Reflexmate

A reflexmate is a type of chess problem in which White, moving first, must force Black to deliver checkmate within a specified number of moves against their will. The problem carries an added condition: if either player can give checkmate, they must do so. When that condition applies only to Black, the problem is called a semi-reflexmate. Without the condition, the problem is simply an ordinary selfmate. The article illustrates the form with a two-move reflexmate by Stefan Sovik that succeeded in the World Chess Composing Tournament, whose key move creates a threat after which Black is compelled to mate, with variations built on pinning and unpinning of pieces. The example is used to show one artistic advantage of reflexmate over selfmate, namely the presence of more varied mates on average.