I was saddened to hear of the recent death, at the age of 91, of the problemist Colin Russ. Colin was a strong over the board player as well as a problemist, and will be remembered by some of our readersas an Athenaeum player in the London League.

Colin’s problems, composed over a period of more than 70 years, were always accessible to novice and less experienced devotees of the problem art. He aimed for simplicity rather than complexity in his compositions, preferring to entertain rather than win prizes for groundbreaking originality.

The problem world, like the chess world in general, needs popularisers like Colin Russ as well as pioneers.

This is a mate in 3: White plays and forces mate in three moves, against any black defence.

Even if you’re not familiar with chess compositions of this nature, do have a go at solving it.