(24.08.2013) Here is the new issue of Fairings by Chris Feather for September 2013 (with the distribution support by Stephen Emmerson again).

FAIRINGS…                        No 33: September 2013

C.J.Feather, Holly Tree Cottage, Yarwell Road, Wansford, Cambridgeshire, PE8 6PL, England

Distribution: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

First, my best thanks to the many readers who snail-mailed me comments on F32 – much appreciated! Giving the fairy conditions above the diagrams seemed to be welcomed, so this practice is continued. It is a special pleasure to include (the ghost of!) Christopher Jones with a most elegant problem. For definitions (and a page of extras) see below.                           

Best wishes to all.

1 1.Se5 Sc6 2.Kc4 Scxd4-a5# & 1.Se6 Sc1 2.Kc5 Sxd3-b3# Anticipatory interferences.

2 1.Bh3 Rb7 2.Rxb7-g2 Qb7# & 1.Bd3 Rd7 2.Rfxd7-e2 Qd7# Hideaways. Compare F32/9.

3 1.Qxf1[Pd1] Ka7 (Kb7?) 2.Rxd1[Pd8=Q] Qxh4[Sd8]# & 1.Bxf1[Pc4] Kb7 (Ka7?) 2.Rxc4[Pc8=Q] Qxf5[Sc8]# White minimal with dual avoidance.

4 1.Qxc7[Bd8]+ Bxc7[Qc1] 2.Qxa3[Pd8=Q] Qxe7[Bd1]# & 1.Qxe8[Rd8] Rxe8[Qh1] 2.Qxh7[Pd8=Q] Qxd6[Rd1]# The idea of F26/1 but with orthodox pieces.       

5 1...Rd6 2.Sxd6 Be3 3.Sf5[uRd6] uRe6# & 1...Be3 2.Sxe3 Rd6 3.Sf5[uBe3] uBf4# A very neat  FW setting, exploiting uncapturability. It's excellent to see CJAJ in the unorthodox field!      

6 1...Qg7 2.Rb2 d4 3.Kf6 d5# & 1...Qd8 2.Rc3 Kd4 3.Kd7 Kd5# Why bother with captures in Diagram antiCirce? They just make the solutions longer to write out.

7 1...Bf7 2.Sxd3-f2 Qg6 3.Kxc4-b3 Qc2# & 1...Rh3 2.Kxc4-b3 Qh4 3.Sxd3-f2 Qb4# The double checks (unleashed by the Q from the R's and B's diagram squares) are necessary, otherwise 4.Se4! annuls the Q's check.       

8 a) 1.Kxh6 HPxe7 2.Kg7 HPf6+ 3.Kg8 HPe8Q# b) 1.Kxf6 HPxh7 2.Kf7 HPg6+ 3.Kf8 HPh8Q# c) 1.Kxg6 HPh7 2.Kf7 HPg6+ 3.Kf8 HPh8Q# Cyclic Zilahi and cyclic FW.         

9 a) 1.Se6 HPa6 2.Bb6 HPa7 3.Bd8 a8S 4.Sc7 Sb6# & b) 1.Bc6 HPd7+ 2.Kb7 HPe7 3.Ka8 e8S 4.Sb7 Sc7# For a change a thematic piece returns to its diagram square without the benefit of Diagram antiCirce!

10 a) 1.Qg8+ Bf6 2.Bg7 Bxg7-b2 3.Kh8 Bg7 4.Bh7 Kb2# b)1.Qxa7-h2+ Ka2 2.Bb2 Kb3 3.Bc2+ Kxc2-f7 4.Qe5 Kg7# K-moves mate from far and near, with events on the long diagonal providing some unity. At several points (including the diagram) there are apparent checks which are nullified by the condition.              

