It's thursday again, week-5 will be up within a couple of hours, but first this dreadful position-2 which in retrospect is not suited for a mate in x question.
[pgn][Event "Kubbel"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1936"]
[White ""]
[Black ""]
[Result "1-0"]
[FEN "rk1b4/p2p2p1/1P6/2R2P2/8/2K5/8/5B2 w - - 0 0"]
1. Rc8+ Kxc8 2. Ba6+ Kb8 3. b7 Bb6 4. Kc4 Bf2 5. Kd5 Bg3 6. f6 gxf6 7. Ke4 Be5 8. Kf5 d5 ( 8... Bd4 9. Kg6 f5 10. Kf7 Bb6 11. Ke7 Kc7 12. bxa8Q Bc5+ 13. Ke8 Kd6 14. Bc4 Ke5 15. Qd5+ Kf4 16. Qxc5 a6 17. Be2 a5 18. Qd4+ Kg5 19. Kf7 a4 20. Qf2 a3 21. Qg3+ Kh6 22. Qg6# ) 9. Ke6 d4 10. Kd7 d3 11. bxa8Q+ Kxa8 12. Kc8 d2 13. Bb7# 1-0[/pgn]
It's a beautiful endgame study with an elegant mainline ending in a mate in 13 and with a more optimal defense a mate in 22, so I thought.... Until I discovered I had overlooked that black doesn't have to take the rook (1..Kxc8) but also can play 1..Kb7 which equals resignation after 2.Bg2+ which spoils the goal and fun to look for an exact mate in x.
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Nevertheless 11 people have contributed and here is the division among the participants
Code: Select all
Mate Number
33 1
23 2
15 1
27 3
82 1
36 1
xx 2 (abstained)
So what now? Preferable I would drop the position, give everyone 1 point for the trouble but that's unfair because some of you have put considerable (computer) time to get it right. Also after my own investigation I am inclined to think the 3 folks who contributed 27 are probably right. So I want to ask them to provide the analysis.
Anyway, the one (those) who is (are) right will receive 2 points.