[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: A Puzzle from the North American Open

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
A Puzzle from the North American Open
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1199424894.shtml


   The following position didn't arise during the tournament, but was
   shown to me by an old friend, Steve Barbre, which was shown to him in
   turn by a local player named Virgil (don't know his last name), who
   got it from someone else when he served in the armed forces. If anyone
   knows the position's provenance, please let us know in the combox;
   meanwhile, here it is:
   [steve_and_virgil_puzzle_1.jpg]
   It's Black to move and win. More precisely - since Black has various
   mundane winning procedures, to give mate as fast as possible, which is
   nine moves against best defense. It's possible to solve it without
   being some sort of master solver - I did - and it's worth making the
   effort, as the solution is quite nice.
   The solution will be given in a couple of days; meanwhile, please
   don't spoil others' fun by commenting the right answer.