The King's Abdication
October 2024 - Solved 81🧩 Times
In this month’s historical chess puzzle, we travel back in time to London for a fascinating game of chess and a remarkable checkmate. The year was 1912. German engineer Edward Lasker had just arrived in the British capital to learn English and play chess. The world renowned City of London Chess Club had hosted many famous players over the years, but as Lasker carefully set up his white pieces, ready to face George Thomas, a British badminton, tennis and chess player, the stage was set for a game like no other.
Welcome to The King’s Abdication.
Edward Lasker
Edward Lasker (1885–1981) was a prominent chess and Go player, engineer, and author. He was an German-American chess master, known for his contributions to chess theory and his influence on the popularization of chess, particularly in the United States.
This game contains a brilliant combination with a stunningly unique finish. After the game, Thomas remarked “That was very nice”. When a member of the crowd translated this to Lasker, he was impressed by the sportsmanship, later writing that if he had won such a game against a Berlin amateur, they would have claimed it was just luck.
Can you find the checkmate, as Lasker did in 1912?
a
8
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
8
7
7
6
6
5
5
4
4
3
3
2
2
a
1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
1
SOLVED
a
8
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
8
7
7
6
6
5
5
4
4
3
3
2
2
a
1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
1
SOLVED
Analysis