Chess Puzzle

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted anything on this blog. In fact it was July 23rd of this year when I posted about a new image file format. Today I was presented with a chess puzzle that took me a few minutes to work out. See Figure 1.

Figure 1: White to move and mate in 2

The key to the problem is Black's lack of mobility. Only the rook or the pawn on a7 can move. White must make a move so that, whether Black moves the pawn or the rook, mate must follow. The necessary move is Qd5, obvious enough once you see it.

Recently I started solving some of the puzzles on lichess.org as an alternative to playing full games which I usually lose (playing on Fairy-Stockfish 14 level 6). See Figure 2. I always play classical chess with an unlimited time control as I don't enjoy the stress of timed games. I've tried playing 5 minute games against online opponents but found that too tense. I only play against the computer nowadays. For this reason I don't have a rating as it's only games played against online opponents under time controls that count.

Figure 2

My current level in solving puzzles is 1967 and in general I hover around the 2000 mark, sometimes a little above and sometimes a little below.

 
Figure 3

It's a relaxing alternative to playing full games and I should do it more frequently as one means of keeping my brain active.