task Tourneyabcdefgh8 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 877665544332211abcdefghSelfmate in three Henry Wald Bettmann composed the first problem in which one black pawn and one white pawn were involved in all promotions winning 1st prize in the Babson Task Tourney 1925 26 2 The key in Bettmann s problem is 1 a8 B after which play is as follows 1 fxg1 Q 2 f8 Q 2 f8 R Qxf1 3 b5 Kxc5 both 2 f8 B and 2 f8 N fail to Qg8 Qxf1 3 b5 3 Qfxf1 Rxa6 is not checkmate as White can play 4 Qxa6 Qxb5 or Qxc5 3 b5 3 bxc5 Rxa6 is not checkmate as White can play 4 Kb4 3 Qxc5 checkmates black entirely wrong for a selfmate or 2 Q any 3 anyxQ Rxa6 1 fxg1 R 2 f8 R 2 f8 Q Rxf1 3 Qfxf1 3 b5 checkmates Black Rxa6 is not checkmate as White can play 4 Qxa6 R any 3 anyxR Rxa6 1 fxg1 B 2 f8 B 2 f8 Q Bxc5 3 bxc5 3 b5 checkmates Black 3 Qxc5 checkmates Black Rxa6 is not checkmate as White can play 4 Kb4 B any 3 anyxB Rxa6 1 fxg1 N 2 f8 N 2 f8 Q Nxh3 3 Rxh3 Kd7 N any 3 anyxN Rxa6 Various other composers later composed similar problems Directmate Babsons editComposing a Babson task in directmate form where White moves first and must checkmate Black against any defence within a stipulated number of moves was thought so difficult that very little effort was put into it until the 1960s when Pierre Drumare began his work on the problem which occupied him for the next twenty years or so He managed to compose a Babson task in which the knight is replaced with the nightrider a fairy chess piece which moves by making any number of knight moves in the same direction on unblocked squares but found it hard to devise one using normal pieces because of the knight s limited range it is difficult to justify a knight promotion by White in response to a knight promotion by Black on the other side of the board Pierre Drumare Memorial Camil Seneca 1980abcdefgh8 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 877665544332211abcdefghWhite to play and mate in five When Drumare eventually succeeded using conventional pieces in 1980 the result was regarded as highly unsatisfactory even by Drumare himself It is a mate in five first published Memorial Seneca 1980 The key is 1 Rf2 after which captures by Black on b1 are answered by captures by White on g8 Efficiency in chess problems is considered a great boon but Drumare s attempt is very inefficient no fewer than 30 pieces are on the board It also has six promoted pieces in the initial position even a single promoted piece is considered something of a cheat in chess problems which is in any case illegal one of the white f pawns must have made a capture and the white and black b and c pawns must have made two captures between them making three in total yet only two units are missing from the board Despite all these flaws it is the first complete Babson task In 1982 two years after composing this problem Drumare gave up saying that the Babson task would never be satisfactorily solved Leonid Yarosh Shakhmaty v SSSR March 1983abcdefgh8 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 877665544332211abcdefghWhite to play and mate in four The following year Leonid Yarosh a football coach from Kazan who was virtually unknown as a problem composer until that point came up with a much better Babson task than Drumare s the position is legal it is much simpler than Drumare s problem and there are no promoted pieces on board First published in March 1983 in the famous Russian chess magazine Shakhmaty v SSSR this is generally thought of as the first satisfactory solution of the Babson task Drumare himself had high praise for the problem The key is 1 Rxh4 and the main lines are 1 cxb1 Q 2 axb8 Q Qxb2 2 Qe4 3 Qxf4 Qxf4 4 Rxf4 3 Qb3 Qc3 4 Qxc3 1 cxb1 R 2 axb8 R 2 axb8 Q Rxb2 3 Qb3 stalemate Rxb2 3 Rb3 Kxc4 4 Rxf4 1 cxb1 B 2 axb8 B 2 axb8 Q Be4 3 Qxf4 stalemate Be4 3 Bxf4 Bxh1 4 Be3 1 cxb1 N 2 axb8 N 2 axb8 Q Nxd2 and no mate Nxd2 3 Nc6 Kc3 4 Rc1 However Yarosh s problem has a small flaw the key is a capture something which is generally frowned upon in problems Also when first presented the black piece at h4 was a pawn but a computer discovered an additional solution by 1 axb8 N hxg3 2 Kh3 Bxb8 3 Qxc2 and mate next move Yarosh then substituted a knight on that square now 1 axb8 N fails to 1 Nf3 2 Bxf3 Bxb8 3 Qxc2 Bxg3 and White is too late Nevertheless when Dutch author Tim Krabbe saw this version in the Soviet publication 64 he records that the realisation that somebody had at last solved the Babson task had the effect upon him as if he had opened a newspaper and seen the headline Purpose Of Life Discovered Leonid Yarosh Shakhmaty v SSSR August 1983abcdefgh8 