Conspiracy: A Selection of Help-mate Problems

117 pages with diagrams and index. Small Octavo (7 1/2" x 5") bound in original publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering to spine and front cover. Christmas series volume XLIII for the 31st year. Edited by George Hume. (Betts: 39-14) First edition.

Contains a short introduction to this genre and 100 compositions by various composers, in 2, 3, 4 movers, with adjacent solutions. Includes index of composers.

Help mate chess is a form of problem chess in which the two sides, White and Black, collaborate to demonstrate a result, such as mate or stalemate. In one respect it is the most nearly mathematical form of the chess moves, for its essence is always the pure demonstration of a possibility. All idea of combat is eliminated and combat has nothing whatever to do with mathematics. Imagine a demonstration in Euclid in which every second step of the reasoning was in endeavor to thwart the step preceding! From another angle it may be argued that the Helpmate is a logical form of problem. For any chess problem is assumed to be a position which might have arisen in actual play, no matter how absurd the antecedent sequence of moves. In other words, the initial position of any orthodox chess problem may be considered as having been developed during a game conducted by Help-play.

Condition:

Spine sunned, some marginalia, previous owner's name on front end paper and date '1935', corners bumped else about a very good copy.