It wouldn’t be Christmas without a seasonal attempt at chess humour so, by popular(?) demand, we try to recreate last year’s festive fun! This is by Thomas Rayner Dawson and is from the Falkirk Herald in 1914 – if anyone has anything better or more recent (here!), please send it to me and I will publish! As ever, try to avoid silicon assistance – a large glass of something warming probably won’t suffice but will prove more fulfilling.
What was Black’s last move and (considerably more tricky) why is there only one possibility, even though the tree is symmetrical.
How have the pawns managed to reach this position?
Merry Christmas to all our readers and contributors, and particular thanks to John Harbour who has more than competently looked after the site during my recent Antipodean wanderings. May all your gambits bear fruit in 2016!
Steve