Your chance to enter the Winton British Solving Championship

This week’s puzzle is a chance to enter an annual national contest where FT readers traditionally perform strongly. White in the diagram, playing as usual up the board, is to play and checkmate in two moves, against any Black defence. 

The puzzle is the first stage of the annual Winton British Solving Championship, organised by the British Chess Problem Society. This competition is open to British residents only, and entry is free. To take part, simply send White’s first move to: Nigel Dennis, Boundary House, 230 Greys Road, Henley-on-Thames RG9 1QY or by email to winton@theproblemist.org

All entries must be postmarked or emailed no later than July 31 2024, and provide the entrant’s name and home address. Juniors aged under 18 on August 31 2023 should give their date of birth. Please mark your entry “Financial Times”. 

Receipt of the solution to the first-stage problem will be acknowledged after the closing date, when all competitors will receive the answer. Those who get it right will also be sent the postal round of eight harder problems, with plenty of time for solving. The best 15-20 competitors from the postal round, plus the best juniors, will be invited to the final in February 2025, where the prize money will be around £2,500. Last February’s final was held at Harrow School. 

The champion will also qualify for the Great Britain team in the 2025 world solving championship, an event where GB is often a medal contender. 

The starter problem is tricky, with both White and Black armies scattered round the board. Obvious choices rarely work. It is easy to make an error, so double-check your answer before sending it. Good luck to all FT entrants.

Magnus Carlsen, the world No1, is this week playing his first classical tournament for six months as he competes at Stavanger in the traditional Norway Chess event, whose format has changed this year. There is now also a six-player women’s invitational, whose prize money of $160,000 is identical to the men’s competition.

In the first round Carlsen was paired with China’s Ding Liren, who won the world title after Carlsen abdicated in 2023, but has been in poor form since due to ill health. Their game was a quick draw by threefold repetition which, under the rules, had to be replayed as an Armageddon, where White has 10 minutes for the entire game, Black seven minutes — but a draw on the board counts as a win for Black. The scoring was three points for a classical win, 1.5 for a classical draw and an Arma win, one point for a classical draw and an Arma loss, zero for a classical loss.

The Armageddon game looked strange, and took 65 moves, but Carlsen had it planned out. In a blocked position, he regrouped his f6 knight via h7, f8, and e6 to d4. Then he eliminated all the bishops and knights, leaving kings, queens, rooks and eight pawns each. Behind on the clock, Ding was obliged to open up the game and simplify to a queen and pawns ending, where Carlsen forced a draw by perpetual check.

Job done, 1.5 points for Carlsen, who will surely be aiming for the full three when he plays White against Ding in their return game on Sunday 2 June (4pm BST start, live on lichess.org/broadcast/norway-chess-2024--open. By then, it should also be clear whether Ding’s declared ambition for the tournament, not to finish last, was too modest.

Please note that as our column covers the Winton British Solving Championship, there is no Chess solution this week. Click here for previous solutions