I HOPE plenty of readers had a go at the Christmas Quiz, and even managed to solve some of the problems. Whether you did or not, you can now take a look at the full solutions to the first three.Diagram 1 showed a fairly straightforward two-mover, but quite a nice example for any newcomers to the genre. No obvious move, such as a check or promotion, will do the job — they generally don’t in these problems. The key move is 1. Nc6, reaching Diagram 1a. White now threatens 2. Ng5 mate, and no move by a black rook will stop this. However, 1. . . . KxR (f7) runs into the simple 2. g8=Q mate, while 1. . . . KxR (d5) meets the neater 2.Qa2 mate.

Diagram 2 was a three-mover. Here the key move is 1. Ka5!, which looks odd because it allows 1. . . . e2-e1, queening with check. But White continues calmly with 2. Kb6, reaching Diagram 2a. He now threatens checkmate with 3. Nc7, as well as with any move by the other knight, so Black had better give a check. However, you can confirm that any check can be parried by a move that itself gives checkmate.

So why wasn’t 1. Kb5 equally good? In that case Black can try the alternative defence 1. . . . Rg8, and after 2. Kb6, Rc8 there is no mate next move. However, after 1. Ka5!, Rg8, White plays 2. Nd4+!, Kh7 3. Nb5 mate, which was only possible because the b5 square was unoccupied.

On to Diagram 3, the four-mover. You must keep the Black king penned in without stalemating him, so the only candidate moves are 1. Kf6 and 1. Kg6. The correct choice is 1. Kf6, with the completely forcing variations 1. . . . Kh5 2. Nf5, Kg4 3. f3+, Kh5 4. g4 mate and 1. . . . Kg4 2. Kg6, Kh4 3. Nf5+, Kg4 4. f3 mate. 1. Kg6 is a mistake because after 1. . . . Kg6 it is most inconveniently White’s move in Diagram 3a. Now 2. Nf5 is stalemate, while anything else allows the black king to escape from the net.

The club’s regular weekly meetings will recommence next Tuesday evening at the Chamber of Commerce. Judging by last year’s tournaments there seems to be sufficient enthusiasm to reinstate the teams competition, which used to be highly popular, and the best news is that we have some club members keen to take the crucial roles of team captains.

Players of all standards, especially those who would be interested in playing on lower boards, are asked to come along next week, from 7.30 p.m., to sign up for a team and to play some practice games.