But this is easy! No it isn’t!
By Werner Keym
“Boxing Day” is a holiday celebrated on December 26, on the second day after Christmas. It is a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part of Christmas festivities. I want to celebrate it with two deceptively simple chess problems you should look at carefully, and one regular problem which you should solve on a defending diagram.
2025 Christmas Puzzle 3
White to mate in two
This two-move miniature seems to be very easy: 1.Rb6!? K×c4 2.Qd4#. And that was the “solution” that 223 of 237 readers of the daily newspaper Rhein-Zeitung Koblenz submitted in 2002. However, it was not correct. If you take a close look at the position, you might find the problem that it poses. And thinking about that may lead you to the right solution.
2025 Christmas Puzzle 4
White to mate in three
You may come up with a clever solution, like 1.f8N? g6 2.Kh6 g5 3.Ng6#, but once again this is not correct. For obvious reasons. Think about the problem that comes with it, and find the correct solution.
2025 Christmas Puzzle 5
This problem has a symmetrical position – its mirror axis runs through the centers of the squares d2-e4-f6-g8. I dedicated it to grandmaster Matthias Blübaum, and it was published on October 4th 2025 by the Stuttgarter Zeitung.
In the above diagram you can move the white pieces – an engine will defend for Black. Only the correct sequence will lead to a mate in six moves. You deserve congratulations if you can work out the solution without engine assistance.
Please do not post any solutions in our feedback section below. Let other readers enjoy the problems. Please submit your solution feedback here. We will reveal the solutions to all Christmas Puzzle in the first week of January 2026.
