Friedrich Köhnlein
An old-time classic. Friedrich Köhnlein (1879-1916) was a chess
all-rounder who once won a tournament ahead of Alekhine. He served as a
lieutenant in the German army in World War 1. Köhnlein went missing on
5th July 1916, during the battle of the Somme. His body was never found.
1.Kc1 simply threatens to march the king to f2 to support 5.Rg3 mate. Black can attempt to defend
by bottling up his pieces – 1...Ba4 2.Kd1 Ra5 and now 3.Ke1? will be met by 3...b5 4.Kf2?? stalemate.
However White can save the day with the Nowotny 3.b5! Rxb5 4.Se8 or 3...Bxb5 4.Sd5, in both cases mating
with 5.Sf6. The white bishop deals with a sideline variation 1...Ra5 2.Kd1 Rxa3 3.Sd5 Ra1+ 4.Bxa1.
Satanick Mukhuty: Quite an amusing application of Nowotny.
Guy Meissonnier: Kling and Nowotny’s themes are present in this wonderful chess nut!