Take & Nessie & Make

Ser-h#4

Take and Make*

Loch Ness Extended**

1. Kg8 2. Nf8 3. Bf7 4. Rh5, Rxh5/Rh8 # ***

* Having captured, a unit must immediately, as part of its move, play a non-capturing move, using ONLY the powers of movement of the captured unit from the capture-square. If no such move is available, the capture is illegal. Promotion by capture occurs only when a pawn arrives on the promotion rank as the result of a Take and Make move. Checks are as in normal chess: after the notional capture of the checked King, the checking unit does not move away from the King’s square.

**The diagonal a1-h8 [ordinary Nessie is: b2-g7, NdR] is Loch Ness, inhabited by a monster which will swallow any unobserved unit on it.

*** After 4... Rxh5/Rh8, the wR is guarded by the bK. Of course, 5. Kxh8 is impossible, because, in that event, Nessie would eat the unguarded kamikaze King. NB: In absence of the bRf8, then 4. Kf8!, and Rh8, now unguarded, would be swallowed by the monster. 

Disparately :)

#5

Disparate Chess

Sol. 1. Kc6, h5 2. Kd5, h4 3. Ke4, h3 4. Kf3, h2 5. Ra1 #

The most elementary Disparate Chess problem ever appeared on this unfortunate planet :)

The Most Elementary Vogtländer Problem Ever Appeared on Earth

Ser-h#7

Vogtländer Chess*

Sol.: 1.b7-b5 2.b5-b4 3.b4-b3 4.b3-b2 5.b2-b1=B 6.Bb1-e4 7.Be4-h1 Kh3-g2 #

* When white King is attacked, it is Black who is considered to be in check, and vice versa. Mate is given by placing one’s King under the attack of the enemy pieces, such that the attack cannot be relived on the subsequent turn.

Royal Querquisites

Stephen Emmerson, "Variant Chess", III, 27, Spring 1998

h#2

2.1.1.1.

Royal Querquisites*

1. Kf6 (B), Kd7 (Q) 2. Bb2 (S), Qd4 #

1. Kf5 (B), Kd8 (Q) 2. Bb1 (S), Qd3 #

"The Querquisite [...] has the power of movement of the piece upon whose file it, stands, e.g. a rook on the a- or h-files, a king on the e-file &c." (S. Emmerson, Two's Company,  "Variant Chess", III, 27, Spring 1998, p. 143).

Decomposition Chess

Ser-h#3

Circe

Decomposition Chess*

1. Kg2 2. h1=Q 3. (Q=R+B) Rg1 (Bh1) 4. (R=B+P) Bh2 (P=Bg1), Bh3 #

* Decomposition Chess. Rules. 1. Every man is decomposable as follows: Q=R+F; R=F+P; F=PP. 2. The decomposition is actuated with the mere removal of one of the components (the other remains on the square)

Mao! (Fixed)

h#2

White Mao Royal piece (RMao) g2

White Mao g5

Black Pawn Royal piece e2

Sol. 1. e1=RMao+, RMao h4 2. g3, Mao h3 3. RMao g2, Mao g1 #

Fixing "Azazel Strikes Back" (I Hope)

h#3

Azazel Chess

Sol. 1. Kb2, Kd3 2. Kb2 (B) / Kh8, Kc4 3. Bg7, Kb5 (NR) #

Azazel Strikes Back

Ser-h#4
Without White King

Azazel Chess

Sol. 1. Re6 (B) / Rg8 2. Ne6 3. Kf6 (B) / Kh8 4. Bd6 (N) / Bg7,  / Bf7 #
Cooked & cooked. 5. Ng7 (R) / Nxf7 or 5. Rg8 (B) / Rxg7
This set needs a fairy jumper.

Azazel Chess

Ser-h#3

Azazel Chess

In the nice horror movie Fallen (G. Hoblit, 1998), Azazel (Leviticus, 16, 8-10) is a fallen angel with the power to possess human beings by touch. I think about, creating this new fairy condition, whose rules are the following ones:

1. Every man (the King, too), if lies on a square which is contiguous (orthogonally or diagonally) with another man, of either colour, may take on its powers. If there are many contiguous men, the player cannot choose but one of them.

