Mate in 4

Here is the first composition I ever did. I was 16 and very proud that none of my family could solve it. It should prove quite easy for chess buffs though!

I found an alternative: [ 1. a8=Q Kxb5 2. Qa6+ Kc5 3. Rc4+ Kd5 4. Qc6# ] Highlight between the braces to read. Pandolfini calls this the "Rook 'n Roll" technique.

I'm curious now, how long have you been playing chess? 

Yeah, I was a little bummed when I found this other method. Supposedly, great compositions only have one answer, right? That's what they say. I still included the given line because it seems a little more elegant and it was the line I originally envisaged.

I have been playing chess since some guy taught my third grade class one day. I won the class tournament and then beat my teacher. He thought I was some sort of genius, but I think he was just horrible at chess! Nonetheless, this gave me the incentive to dive in head first, and I'm still swimming.

i had no errors, but great puzzle anyway

3.Kf5 Kd5 4.Qe6# is an alternative too , 

I kept trying Pandolfini's method and it wouldn't work on this puzzle.  I probably spent a minute realizing that wasn't the solution.  But good alternative!

Nice , but don't puzzles normally have a forced line and then the other options either lose the game forthe  player or drag on the game for much longer . After 1.a=Q does it really matter how many moves it takes to mate black ?

 4...Kc5

 There are all types of puzzles. For mate-in-x puzzles, the number of moves taken is the important point, not finding a win out of an even or losing position.