Letter from Brian Harley to Miroslav Havel, dated 18 March 1930, in which he informs that the three-movers problem he sent unfortunately has a secondary solution. In addition to the given solution 1. Bd8, 1. Nxh4+ also leads to a three-move checkmate (in fact, the following moves also lead to three-move checkmate: 1. Be3. 1. Nh2 and 1. Ne3).

The original postcard by Miroslav Havel with diagram and three-mover is also included. As well as the proposed correction by Brian Haley, which also has a secondary solution. Apart from 1.Bd8, the moves 1.Qe6+ and 1.Be3 lead to a solution. Chess composers used to have a hard time verifying the correctness of chess problems without computer help…

The original envelope in which Brian Harley sent everything is also included.

Brian Harley (1883 - 1955) was a British chess composer, the president of the British Chess Problem Society from 1947 until 1949 and for a very long time editor of the chess column in The Observer. He also wrote several books mostly on problem chess, one of which I am offering in this auction (Mate in Two moves, 1931).

Miroslav Havel (1881-1958), real name Miroslav Kostal, was a Czech chess composer, master of chess problem, international judge and long-time chairman of the Czechoslovak organisation of compositional chess. He is considered the most important representative of the Bohemian problem school. Havel composed 1938 problems, mainly three-movers and moremovers, and won 71 first prizes, 141 other prizes and 143 other honours in composition tournaments. He ran many chess columns and wrote the book Bohemian Garnets (1923, A. C. White's Christmas series) and Zapomenuty pseudonym (1945, Czech Christmas series).

Condition - Good: all the papers are folded.