2. The acquired powers have consequences only during the adversary's reply, then the man takes back its old condition.

3. The player can make a move and/or activate the trasformation of one man's powers.

In the "problem" above (sol. 1. Kg3 2. Kg2 3. Kh1, S6g4 / Sh2 > K#), 1. Kg3 is legal, because, even if White had to move, he might, but not should reply with 1... Sh2 > K+, If the Kh6 were already in g4, the mating move would be simply 3... Sh2 > K#).

Let's see the following position:

Azazel Chess

Here, W could not checks contemporarily the BK with the Rook and with the Knight as Kings, and, if 1. Ra3 / Sc3 ++, Black could reply with 1... Kb3 > R / R (say) b8 or with 1... Kxc2 or Kc4, but not with 1... (say) Kb3 > S / Kc1, because, until the next move, Sc2 has King's powers.

KoBul Meets Tony Manero

ZEROPOSITION

a) + bPg3, KoBul Kings*, Ser-h#6

Sol. 1.g3-g2 2.Kh3-g3 3.Kg3-f2 4.Kf2-g1 5.Kg1*h1[a6=rB] 6.g2-g1=B rBa6-b7 #

b) + bPg4, Ser-h#8, KoBul Kings* + Tony Manero's Chessboard (B-M)

Sol. 1. g3 2. Kh3-g4 3. g3 4. Kg4-f3 5. Kf3-f2 6. Kf2-g1 7. Kg1*h1[a6=rB] 8. g2-g1=B, rBa6-b7 #

* KoBul Kings:When a piece (not a pawn) of his own side is captured, a King transforms into a Royal piece of the same type as the captured one. When the King is in the form of any Royal piece and there is a capture of one of the pawns of his own side, he becomes a normal King again.Captures are illegal if they result in self-check by the transformed King.

Siamese & Japanese

h#3

Siamese Kings

Para-shogi

Circe

1. Kf8 [of course, a reborn piece could not be "in hand", after the capture], Kxa2 2. Bxb2, Kxb2 [wB in hand] 3. Kg7 [switchback: one  "professional" feature, at least: oh, but, who really cares? :)], Bh6 [dropped] #

It works, I think (I hope): shogi promotion seem useless, I hope (I think).

:)

Tenderfeet Only :)

h=1

Circe

1. cxb3 e.p. (Pb2), Kxc6 =

[Of course, the last White's move is necessarily 0... b4]

Instant Excelsiors

O. Faria, "Feenschach", 1963

h#2

Duplex

Black: 1. c3-c1=R b4=Q 2. Rb1, Qa3 #

White: 1. b4=B, c3-c1=S 2. Bd2, Sd3 #

(AUW)

XS Chess

Ser-h=7

XS Chess*

Sol. 1. Kb1 2. a2 3. a1=R (bPa7) 4. a5 5. a4 6. a3 7. a2, Ba3 =

* "In XS Chess [...], when a pawn promotes, a new pawn is entered on the initial pawn square in tne same file, if vacant" ("Chessics", 13, p. 10).

Unfinished Works

"The diagrams shown above indicate work that was left unfinished by [J.E. Creed (left, d. 12 Jan 12974) and J.E. Driver (right, d. 1 Aug 1979)] at the time they died. The position by Dr Creed was noted by Dr Sells as being set up on his board in 1974. There was nothing to indicate what the idea was, but there were no draughtsmen which JEHC usually used for fairy pieces. The position by Mr Driver was diagrammed by him to illustrate a theme we might be able to work on together, but regrettably with the passage of time I have forgotten the intended stipulation. It is my hope that these fragments may give inspiration to readers to use these positions as matrices upon which to compose some completed problems [...]" ("Chessics", 12, Jul-Dec 1981, p. 7).

Tony Manero's Chessboard

h=2

Tony Manero's Chessboard* (B-M-B-M)

*Do you remember Tony Manero's flashing dance floor in Saturday Night Fever? Wasn't it a chessboard? :) Well, this (ugly, IMVHO) movie has inspired my new fairy condition. Rules are simple. Every half-move (variants: every move, every 1.5 moves, etc.), the chessboard changes: the first move must be made according the rules of Monochromatic Chess (or of Bichromatic Chess), the second according Bichromatic Chess' ones (or Monochromatic Chess' ones), and so on.

1. Qg6, fxg6 + 2. Kh8, Kg2 =

Slow Pawn

h#2

Circe

Sol. 1. g6, Bf6 2. g5, Bxg5 #