Sam Loyd Puzzles are Infuriatingly Fantastic!

It took me exactly 16:22 to solve this seemingly simple chess problem!

White to move and mate in three by Sam Loyd, 1868.

Published by chessmusings

Chris Torres is a nationally renowned scholastic chess coach working in the San Francisco Bay Area. His classes have attracted players of strengths ranging from rank beginners to world champions. A chess professional since 1998, Chris is widely recognized as one of the main driving forces behind the explosion in popularity and sudden rise in quality of scholastic chess in California. Chris Torres served as the President of the Torres Chess and Music Academy from 2005-2020 and currently is recognized as a correspondence chess master with the United States Chess Federation. Since 1998 Chris Torres has taught 6 individual national champions as well as led multiple school teams to win national championship titles. In addition, Chris Torres has directed and taught at 10 different schools which have been California State Champions at chess. In 2011 and 2012, several former and current students of Chris Torres have been selected to represent the United States at the World Youth Chess Championships. Mr. Torres’ hobbies include playing classical guitar and getting his students to appear on the national top 100 chess rating lists. View more posts

4 thoughts on “Sam Loyd Puzzles are Infuriatingly Fantastic!”

mating site must be a3-square. white job is to stop black king to reach c-file. since black pawn can’t move, white can only use zugzwang. so 1. Qh6 (to reach c1 to banish black king to c-file and escape). 1. … Kb4 (forced in zugzwang; pawn move allows mate in a6). Then 2. Qc1 (to protect c-file and c-pawn from king’s escape). Then 2. … Ka4 (or a5) and 3. Qa3+ checkmate.