The holidays have ended, leaving us perhaps a bit weary from all the merry-making and festivities. And so, we'll start the year out with a pair of speed problems taken from actual play, that will give us some entertainment without taxing our tired heads too terribly much. We rate both problems as "easy" but in fact they are most likely "very easy." Still, in the spirit of post-holiday rest, we'll allow a full 15 seconds for each and go "easy" on you.

January Speed Problem #1 (easy)

January Speed Problem #2 (easy)

If somehow you find this all just too much for so early in the year, you can always click on Read More to clear things up at once.

Solutions

Problem No. 1

19-24 28-19 11-16 20-11 7-31 Black Wins.

Problem No. 2

23-18 14-23 17-14 10-17 19-3 White Wins.