Junior Chess Corner, September 2006

White to play and checkmate black in two moves.

If you cannot solve this one you are in good company. The player who had the white pieces in his game was an experienced master. Here he captured the pawn at F4 with his bishop at D2. A clever move since the pawn at E5 is pinned by the queen and cannot take the bishop. However, his opponent played knight takes bishop at C4. Now if white takes the knight, the pin is gone and black can take the bishop. Black won the game.

The move white missed in the diagram is queen takes pawn at E5 check! Black is forced to take the queen with his king and then bishop D2 to C3 is checkmate!

This article was first published in News and Views Sept. 2006