La Bourdonnais' Curious Positions

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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.

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013 White to play and win Solution: [ 1.Qf4+ Kh5 2.Qxf5+ exf5 3.Nf4+ Kg5 4.Rg6# ] 013	014 White to play and win Solution: [ 1.Nd6+ Bxd6 2.Rd4+ Nxd4 3.Na5# ] 014	015 White to play and win Solution: [ 1.Qd6+ Ka8 2.Qc6 Qc8 3.Rd8 ] 015	016 White to play and win Solution: [ 1.Ng6+ Kg8 2.Ne7+ Kh8 3.Rxh7+ Kxh7 4.Rh1# ] 016
017 White to play and win Solution: [ 1.Rf8+ Kh7 2.Qg6+ Bxg6 3.hxg6+ Kxg6 4.Bd3# ] 017	018 White to play and win Solution: [ 1.Nxe7+ Bxe7 2.Rc5+ Bxc5 3.Be4+ Nxe4 4.d5# ] 018	019 White to play and win Solution: [ 1.Qa6 Rb8 2.Bc6 Qc8 3.Qxa7+ Kxa7 4.Ra1# ] 019	020 White to play and win Solution: [ 1.Nxc7+ Bxc7 2.Qxb7+ Kxb7 3.Be4+ Kb8 4.Na6# ] 020
021 White to play and win Solution: [ 1.Bc5 {Black has many tries} 1...-- 2.Qh6+ (2.Qf6+) (2.Qxf7+ Kh6 3.Bf8+ Kg5 4.h4#) 2...Kxh6 3.Bf8+ Kg5 4.h4# ] 021	022 White to play and win Solution: [ 1.Ne6+ Ke8 2.Qd8+ Bxd8 3.Rf8+ Rxf8 4.Ng7# ] 022	023 White to play and mate with the Pawn in 4 moves Solution: [ 1.Re5 Kg8 2.Re8+ Kf7 3.Nd6+ Kf6 4.g5# ] 023	024 White to play and win Solution: [ 1.Rc7+ Kh6 2.Rh7+ Rxh7 3.Ng8+ Kg5 4.Bf6# ] 024

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