Good old times 1

Recently I have got a very welcome present from a former chess composer. We have been in contact for some time thanks to my blog in Slovak language (it has also a column on chess composition in Slovak). As he has been moving he was trying to get rid of as many things as possible. Among others, he has found old issues of feenschach and offered them to me. As a part of them is from the time I still was not interested in chess problems, they present a view into history of fairy chess to some degree unknown to me.

As I started studying them, I have found a lot of interesting problems, no surprise. So in the coming series I will try to show some of them with the commentary from the current point of view.

This selection is based on study of feenschach issue 85 (dated October - December 1987).
Jorge M. Kapros
Jorge J. Lois
1st Prize feenschach 1983

a) 1.Kf5 Ka2 2.Re5 Sd5 3.Qg5 Sg7#

b) 1.Kf6 Kxa4 2.Be5 Sd4 3.Qe7 Sh5#

To attain the mate, white has to make exactly two moves with knights. Therefore it is necessary to make pure tempo move sometimes. The only viable possibility is a tempo move by wK - but any available move pins one of knights. And now it becomes interesting: White self-unpinning must take place. Compare that to other white KSS tempo h#3 by Ludo Lehen.









h#3 (4+10)
b) d3 -» h4
Narayan Shankar Ram
dedicated to P. Valois
3rd Prize feenschach 1983

1.Rg2? th. 2.Sxc4 A Bxc4#
1...d4 a 2.Sxc6 B Rxc6#
1...Rxd2!

1.Qf6? th. 2.Sxc6 B Rxc6#
1...d4 a 2.Sc2 C Nxc2#
1...c5!

1.Neg5! th. 2.Sc2 C Nxc2#
1...d4 a 2.Sxc4 A Bxc4#
(1...Rxb4,Rc3,Rc2,Rc1 2.Se4 Bc4#
1...Nc2 2.~ Nxb4#)

Excellent example of Ukrainian cycle (also known as cyclic Le Grand). White lines of guard of mates Nc2# (e6-c2, h7-b4), Bxc4# (g4-c4, h5-b5), Rxc6# (h2-b6, h1-c6) interesect on two squares, d5 and d4. Keys defunct always one of those through d4 and one of those through d5. This way the attack changes and threat paradoxes are motivated. Compare to my completely different twomover in Vogtlaender chess and Sentinelles, nevertheless with 3+3 lines going through pair of squares.









semi-r#2 (9+10)
2+1 nightrider
Shlomo Seider
Comm feenschach 1983

1.pKc6! th. 2.Rd5#
1...pSd~ 2.Sa6#
1...pSf3! 2.Qf8#
1...pRe~ 2.Qd6#
1...pRg3! 2.Sd7#
1...pRd3! 2.Sa6#

Very original idea with paralysing units. Halfpin of pS and pR is activated by random moves of halfpinned paralysing pieces. Black corrections paralyse wBg1, but also block possible moves activating paralysing bQ.









#2 (7+12)
paralysing unit c8, d6, e2 - c4, d4, e3, f1, h3
Friedrich Chlubna
Comm feenschach 1983

1.Qd4 Rf2 2.Sba4 Gh1#

1.Sa2 Gh8 2.Rc2 Ga1#

1.Sca4 Gc3 2.Rc4 Ga3#

Three grasshopper mates over immobilized black pieces are prepared by 3x2 blocks of possible moves away. It would surely fare very well in the 7th TT CCM.









h#2 (3+11)
1+1 grasshopper
3.1.1.1
Narayan Shankar Ram
3rd Prize feenschach 1985

1.g7? A zz
1...Lxe4-d4 a, Lxe4-f3 2.f6# B
1...Lxf5-f6 b 2.e5# C
1...Lxg7-g8!

1.f6? B zz
1...Lxg6-g7 c 2.e5# C
1...Lxe4-d4 a, Lxe4-f3 2.g7# A
1...Lxf6-f7!

1.e5? C zz
1...Lxf5-f6 b 2.g7# A
1...Lxg6-g7 c 2.f6# B
1...Lxe5-d6!

1.Bg8! zz
1...Lxg6-g7 a 2.Lxg7-h8#
1...Lxe4-d4 b 2.Lxd4-e5#
1...Lxf5-f6 c 2.Lxf6-g7#
1...Lxe4-f3 2.Bb3#

And finally a problem using a scheme I have later unknowingly rediscovered. Carousel change with 3 reversals based on locust moves over third-battery is supplemented by the fourth phase with additional change of mates, this time with locust-typical battery - as is thematical in the running 22nd TT CCM. My own twomover adds two three-phase tranfers of mates - and with locust-typical batteries as wel. Interesting coincidence!









#2 (8+4)
3+3 locust

Comments to Juraj Lörinc.
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