American Indian

Christofer Columbus started, to find India, travelling westward and discovered America. He thought that the natives there were Indians, but they were something else, American Indians.

The "American Indian" is also a chess composition theme. It was named by the American composer Sam Loyd, because it reminded him the battle tactics of the Indians of his country. Mr Loyd was not the first to create a chess composition with this theme, (first was Benjamin G. Laws with a publication in 1885), but he liked it and he used it in very nice compositions. See Problem-6 and Problem-161.

Theme American Indian, (french Peau-rouge red-skin): "The key withdraws a piece wA, guarding another piece wB, to a remote square, so as to attack a Black man bC, which in turn threatens the White piece wB, previously guarded by the key piece, but now open to capture by the Black King. If the Black man bC captures the piece wB, the key piece wA passes through the square vacated by the Black man bC, and captures a second Black man bD, giving mate".

In the following we will see the theme in a helpmate and in a selfmate composition.

Problem-690 Wichard von Albensleben 1st Prize, Europa Rochade, 1991

4r3/4rb2/4q3/1Bp5/2R5/b2kBR2/5p2/5Ks1 (5 + 9) h#2, Helpmate in two moves, a) Diagram, b) bRe7 to c3

a) 1.Qd7 Rxf7 2.Rxe3 Rxd7# b) 1.Qg6 Bxe8 2.Bxc4 Bxg6# The theme "American Indian" twice!

Problem-691 Otto Weisert Die Schwalbe, 1937

8/1Q3b2/P4Pq1/1Bp5/2Pp4/3kbP2/PPpspp2/2K1R3 (10 + 10) s#2, Selfmate in two moves

Try : {1.Bd7? [2.Qb3+ Sxb3#] Bxc4!} Key : 1.Be8! [2.Qb3+ Sxb3#] 1…Bxc4 2.Bxg6+ Se4# 1…Kxc4 2.Qb3+ Sxb3#