Cooked

All Things Chess
1

What constitutes a cooked chess problem?

Does that mean there’s multiple ways to solve a problem? Or does it mean the problem can’t be solved? Or both?

I know its easier to figure out if a Mate in X is cooked, but what about a more open ended problem were the composer thought there was a forced draw or win, but in reality can’t force a win, or if a suppose to be a draw, but loses?

I was just curious. Occasionally, someone will point out that a problem in Chess Life has either a different solution (maybe shorter), or that the solution doesn’t work at all.

2

If a problem has a second, unintended, solution, that would certainly be considered a cook. Or, if the intended solution doesn’t work, that, too, would probably be called a cook.

Anything that makes the problem anything other than what it was intended to be could reasonably be called a cook.

Bill Smythe