11 1...Rb1# is set in both. a) 1.h5 2.Kxa2-h7 3.Kh6 4.Kg5 5.Kxh4-a5 9.h1=S 10.Sg3 11.Kb6 12.Kc6 13.Sf1 14.Se3 Kd6# b) 1.h6 2.Kxa2-h7 3.Kg6 4.Kh5 5.Kxh4-a5 10.h1=S 11.Sg3 12.Kb6 13.Kc5 14.Se4 Kd5# Some obvious repetitiousness in this chameleon echo; I hope it is offset by the changes in detail and timing.           

12 The set 1...Sf3# is reflected around the g-file in the solution: 1.b6 2.bxc5-f4 5.f1=B 6.Bxc4-f5 7.Bc8 8.Ba6 9.Kh3 10.Kg4 11.Bb7 12.Bc6 13.Kf3 14.Kf2 15.Bb7 Sh3# The BP becomes a B, blocks squares to aid the BK's progress and finally completes a round trip to b7.

FAIRINGS 33:  Extras

The following serieshelpmates are variations on an idea which can be shown in any antiCirce form but is perhaps better suited to Diagram antiCirce than to other types, because of the freer choice of rebirth square. White has what looks like a mate in one (hence the v under the diagrams), but this can be annulled by occupation of the rebirth square just vacated by the "mating" piece. The actual mate may be by the same move, after some rearrangements, or it may be something quite different. These problems will probably not meet most people's expectation that compositions should show a recognised "theme", but they do correspond with my notion that fairy problems should be based on effects which are characteristic of the fairy elements used. Readers will find obvious similarities between the problems; I should not normally publish them all (perhaps only 16, 18 & 21) but it seems to me that they create an agreeable cumulative effect in a non-tourney context. It may be of interest to readers to see how a composer plays with various ways to present an idea; also, some of you may get ideas for your own settings. Anyway, I hope you enjoy looking at these problems as much as I enjoyed making them.

13 (1...Be8#?? 2.h5!) 1.c4 2.Kc5 3.c3 5.c1=B 6.Bh6 7.Kb5 8.Ka4 Be8#. Here the BB makes an interference for an orthodox changed mate. Realisation of the virtual mate can be more paradoxical and condition-specific, however, especially if the blocking unit seems to guard the mating square, as in a good many of the following examples.

14 (1...Sf7#?? 2.Sh6!) 1.Sf6 2.Sd7 3.Sxe5-g8 4.e5 5.Se7 6.e4 9.e1=Q 10.Qe6 11.Qg8 Sf7#               

15 (1...Rh7#?? 2.Se7!) 1.Sxe5-g6 2.Se5 3.Sxf3-g6 4.f3 5.Sf4 6.f2 7.f1=B 8.Bd3 9.Bg6 Rh7# 

16 (1.Qd8#?? 2.a5!) 1.b6 2.Kb7 3.b5 4.b4 5.Ka8 6.bxc3-b7 7.c3 9.c1=R 10.Rc8 11.Rb8 Qxa7-a5#          

17 (1...Sc7#?? 2.Ba6!) 1.c5 2.Bd5 3.Bxc4-b7 4.Bc6 5.c4 8.c1=R 9.Rb1 10.Rb7 Sc7#          

18 (1...Qc2#?? 2.Bc3!) 1.Bd6 2.Bxe5-b4 3.e5 4.Be7 5.e4 8.e1=S 9.Sc2 10.Sb4 Qc2# My own favourite; the Pd4 stops cooks.

19 (1...Rg8#?? 2.Rg7!) 1.a6 2.Ra7 3.a5 7. a1=S 8.Sb3 9.Sa5 10.Sc6 11.Se7 Rg8# A pity about the c- & d-Ps.        

20 (1...Sf7#?? 2.Rg5!) 1.e5 2.e4 3.Re5 4.Re6 5.e3 7.e1=B 8.Bb4 9.Bc5 Sf7#         

21 (1.d8=S#?? 2.Rd7!) 1.Kb7 2.Ka6 3.Kxa5-c6 4.a6 5.Ra7 6.a5 10.a1=B 11.Be5 12.Bc7 d8=S# & 1.Rc8 2.Kc7 3.Kd8 4.Ke7 5.Kf7 6.Kg6 7.Kg5 8.Kf4 9.Kf3 10.Ke2 11.Kd3 12.Kd4 dxc8=Q-d7# Note that dxc8=R-d7#?? is refuted by Kxc4-c6!             

