Last week I asked you to tell me how White could force mate in two moved in this position composed by H D’O Bernard.

If it was Black’s move White would be able to mate whatever Black played. 1… e6 or e5 would allow Nxd6#, 1… d5 would be met by 2. Bd3# and 1… Kf5 would give 2. e4#. White has no waiting move to keep all these mates intact so has to think of something different.

The solution is 1. Ra1. Now 1… Kf5 will be met by Qb1, a changed mate, while the other mates remain the same.

This problem is a mutate (a block problem in which at least one mate in the set play is changed following the key).

 

This week, as it’s too hot to do anything too strenuous, I have a very simple question for you.

It’s White’s move in this position taken from the RJCC database. What would you play here?