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La Bourdonnais' Curious Positions
From Louis-Charles de La Bourdonnais New Treatise on the Game of Chess

Louis-Charles de La Bourdonnais (1797-1840), widely considered the unofficial world champion in the 1830s, wrote one book : 'Nouveau Traité du Jeux des Echecs' ('New Treatise on the Game of Chess'). The book covers chess fundamentals -- openings, simple endgames -- and other topics for beginners. The longest chapter, 'Positions curieuses' ('Curious positions'), was a collection of 60 tactical examples which La Bourdonnais considered particularly interesting.

Click on a thumbnail for a larger board and the solution to the puzzle. Solutions are between the brackets on each puzzle. Use your mouse to drag your cursor between the brackets and reveal the answer. There are five pages with 12 positions per page, making a total of 60 positions. Most, but not all, are White to play and win.

001
001
White to play and win
Solution (drag your cursor between the brackets to reveal): [ 1.Qxf7+ Rxf7 2.Re8# ]

001
002
002
White to play and win
Solution: [ 1.Rc7+ Bxc7 2.Na7# ]

002
003
003
White to play and win
Solution: [ 1.Qc5+ dxc5 2.Rd8# ]

003
004
004
White to play and win
Solution: [ 1.Qxh7+ Qxh7 2.Nf7# ]

004
005
005
White to play and win
Solution: [ 1.Rg5+ Kxg5 2.Nf7+ Kh5 3.g4# ]

005
006
006
White to play and win
Solution: [ 1.Bb6+ Kxb6 2.c8=N+ Ka5 3.b4# ]

006
007
007
White to play and win
Solution: [ 1.Qh7+ Nxh7 2.Ng6+ Kg8 3.Bd5# ]

007
008
008
White to play and win
Solution: [ 1.Rh1+ Rh2 2.Rh7+ Rxh7 3.g7# ]

008
009
009
White to play and win
Solution: [ 1.Qa6+ Nxa6 2.Bxb7+ Kb8 3.Nc6# ]

009
010
010
White to play and win
Solution: [ 1.Ne6+ Qxe6 2.Qh6+ Kxh6 3.Bf8# ]

010
011
011
White to play and win
Solution: [ 1.Qg4+ Bxg4 2.Rxh6+ gxh6 3.Bf7# ]

011
012
012
White to play and win
Solution: [ 1.Rg2+ (1.Rg1+ is similar) 1...Kf8 2.Nd7+ Rxd7 3.Re8+ Kxe8 4.Rg8# ]

012

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