Solver's impressions 6

1.Sd2 Qxd3 2.b5 Qxd6#

1.Sf7 Qxe6 2.b6 Qxc4#

Nice echo diagonal orthogonal, good content for only one active white piece - queen.

CJF remarks that he is more pleased with this helpmate than any other h#2 which he has composed recently, because it seems to him to give the idea its fullest expression. So what have we here?

1.Bxf2 Rg4 2.e3 Rb4#

1.Rxg6 Bh4 2.e6 Bd8#

As all tries to use g1-b6 and g6-b6 lines for mating ended in vain and afterwards I discovered that white line pieces may reach other lines for mating. For that certain pawns - blocked by pinned black line pieces - must step forward. And for that mentioned line pieces must free the way. Moving in direction of own king would result in threating mating line and thus they have no other choice than to capture pinning white line piece that anyway has no active role in particular solution. Complex idea and well constructed! I can easily understand author's enthusiasm...

This one was almost immediately solved by Peter Gvozdják - mr. Formánek was positively commenting on motivation of captures.

1.Ba7! Rb7 2.Kc4 Rxb5 3.Bd4 Be2#

1.Bb6! Ra7 2.Kd3 Ra4 3.Be3 Be4#

Unexpectedly many "almost going" tries. After a few minutes I decided that standard mating pictures must be involved and I started systematic research for mating pictures. Having found real mating pictures I was left amazed by means of precising the first black moves. It was second unexpected point in this at the first sight humble composition. Again well done!

1.Qg8 Sf1 2.Qc4 f3#

1.Rc3 Se2 2.Rc4 f4#

This one delighted me the least from today's set. Anyway, the idea isn't bad - it only requires to block c4 and any move by pf2 mates. But...

... it turns out that white has no waiting move if Rd1 heads for c4. Thus the right solutions include blocking of c4 by Ra3 and Qg4. For that white piece that needn't longer close original harmful black line closes first row and this also precises battery mate by need to attack temporary flight.

Well, writing comment makes me like this one more than in train. :-)

1.Sxd6 Rf8 2.Kc4 Rb8 3.Kb5 Sxd6#

1.Sxf5 Rxe7 2.Kd4 Sd6 3.Qe4 Sxf5#

It took some time to recognize that it will be necessary to mate by double check. And suddenly turned out that the mates are in fact far echo model mates. And in each solution one white rook is destroyed! Super!

It was really funny to see how 5 men were trying to find any mate. In the beginning mr. Formánek presented opinion about possible capture in first black move. But it was soon neglected as they all thought that white force may be needed for closing black line or to cover squares evacuated by black. After rather long time they gave up and then I showed them the solutions. Comments were more than positive and mr. Formánek remarked that: "... we should have found that double check mate must be involved when everything is so well guarded..."