1. Apples do fall from trees, after all
Professor Zabboltz was an old chess teacher who hated children. He felt that they didn't pay enough attention to his extremely interesting endgame studies. Besides, they smelled bad. But the time had come for his revenge. Next morning they had their final exam, and he knew that those who failed it would not be allowed to attend the summer activities that the school had arranged for them. Thus, he prepared an exceedingly difficult problem for them to be solved in just five minutes. Unfortunately, next morning he had to attend an important chess seminar out of town and would be deprived of seeing the desperation on their faces. So he carefully set up the position on the blackboard with his old magnetic board on which the pieces would sometimes fall off or slip downward. He then locked up the classroom. He would make a call to his assistant next morning to reveal where he had hidden the key that unlocked the door. He was not going to trust anybody. He also gave instructions to him to be extremely severe with the time limit and to take special care that nobody cheated during the exam.
The problem he prepared was:
White to play and find the shortest mate
The next morning, after the test, the assistant teacher collected the exams, put the chess pieces back into their box, and left everything at the Professor's office. Prof. Zabboltz could not believe what had happened and almost had a heart attack! All the students had found the correct key move in five minutes. His assistant swore to him that no one had cheated. All the students went to the summer camp and, by the way, they really enjoyed chess there.
What happened? How could all the students find the correct key move?
2. A matter of thrones
Professor Zabboltz was still angry about what had happened the previous semester. He wanted to be really strict with his students this time: He would prepare a longer mate for the exam they had next day. His pupils, uncivilized as they might be, had a great teacher after all. He carefully set up the position on the blackboard again using his old magnetic board. The next day he would have to be out of town so he gave instructions to his assitant to be really careful that no one cheated during the test. The young man was not very smart but he could trust him, as he had been recommended by the school director himself.
Professor Zabboltz was still angry about what had happened the previous semester. He wanted to be really strict with his students this time: He would prepare a longer mate for the exam they had next day. His pupils, uncivilized as they might be, had a great teacher after all. He carefully set up the position on the blackboard again using his old magnetic board. The next day he would have to be out of town so he gave instructions to his assitant to be really careful that no one cheated during the test. The young man was not very smart but he could trust him, as he had been recommended by the school director himself.
The problem he prepared this time was:
White to play and find the shortest mate
The next morning, when the assistant teacher arrived he found that during the night both Kings had fallen onto the floor, and he had to make a telephone call to the professor to ask for their positions on the board. He put them back and started the exam.You can imagine the rest of the story. All the students could find the correct key move within the five minutes allowed to solve the problem. Rumors were that Prof. Zabboltz was seriously considering his retirement.
What happened? How could all the students find the correct key move?
What happened? How could all the students find the correct key move?
3. A tower of pawns (or should we say Babel?)
Professor Zabboltz had spent a month with his beloved sister where he could recover from his bad experiences at the school. He was fed up of children, why weren’t they worried of his exams? This time there would be no surprise, he would prepare a more difficult test with even a longer solution. They had been studing the theory of tempo moves of black pawns and he had a programmed test for the day after. Unfortunately he had a lot of administrative work to do downtown and he wouldn’t be able to conduct the exam himself. But during his absence the school had hired a smart boy fromSlovakia
White: Kb3 Sb1,e1 Pa3,a4,c2,c3,c5,g2
Black: Ka5 Pa6,e2,e3,e5,e6,e7
Professor Zabboltz had spent a month with his beloved sister where he could recover from his bad experiences at the school. He was fed up of children, why weren’t they worried of his exams? This time there would be no surprise, he would prepare a more difficult test with even a longer solution. They had been studing the theory of tempo moves of black pawns and he had a programmed test for the day after. Unfortunately he had a lot of administrative work to do downtown and he wouldn’t be able to conduct the exam himself. But during his absence the school had hired a smart boy from
White: Kb3 Sb1,e1 Pa3,a4,c2,c3,c5,g2
Black: Ka5 Pa6,e2,e3,e5,e6,e7
(see below)
White to play and find the shortest mate
The day after, they did everything as ordered by the Professor. But again all the students gave the correct answer almost immediately.
Prof Zabboltz is still missing. All I know is that he left the school with no forward address.
What happened? How could all the students find the correct key move?
4. A negative point of view is never advisable
The director of the school could finally convince Prof. Zabboltz to rejoin the center with the promise that he would be given total freedom to make the chess exams as hard as he wanted. This time Prof. Zabboltz was really angry. Those little monsters had almost ruined his life! Oh, they thought they were very smart, but he knew better. This time no one would pass the test. He composed a devilishly difficult problem for them, and he was going to give them only ten minutes to find the correct key move. He sat in front of the board and quickly reached a position that satisfied him. In fact, he admired himself for his own ingenuity: what a nice problem for his test! This time nothing could go wrong. He was so proud of the problem that, recalling that his sister was always asking him for a picture to hang in her living room, he took a photograph of the board with his old camera before going back home. Next morning, he unexpectedly received a telephone call from his tailor who needed to see him urgently to take some measurements for his new suit. The day of the graduation was coming and he was planning to enjoy that day. In his dreams he could see that none of his students would be there. So yes, he would have to go downtown again. Fortunately he had taken the photograph of the board and he could make a telephone call to his assistant who would still have time to develop the film and set up the board.
The problem he prepared this time was:
The problem he prepared this time was:
White to play and find the shortest mate
Prof. Zabboltz’s assistant set up the board, collected the exams, put all the chess pieces back into their box, and went home. As you can imagine, all the answers were again correct. A neighbor of my sister-in-law has a friend who knows the gardener of a nearby sanatorium who allegedly said in the local coffee shop that it seems to be that a new room is being prepared with strict orders to avoid anything remotely related to chess.
What happened? How could all the students find the correct key move?
Do not hesitate to get in contact with me if you are interested in the solutions.
Prof. Zabboltz’s assistant set up the board, collected the exams, put all the chess pieces back into their box, and went home. As you can imagine, all the answers were again correct. A neighbor of my sister-in-law has a friend who knows the gardener of a nearby sanatorium who allegedly said in the local coffee shop that it seems to be that a new room is being prepared with strict orders to avoid anything remotely related to chess.
What happened? How could all the students find the correct key move?
Do not hesitate to get in contact with me if you are interested in the solutions.
