It's said that April showers "bring May flowers." Certainly, that's true at least in certain parts of North America, where, after a long winter season, the arrival of spring as a harbinger of warmer days is much awaited and indeed can't seem to come quickly enough.

And speaking of "quickly" it's our first column of the month, which brings neither showers nor flowers, but a speed problem. This one requires a little more thought than some others, and so we'll set the clock to 60 seconds. Can you solve our one-minute mystery? Click on the link below to set the second hand in motion and reveal the problem. Then, come back and click on Read More to have the solution rain down upon you.

April Speed Problem (medium difficulty)

Solution

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK31,K25,21:BK30,23,10.

25-22 10-15 21-17 30-26 22-25 26-30 31-26 30x14 26x17 White Wins. A very pleasing problem.