700+ years old ...

Introduction

Considered to be the oldest collection of chess problems in Europe, Bonus Socius (Good Companion) was written in Latin in Lombardy, Italy toward the end of the 13th Century (Chaucer wasn't even born yet). The preface reads: "I, a good companion falling in with the wishes of my companions, have taken the trouble to collect into a book all the problems which I have discovered in chess." It was translated into a number of languages and beautifully illustrated. There are copies in some of the world's great libraries, for instance one at the Morgan Library, which has a copy of a French translation. To get a sense of the beautiful drawings—in ink, tempera, and gold leaf—here's a sample page.

The Problem

Bonus Socius, 1290-1300

White to move and mate in 2.

(Solution appears below.)

The Solution

Outro

For more on the wonderland of chess problem compositions, visit ChessProblem.net.