BARDEN’S CHESS PROBLEMS

Who mates in three moves, against any defence? With so little material on the board, today’s puzzle should be easy to solve, but its simplicity is deceptive. White’s central dilemma is that his obvious first moves do not work. Thus 1 Qc3 would be fine if Black allowed b5 2 Qb4 mate, but after 1 Qc3 Kb5! there is no mating route in a further two moves. How about bringing up the white king to help? 1 Kc7 is met by Ka5 2 Qb3 and now not Ka6? 3 Qxb6 mate but 2 ... b5! and again White has no mating reply. The right sequence is subtle, and may take a while to find. Can you work out the three-move mate?

1 Kc8! b5 2 Qc3 b4 3 Qxb4 mate. lf Ka5 2 Qd7! and if b5 3 Qa7 mate, or Ka6 3 Qa4 mate.