For better or worse, the Supersonic Transport, or SST, is long gone, and there has never been a commercial replacement.

Now, we won't say that this month's speed problem requires the faster than sound swiftness of the SST. Not quite, that is. But the problem is easy enough that we're not about to let you dawdle at propeller driven speeds, either. We think ten seconds is a very generous time allotment, and that's what we're offering.

When you're ready, click on the link below to show the problem and start the timer. When you're done, come back here and click Read More to verify your solution.

June Speed Problem Easy, 10 seconds

Solution

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W12,13,25,26,27,30,31,32:B3,5,6,10,11,15,18,20.

12-8 3-12 27-24 20-27 32-7 White Wins.

Did you catch the little trick here? White can of course win right off the bat with 27-24. But playing 12-8 first both reduces the total piece count and allows White to get a king at the end of the sequence, possibly making the win faster and easier.

Interestingly, though, the computer does recommend an immediate 27-24, and shows a complex follow-up involving a pitch, that presumably proves the point. We won't argue with the computer's play, but we do think that over the board 12-8 makes sense for a human. Score yourself correct for either solution.

There's surprising depth in even a "simple" shot problem!