Walter Grimshaw (12 March 1832 – 27 December 1890) was a 19th-century British composer of

chess problem A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by the composer using chess pieces on a chess board, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is to ...

s. In 1854 he won the first ever chess problem composition tourney in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He is perhaps best known for giving his name to the Grimshaw, a popular problem theme.

Sample compositions

This is one of his problems, a mate in five (white moves first, and must checkmate black within five moves against any defence) first published in the ''Illustrated London News'' in 1850. The

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

is 1.Bc8 which threatens 2.Qc5# or Qd2#. To defend, black plays 1...Bxc8 white plays 2.Qf6 (threatening 3.c4#) and now a Grimshaw interference comes into play: black can defend by cutting off the white queen from the defence of d6 with 2...Ne6 or 2...Be6, but this interferes with the rook's guard of e5, and so allows 3.Qe5#. If instead black plays 2...Re6, this interferes with the bishop's guard of f5 which is significant after 3.Qd4+ Kxd4 4.Nf5+, because the knight cannot be captured. Instead, there follows 4...Kd5 5.c4#. The second example is one of Grimshaw's better-known problems, a mate in three composed for a competition organised by the ''Chess Players Chronicle'', 1852-54. The key is the paradoxical 1.Rf1, sacrificing a strong white piece. This carries the threats 2.Nf3 (leading to various mates delivered by the d5 rook) and 2.f3+ (leading to knight mates on f5 or g2). Black's obvious defence, 1...exf1Q is answered by 2.Nf3 Kxf3 3.Rd2#. After 1...f3 (giving black a flight at f4), white plays his rook back to where it came from (a ''switchback'') to take advantage of the newly opened fourth rank: 2.Rg1 any 3.Rg4#.

References

External links

Obituary in British Chess Magazine
* 1832 births 1890 deaths Chess composers English chess players 19th-century chess players {{England-chess-bio-stub