The year is 1274 BC. The Egyptian Empire is at its peak and its Pharaoh is Ramesses II. Even so, the Hittite Empire from modern-day Turkey is Egypt’s rival in the Middle-East.
At the Orontes River in modern-day Syria the Empires clashed in the Battle of Kadesh. At first King Muwatalli II of the Hittite Empire tricked Ramesses with two spies, who misled Ramesses about Muwatalli’s location and caused Ramesses to fall into a trap. But Ramesses escaped after surviving on onslaught of chariots.
The war continued but the Battle was a stalemate. In large part because of this Battle, fifteen years later the two Empires signed the world’s first peace treaty. With this hint in mind please try to find white’s best move.
Black is up a knight and pawn, its rook seals the white king to the 8th rank, who is far from home and all alone on the opposite side of the board.White cannot win.
The trick is to recognize that all of the white’s king’s neighboring squares – d7, e7, d8, and f8 – are booby-trapped.This allows white to draw by having its rook capture black’s pawn with check (see next diagram).
If black’s rook wins white’s rook, the white king is stalemated. If instead the black king moves out of check, white trades rooks. Now it is black who cannot win with just a knight and king. Either way, peace is achieved and white has not lost.
The lesson this week is that peace is not all bad.
Reach Eric Morrow at ericmorrowlaw@gmail.com or (505) 327-7121.
