Creating Patterns

Yesterday's "My Favorite Problem" displayed an elementary tactics problem that uses a fork to decoy either queen or king to a square where a second fork wins the queen. After putting this problem before youth players, I created two more problems designed to develop pattern recognition.

White to move

White to move

The same problem set contained a checkmate in two that proved tortuously difficult for young players. Of course, they did not know that it was checkmate in two.

White to move