Problem 334: Mikitovics & Balasubramanian - Fairy (Swapping Kings, Leo, Locust)

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Problem 334: Mikitovics & Balasubramanian - Fairy (Swapping Kings, Leo, Locust)

(07.02.2014) Wonderful Help-selfmate miniature by Janos Mikitovics and S.K.Balasubramanian.

334

1...LEd3 2.Ke3 Ke5 3.LEd5 LOxd5-c4

4.LOxd3-e4(Ke5<=>Ke3) LOxe4-f4(Ke3<=>Ke5)#

1...LEe3 2.Kd3 Kf5 3.LEc7 LOxc7-b7

4.LOxe3-e4(Kf5<=>Kd3) LOxe4-f3(Kd3<-=>Kf5)#

1. All fairy pieces (including kings).

2. Exchange of functions between the two white locusts

3. Royal batteries with locusts forming front and rear line pieces with the rear pieces

arriving on the same square vacated by wK.

4. Active sacrifices by both the LEOs.

5. Perfect ODT for all moves.

(Authors)

Swapping Kings: When the side on-move checks the opposite King, the Kings change places. This is known as the “swap”. A swap is mandatory. The legality of any checking move is evaluated after the swap, except in certain cases involving castling. Castling out-of–check is illegal (wKe1 wRh1 bKe8 bBa5, 1.0-0??). Castling through check is illegal (wKe1 wRh1 bKf8 bBa5, 1.0-0??). Castling into-check is legal (WKe1 WRh1 BKf8 BBa7, 1.0-0!) A King swapped back to its game-array square is considered “reborn” and is eligible to castle.

Locust: a piece which moves only to capture. It lands on the same squares as a grasshopper, but the arrival square must be empty, because the locust captures its hurdle.

Leo: Move as Queen, but capture by hopping over a hurdle to any square beyond.

Comments

0 #1 Nikola Predrag 2014-02-07 01:29

Very nice idea, realized with amazing economy, despite the not fully justified Leo's.

Point 3. about Royal batteries is not clear to me, hopefully it will become clear after sleeping

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+1 #2 SKB 2014-02-07 13:42

Dear Nikola,

Sorry for the mistake. It is only a white battery with locusts forming front & rear pieces. Royal word has been used by mistake. Thanks for pointing it out.

Initially we thought of using bBf4 & WSa6 with bLf8 instead of f7 with the twin by replacing bBf4 by bS. But we preferred using Leos because of 3 reasons, one is that it produces a perfect ODT and the second is that now all pieces are fairy pieces and the third one is that it is a 2 solution problem now. Seeing these three effects I think the use of LEOs may be justified.

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0 #3 Nikola Predrag 2014-02-08 01:44

OK, after 4.LOxd3-e4(Ke5Ke3) and 4.LOxe3-e4(Kf5Kd3), there are direct white batteries in which each white Locust is both a front and a rear battery piece at the same time. But these direct batteries are not fired by a move of a front piece. After all, in this moment, Black is on the move.

Now, in his last move, Black simply attacks wK, the Kings swap their places and now there ARE white Royal batteries Ke3-LOe2(Kd3-LOc2) which are included in mates. wK can't vacate the Royal-battery lines because it would fire the attack on bK and after the swapping, wK would end in check.

So, there are white Royal batteries, highly thematic in the mates. I'm sorry, I felt that Swapping might be involved in it, but I was too tired yesterday. And thematic Royal batteries occur only when the final moves are finished. Also, the rear pieces are wLOe2(wLOc2)

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0 #4 Nikola Predrag 2014-02-08 01:44

Although they not show their capturing power, Leos are quite good, at least until someone invents a "non-capturing Queen(Leo)" which would be able to play only "captureless" moves.

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0 #5 Nikola Predrag 2014-02-10 00:27

Neutral pieces could be reciprocaly sacrificed and white Locusts could be sacrificed on the initial square of black Locust.
2 examples
W:LOb2,Kc2,LOd2;B:Kc6,LOd 4;Neutral:Pc4,Bf1
hs#3.5;b)bKc6-d6;SwappingKings
a)1...nPc4-c3 2.nBf1-c4 LOd4*c4-b4 3.Kc2-d3 Kc6-d5 4.LOb2*c3-d4 [Kd5Kd3] LOb4*d4-e4 [Kd3Kd5]#
b)1...Kd6-e5 2.Kc2-c3 nBf1-d3 3.nPc4-c5 LOd4*c5-b6 4.LOd2*d3-d4 [Ke5Kc3] LOb6*d4-e3 [Kc3Ke5]#

W:LOe7,Kf7,Lg7;B:LOe5,Kd4 ;Neutral:BPg6,Pf5
hs#3.5;2 sol.;SwappingKings;Berolina Pg6
1...Kd4-e4 2.nPf5-f6 nBPg6-f5 3.Kf7-e6 LOe5*f5-g5 4.LOg7*f6-e5 [Ke4Ke6] LOg5*e5-d5 [Ke6Ke4]#
1...nPf5-f4 2.Kf7-f6 nBPg6-f5 3.nBPf5-e6 LOe5*f4-g3 4.LOe7*e6-e5 [Kd4Kf6] LOg3*e5-d6 [Kf6Kd4]#

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