The chess problem.

Notes on the chess problem and its solution:

1. The problem is adapted from "The Chess Compositions of E.B. Cook, which I found here.

2. My adaptation was twofold: I reversed the color of the pieces so that black is meant to win, not white, as in the original problem, and I’ve turned the board around so that you’re looking at the board from black’s point of view. So far as I've seen, chess problems are almost always shown from white’s POV, even when black is meant to win.

3. By using animation to show the moves, I have avoided any use of formalized notation. If you follow the link above, you’ll find the problem in its original form, complete with standard notation for the solution. I eliminated the notation because it, too, is riddled with bias. Modern standard notation, also referred to as algebraic notation, presents the board as a grid from white’s POV. Algebraic notation has replaced the old standard, descriptive notation, which identifies squares relative to each player’s POV. For example, black’s King’s Knight 6, or KN6, refers to a different square than white’s KN6 — a bit more egalitarian, but it seems many people felt it was too easy to confuse what the move was meant to be. Sometimes in descriptive notation you might find KN6 describing white’s position, kn6 describing black’s. No comment.