22 (1.Sc8#?? 2.Qa7!) 1.Qa3 2.Qxc3-a6 3.c3 4.Qc4 5.c2 6.c1=S 7.Sb3 8.Sc5 9.Sa6 Sc8#         

23 (1.Be6#?? 2.Qb3!) 1.Qb4 2.Qxe4-b8 3.e4 4.Qe5 5.e3 7.e1=B 8.Bb4 9.Qb8 Be6# The BQ returns home to b8, but unfortunately the mate is orthodox.

24 (1.g8=Q#?? 2.Qg7!) 1.Qa4 2.Qxd4-d7 3.d4 4.Qd5 5.d3 7.d1=B 8.Ba4 9.Bd7 g8=Q#

Definitions

We start with Circe  because the variants and antitypes are all derived from this basic rebirth condition.

Circe: Captured units (not Ks) reappear on their game-array squares, of the same colour in the case of pieces, on the file of capture in the case of pawns, and on the promotion square of the file of capture in the case of fairy pieces. If the rebirth square is occupied the capture is normal.

antiCirce: After a capture the capturing piece (Ks included) must immediately be removed to its game array square (necessarily vacant, else the capture is illegal). R, B & S go to the square of the same colour as the capture; Ps stay on the file of capture; fairy pieces go to the promotion square of the file of capture. [The default Calvet type (not usually specified) allows captures on the rebirth square, the rarer Cheylan variant (always to be specified) excludes them. In practice many problems can be of either type.]

DiagramCirce: As Circe except that the rebirth square for the captured unit is that which it occupied in the starting position for the current part of the problem.

DiagramantiCirce: As antiCirce except that the rebirth square for the capturing unit is that which it occupied in the starting position for the current part of the problem.

SymmetryCirce: As Circe except that the rebirth square for the captured unit is that which lies at an equal distance (in a straight line) beyond the midpoint of the board. Thus a capture on c4 produces a rebirth on f5, a capture on g1 produces a rebirth on b8, and so on. Strictly speaking there are of course other types of symmetry: this one is rotational.

SymmetryantiCirce: As antiCirce except that the rebirth square for the capturing unit is that which is symmetrical in SymmetryCirce.

PWC (PlatzWechselCirce = "PlaceInterchangeCirce"): Captured units reappear on the square just vacated by the capturing unit. Pawns appearing on their 1^st rank have no moving or checking power until reactivated by being captured again; those appearing on their 8^th rank are promoted instantly, at the choice of the capturing side.

Couscous: As Circe, but the captured piece reappears on the Circe rebirth square of the capturing unit. Pawns reappearing on promotion squares are promoted instantly, at the choice of the capturing side.

Ghosts: Captured units remain latent (like ghosts); they reappear as soon as the square of their capture is vacated, after which they are no longer  capturable. In that state their notation is prefixed with "u". 

Horizontal pawn HP: An otherwise normal pawn which has the extra ability to move one square sideways, to left or right.

For potential new readers (since Fairings appears on websites) we add the definitions of the two stipulations used:

Helpmate h#: Usually Black plays first (but White plays first if the stipulation ends in ".5"); the two sides cooperate, obeying the usual rules, so as to reach a mate of Black in the number of moves stated.

Serieshelpmate ser-h# (sometimes just sh#): While White remains immobile, Black plays a series of moves so as to reach as position where White can mate in one. The usual rules are obeyed, so Black may not move into check and may check only on his last move. There may be a set mate, indicated by a * . This is a mate in one which White could play in the diagram position if it were his turn to move.

Computer testing in Fairings:

Problems in Fairings are tested by Popeye wherever possible. All the problems in this issue have been tested by Popeye, except for the two which use horizontal pawns. They were tested by Fairybadix.