Bible Chess

Gideon’s 300 Chess Puzzles: Sacrifices that win

World 5 of 10 · 40 puzzles · Sacrifices that win

Sacrifices that win: give up a piece to open the enemy king, then mate it with what is left. The few defeat the many, as Gideon’s three hundred did.

Gideon’s 300, a world of Bible Chess
The story of Gideon’s 300 told with chess pieces, picture 1 of 3
Gideon is the least in his family, threshing wheat in hiding.
The story of Gideon’s 300 told with chess pieces, picture 2 of 3
God sends the army home until only three hundred are left.
The story of Gideon’s 300 told with chess pieces, picture 3 of 3
With trumpets and torches, the few beat the many. Give a piece to win.

Here are 6 of the 40 puzzles from this world, from first to last. Your pieces are gold and you move first; your side is at the bottom of the board. Missing squares are water: no piece can stand on them, the Tower, Prophet and Judge can’t cross them, and only the Scout jumps over.

Level 1 · Mate in 2

Every harvest, Midian raids the land.

Gold: King g8, Prophet d6, Scout e5, Judge f4. Stone: Shepherd f2, Shepherd g2, Tower f1, King g1.

Show the solution
  1. Scout e5 to f3. Stone answers: Shepherd g2 to f3, taking the Scout.
  2. Judge f4 to g5. Checkmate!
So it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the children of the east came up against them.
Judges 6:3 · WEB

Level 9 · Mate in 2

That night, Gideon pulls down the idol's altar.

Gold: Tower h8, King g7, Tower h6, Judge g5. Stone: Shepherd h3, Shepherd f2, Shepherd g2, King h1.

Show the solution
  1. Tower h6 to h3, taking the Shepherd. Stone answers: King h1 to g1.
  2. Tower h3 to h1. Checkmate!
That same night, Yahweh said to him, “Take your father’s bull, even the second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it.”
Judges 6:25 · WEB

Level 17 · Mate in 2

Whoever is afraid may go home.

Gold: King h8, Judge h4, Shepherd g3, Tower h2. Stone: Shepherd e2, Prophet g2, Tower f1, King g1.

Show the solution
  1. Tower h2 to h1. Stone answers: Prophet g2 to h1, taking the Tower.
  2. Judge h4 to h2. Checkmate!
The officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, “What man is there who is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest his brother’s heart melt as his heart.”
Deuteronomy 20:8 · WEB

Level 24 · Mate in 2

Give something up to win it all.

Gold: King h8, Scout g4, Judge h3, Tower f2. Stone: Judge e4, Tower e1, Scout f1, King g1.

Show the solution
  1. Tower f2 to f1, taking the Scout. Stone answers: Tower e1 to f1, taking the Tower.
  2. Judge h3 to h2. Checkmate!
Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is Yahweh’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of Armies.”
Zechariah 4:6 · WEB

Level 32 · Mate in 2

Trust, then strike.

Gold: Shepherd f6, Shepherd g6, Judge h5, King g2, Tower h2. Stone: Tower g8, King h8, Shepherd g7, Shepherd h6.

Show the solution
  1. Judge h5 to h6, taking the Shepherd. Stone answers: Shepherd g7 to h6, taking the Judge.
  2. Tower h2 to h6, taking the Shepherd. Checkmate!
When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.
Psalm 56:3 · WEB

Level 40 · Mate in 2

The land has peace for forty years.

Gold: King f8, Tower h8, Shepherd f3, Judge h2. Stone: Scout g3, Shepherd f2, King f1.

Show the solution
  1. Judge h2 to h1. Stone answers: Scout g3 to h1, taking the Judge.
  2. Tower h8 to h1, taking the Scout. Checkmate!
So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
Judges 8:28 · WEB

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