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 877665544332211abcdefghWhite to play and mate in four Yarosh continued to work on the problem and in August 1983 he created an improved version with a non capturing key which appeared in Shakhmaty v SSSR Many chess problemists who including Tim Krabbe 3 consider the problem one of the greatest ever composed Again it is a mate in four The key here is non capturing and also thematic that is it is logically related to the rest of the solution 1 a7 The variations are largely the same as in the original 1 axb1 Q 2 axb8 Q Qxb2 2 Qe4 3 Qxf4 Qxf4 4 Rxf4 3 Qxb3 Qc3 4 Qbxc3 1 axb1 R 2 axb8 R 2 axb8 Q Rxb2 3 Qxb3 stalemate Rxb2 3 Rxb3 Kxc4 4 Qa4 1 axb1 B 2 axb8 B 2 axb8 Q Be4 3 Qxf4 stalemate Be4 3 Bxf4 Bxa8 4 Be3 1 axb1 N 2 axb8 N 2 axb8 Q Nxd2 and no mate Nxd2 3 Qc1 Ne4 4 Nc6 Pierre Drumare Themes 64 1985abcdefgh8 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 877665544332211abcdefghWhite to play and mate in five Yarosh composed a completely different Babson task later in 1983 and another in 1986 Several other Babsons were later composed by other authors including one by Drumare in 1985 The solution of this Babson is 1 fxg8 Q dxe2 2 Nxe3 e1 Q R B N 3 gxf8 Q R B N and now mate in two in all variations The cyclic Babson editPeter Hoffmann Die Schwalbe 2003abcdefgh8 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 877665544332211abcdefghWhite to play and mate in four In a cyclic Babson rather than Black s promotions being matched by White they are related in cyclic form for example Black promoting to a queen means White must promote to a bishop Black promoting to a bishop means White must promote to a rook Black promoting to a rook means White must promote to a knight and Black promoting to a knight means White must promote to a queen The August 2003 issue of the German problem magazine Die Schwalbe contained the problem to the right a mate in four by Peter Hoffmann Hoffmann had previously published a number of conventional directmate Babsons but this one is significant because it is the first cyclic Babson However as with Drumare s original Babson task the problem uses promoted pieces and has a capturing key The key is 1 Nxe6 threatening 2 hxg8 Q and 3 Qf7 The thematic defences are 1 d1 Q 2 hxg8 B 2 hxg8 Q Qd7 3 Bxd7 stalemate 2 hxg8 N Kxe6 and no mate threatening 3 c4 Q moves 4 BxQ 2 Qd7 3 Bxd7 Kxg6 4 Rxh6 2 Qxc1 3 Rxg5 threat 4 Rf5 hxg5 4 Qh8 1 d1 B 2 hxg8 R 2 hxg8 Q stalemate 2 hxg8 N Kxe6 and no mate Kxe6 3 Rd8 3 Kf6 Rd6 1 d1 R 2 hxg8 N 2 hxg8 Q Rd4 3 c4 stalemate Kxe6 3 Qxe2 K moves 4 Qe5 1 d1 N 2 hxg8 Q 2 hxg8 N Kxe6 3 Qxe2 Ne3 and no mate Nxb2 3 Kb5 Bxb2 and 4 Qf7 There are also a number of sidelines Peter Hoffmann Schach 2005abcdefgh8 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 877665544332211abcdefghWhite to play and mate in four In the September 2005 issue of Schach de the first cyclic Babson without promoted pieces in the initial position was published Again the composer was Peter Hoffmann The key is 1 Nxb6 The thematic defences are 1 d1 Q 2 exf8 B 2 exf8 Q Qd4 3 Bxd4 stalemate 2 exf8 N Kd6 3 Be5 Kc5 and no mate 2 Qd4 3 exd4 Kxf6 4 d5 1 d1 B 2 exf8 R 2 exf8 Q stalemate 2 exf8 N Kd6 3 Be5 Kc5 and no mate 2 Kd6 3 Qd2 with mate after any move by black 1 d1 R 2 exf8 N 2 exf8 Q Rd4 3 Bxd4 stalemate 2 exf8 B Rd7 3 c8 Q B stalemate 2 Kd6 3 Be5 Kc5 4 Qxc2 1 d1 N 2 exf8 Q 2 exf8 N Kd6 3 Be5 Kc5 and no mate 2 Nxc3 3 Kxa5 Ne4 4 c8 Q References edit Tim Krabbe De man die de Babson task maakte in Dutch Howard Kenneth S The Enjoyment of Chess Problems Dover Publications 1961 p 213 Krabbe Tim The Babson Task De website van Tim Krabbe Retrieved 10 April 2022 Bibliography Hooper David Whyld Kenneth 1992 Babson Task The Oxford Companion to Chess 2nd ed Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 280049 3 Krabbe Tim 1986 De man die de Babson task wilde maken Nova Zembla ISBN 9070711117 Further reading editJeremy Morse Chess Problems Tasks and Records Faber and Faber 1995 revised edition 2001 contains a chapter on the Babson taskExternal links editPeter Hoffmann 100 Years Babson Task in the Orthodox Directmate PDF Tim Krabbe The Babson task a detailed analysis of Yarosh s second Babson Tim Krabbe Sons of Babson lists Babsons published later Tim Krabbe Hoe de Babson task orthodox werd in Dutch mentions two forerunners of the Babson task Zalmen Kornin Babson Task A Key And Beyond Zalmen Kornin The Birth Of The Babson Task Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Babson task amp oldid 1171635154, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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