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From: stanwyck@ihuxr.UUCP (Don Stanwyck)
Newsgroups: net.puzzle
Subject: Re: nifty chess puzzle spoiler
Message-ID: <911@ihuxr.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 16-Feb-84 13:06:50 EST
Article-I.D.: ihuxr.911
Posted: Thu Feb 16 13:06:50 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 17-Feb-84 03:26:16 EST
References: <501@ihuxe.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 43

================================================================================
 Black (lower case)
.-----------------.
| - * - * k * - * |	Part 1:  White to play and mate in two.
| * p * - P - * p |
| - * N * P * N * |	Part 2:  At first blush there appear to be	
| * - P p K p P - |		 two possible solutions.  Prove that
| - * - P p P - * |		 there can be only one.
| * - * - P - * - |
| - * - * P * - * |
| * - * - * - * - |
`-----------------'
    White (Caps)	

1)PxBP e.p. threatening P-B7 mate. Blacks last move was P(B2)-B4.
 
2)Its not possible for blacks last move to be P(Q2)-Q4 because blacks
  queens bishop was needed to be sacked in order to arrive at the pawn
  formation given. If the pawn was still on Q2, the bishop would never
  have been able to move. Whites pawns must make ten captures. Black
  has lost only 3 pawns and 7 pieces. The bishop was needed.
================================================================================
I still do not see why it works - specifically, why mate is necessarily 
possible.  The above solution (which I had also seen) assumes the last
move to have been P(B2-B4).  This does not convince me that it could
not have been P(B3-B4) or perhaps even P(Q3-Q4), either of which would mean
that there is no solution.  

The puzzle books I have looked at all assume that the only information one
may assume is the board position.  From the board position, I feel, (though
I have not spent sufficient time to prove it) that it is unjustified to 
assume that the B2-B4 move was the previous, and thus the correct answer is
that there is no solution which is necessarily correct.

I welcome any proof to the contrary.

-- 
 ________
 (      )					Don Stanwyck
@( o  o )@					312-979-3062
 (  ||  )					Cornet-367-3062
 ( \__/ )					ihnp4!ihuxr!stanwyck
 (______)					Bell Labs @ Naperville, IL