📚 Shiqing Yaqu — the famous Ming-dynasty collection of entertaining endgame compositions
Red to move — checkmate in 5, even though Black has almost twice the pieces: ten men, with both advisors and elephants, knight, chariot, two cannons. Red has just six — two chariots, two cannons, one pawn — but all six are aimed straight at Black's palace. Five moves is a breathlessly short window: either Red finishes the attack right here, or the storm passes and the material count takes over. The position, from Thích Tình Nhã Thú (game 174), borrows the "three enragings" of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms — Zhou Yu goaded to coughing blood in chapters 51, 54 and 56; the historical Zhou Yu was in fact a generous man, and the anecdote below distinguishes the two versions. Before the story, the challenge: which move opens the 5-move mate?
✓ Engine-verified — The Fairy-Stockfish engine (NNUE) confirms Red checkmates in 5 moves — the main line was checked move by move, every move legal. Date checked: 2026-11-03.
세 번 ‘분통이 터져 죽었다’는 주유 — 실제 주유는 전혀 달랐다
제갈량이 세 번 자극하고, 주유가 세 번 분노했으며, 세 번째에는 피를 토하고 죽었다고 이야기는 전한다. 하늘이 왜 자기를 괴롭히려고 제갈량을 만들었느냐고 탄식하면서. 무척 통쾌한 전설이다. 하지만 실제 주유가 제갈량이 결코 흔들 수 없던 유일한 사람이었다면 어떨까? ‘세 번 화를 돋우다’는 이야기는 《삼국지연의》 제51, 54, 56회에서 온다. 젊고 질투심 많은 주유가 거듭 속아 넘어가다가 굴욕 끝에 죽는 것으로 그려진다. 역사 속 주유는 거의 정반대다. 너그러움으로 유명했다. 노장 정보(程普)는 주유와 함께 있는 것이…
Stories around this position — storytelling, not part of the engine-verified content.
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