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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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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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