december 14 2010

 

Two helpmates to distract Daniel and a few others for Christmas. We rest with a #2, then a small festival of 3#: three direct and two selfmate (the second one makes both a Greek and a Latin cross). Finally, a long problem of the world specialist... of 2 moves ... !

A few years ago, we were surprised that a PG in 7 moves, "composed" by a computer controlled by the expert hands of F. Labelle, could make us dry so long. This record has just been beaten by the famous composer Gianni Donati. It is always in 7 moves but this time there are two solutions, both as " impossible to solve ", although those who remember Labelle's one are better placed... for the first solution. I made a bet with the specialist nicknamed "Ricou" that after two hours he would still have nothing. Bah! All I risk is to offer him dinner. It will only be a mediocre thank you for all the masterpieces he has given us.

Not bad either, a PG "at home" by Marco Bonavoglia in 7.5. Did the Italians eat lion ?

Another bet, precisely about the lion, is to dry the audience on a mat in one move. A bet doubly won tonight, first with locusts in chess patrol, then with Rook-lion, Bishop-lion and above all, in the "lion" family, the ROSE !

The fairies does not fit well into the "electronic" report. But the tabellion master will tell you everything you want to know... An exception all the same with a 42-move helped stalemate, which you can contemplate at home... like in the cinema.

Merry Christmas and see you on the January 4th for a lesson that is back to "normal"..

Enjoy yourself.

AV

 

for this last lesson of the year, you will find the usual greffier whose eloquence is far from equal to that of the luxury replacement Daniel.. 

Limited assistance, except for the hard core.
Let us note the notable absence of Michel who had not missed a single fairy lesson for a very long time, that of Abdel, Pierre and others ...

For a good start, a Teutonic work, in the purest Germanic style. :,

1 - #11 with Paos, Vaos and Equistopper

Vao : piece moving like a Bishop but needing a hurdle to capture
Pao : same as above, but with a Rook moving way
Equistopper : piece which controls the centre of symmetry in relation to any other piece on the chessboard as long as it is a whole square
example: Eh2 control g2 (pf2), e2 (pb2), f3 (Bd4), g4 (Vf6) and h4 (Kh6)

So that you are in the same conditions as during the lesson, here are the helpings given by the Master:
1. f3 does not mate Pxf3 2. Exf3+ Kd3!
on 1. b4 threatening Eh4 #, the good defence is not ab on which f3+ works rather better, but Vxe3!

Search solution of this problem, it's a very nice mechanic (like Mercedes or BMW)

From one of the 2 authors, another composition  

2 - #2 Patrol with Grasshoppers

Patrol : a piece can only capture when it is under the observation of a piece from its side
Grasshopper : moves on the Queen's lines with the help of a hurdle behind which she lands
. It's heavy stuff! Even one-move (!) mats are hard to find (there are witnesses !).

Still with the Grasshoppers, a bit of archaeology.

3 - h#2 with Grasshoppers

this artwork is more than 70 years old, but it holds exceptionally well on the road
To give you a small indication, a retro-analysis would be welcome

Chinese pieces are found in the following problem :

4 - hs#4 with Paos and Vaos

self-helpmate : Black plays and helps the White until the penultimate move, after which the whites play and force them to checkmate, which in the statement makes h#3 (with White begins) + s#1.
very clean and pleasant to search

Also light and equally pleasant is the following :

5 - h#2 Circe Patrol 3 solutions with Nightrider

Circe : a captured piece is reborn on its original square (a fairy piece is reborn on the promotion square on the column where it is captured)
Nightrider : Knight extended in a straight line

A task to continue

6 - series h=42

It's not too much of a secret to reveal that the 6 black pawns are going to promote each other, what's more so is that the promotions will take place without a capture.
If that's not a boost, then what is it ?

7 - #2 with Rook-Lion, Bishop-Lion and Rose-Lion

Rose-Lion : Rose needing a hurdle to swallow the opponent's piece.
Rose : kind of extended Knight with a curved moving way (e.g.: c2 - e1 - g2 - h4 - g6)
Bishop-Lion : Bishop needing a hurdle to swallow the opponent's piece.
Rook-Lion : Rook needing a hurdle to swallow the opponent's piece.


During dinner part of the lesson, Master Guy, in his characteristic creative style, shared with us his latest P.G. creations.
It was a great moment of delight. Of course, the works in question are under the seal of secrecy before publication.

the Master nevertheless had the opportunity to conclude with 2 typically fairy works, beginning with a composition by our friend Abdel

8 - h#2,5 - Immun chess

Immun Chess : A piece whose rebirth square is occupied cannot be reborn in the Circe sense of the term and therefore cannot be captured
. Very funny, because the first black move is intended to allow the second white move, which would have been of no interest in orthodox chess.
The Immun genre is therefore really present in both phases as the basis of this composition.


To conclude, we return to the patrol rule

9 - h#2 - Patrol

Very nice "patrolage" mechanism.

It remains for me to wish you a very good reading and a good end-of-year feast.
The next appointment, as the Master reminds us, is January 4th (I take this opportunity to thank him for the electronic version).

See you next year.
Yours sincerely.

Le greffier