Julia's Fairies – Fairy chess composition

Originals July 2021

Julia's Fairies original problems July 11, 2021 July 31, 2021 Leave a comment

JF Original Problems | July 2021

The judge of JF-2021-II: not appointed .
The judge of Retro & PG problems 2021-2022: not appointed

Coming soon: Award JF-2017-I by Tadashi Wakashima. Taking a little break in publishing Original problems (~ middle Aug) to prepare this award, also updates to FCCP!

(31.07) No.1641 (hs#3* ; Grasshopper ; Take&MakeChess, KoBulKings, Madrasi RexInclusiv) S. K. Balasubramanian (India). “wK tempo in two solutions eliminate one each of the set play mates.” (Author)
(31.07) No.1640 (ser-h-ep 57) James Malcom (USA). “Black plays to help White capture en passant” (Author)
(30.07) No.1639 (PG 11,0 ; Dummy Promotion, Royal Dynasty) James Malcom (USA) & Michel Caillaud (France). “A problem for fun(?) after the exchange we had about James’s 1627“ (MC)
(30.07) No.1638 (#3 ; Breton Chromatique) Bruno Kampmann & Michel Caillaud (France). “The Breton family was invented by Christian Poisson in 2014; for those who wonder about the name, a Breton is an inhabitant of Bretagne; Bretagne is a French region, where Christian lives” (MC)
(25.07) No.1637 (hs#3) Vitaly Medintsev (Russia). Once I wrote to Vitaly: “everything the best – to JF, please! 🙂 ” And here is him, recalling my words. Published with a gratitude!
(25.07) No.1622.1 (hs#2) Aleksey Oganesjan & Sergey Shumeiko (Russia). “An improvement to No.1622.” (Authors). Accepted by Ofer Comay, the judge of JF-2021-I, in his tournament together with No.1622.
(24.07) No.1636 (PG 12.0 ; Monochrome Chess) Achim Schöneberg (Germany). One of the authors of No.1610 shows up without a pseudonym!
(24.07) No.1635 (pser-s#18) Ľuboš Kekely (Slovakia). “…perhaps the longest pser-s# without fairy conditions and pieces” (Author)
(24.07) No.1634 (h#2 ; Take & Make) Daniel Papack (Germany). “Greetings to Seetharaman Kalyan”
(14.07) No.1633 (s#5) Aleksey Oganesjan (Russia). A new fairy idea(?) “Logical en passant uncapture“! (Author)
(14.07) No.1632 (hs#4.5) Menachem Witztum (Israel). Warm welcome to Menachem!
(13.07) No.1631 (h#2.5 ; HalfNeutral Nightrider, Camel, Grasshopper ; Take & Make) Franz Pachl (Germany). Halfneutral pieces in cyclic play.
(11.07) No.1630 (#3 ; Equileaper, Wazir, Zebra, Right Zebra ; Diagram Circe, Black must capture) Shankar Ram (India). “5-fold 3×2 Jacobs theme (quintupled)” and more.
(11.07) No.1629 (s#20 ; Circe) Sergej Smotrov (Kazakhstan). Author’s partial computer test took about 21 hr.
(11.07) No.1628 (#2* ; Breton Adverse) Hubert Gockel (Germany). “…set mates become keys” (Author)

Animated diagrams use Py2Web by Dmitri Turevski and WinChloe‘s graphics, Christian Poisson

Composing Tournaments of the RIFACE 2021, C11.07.2021

Tournaments, other July 9, 2021 July 9, 2021 2 Comments

The 42^nd RIFACE 2021 (Rencontre Internationale en France des Amateurs de Composition Echiquéenne) will take place at Charenton-le-Pont near Paris, July 9-12, 2021.

Themes of composing tournaments:

Thème aidés.pdf | Thème féerique.pdf | Thème rétro.pdf

Address to send the entries : RIFACE.2021@gmail.com for Helpmates and Fairies problems ; retro.riface2021@gmail.com for retro problems
Time limit to send the entries : Sunday 11^th July at 15:00 (French time)

Coming soon…

Julia's Fairies original problems July 5, 2021 July 5, 2021 Leave a comment

Dear authors and readers, I have to tell you I’ve got an Award of JF-2017-I by Tadashi Wakashima on June 9th, but still haven’t had time to prepare it for publication. The same time I have a waiting list of 3 original problems to publish and also the update of the FCCP I’ve just got from Shankar Ram. I’m sorry, I might be too busy with my office work the next week. Most probably, will get back to the mentioned publications on the next weekend. Thank you very much for your work and your patience! Have a great summer! – Julia

FIDE ALBUM 2016-2018 – Results in Fairy section

External Events & Adds June 23, 2021 June 23, 2021 3 Comments

The results of the FIDE Album 2016-18 section G are published at WFCC official website!

“An impressive number of 1520 entries (excluding duplicates) were received and they were split in two groups: G1 for fairies without conditions and G2 for problems with at least one fairy condition. This classification was a success as 747 entries were allocated to G1 and 773 to G2. In each group there were three judges with each team of judges working independently. 1331 entries scored at least 4,5 points (87,5% of the total entries, a very good ratio for such a popular genre). 357 problems out of them (63 more compared to the previous album) scored at least 8 points, which represents a ratio of 26,8% selected problems; 125 entries (one third of the selected problems) had already qualified from the WCCI process.” (Harry Fougiaxis)

Our TOP 10:

Name	Album G1	Album G2	WCCI	Total	Points
Petkov, Petko	8	13	6	27	27.00
Loustau, Jean-Marc	19	5		24	22.00
Caillaud, Michel	6	14		20	17.00
Dragoun, Michal	24		6	30	16.83
Gockel, Hubert	4	9	6	19	14.83
Pachl, Franz	6	8	6	20	14.67
Parrinello, Mario	2	8	3	13	13.00
Rittirsch, Manfred	1	12		13	12.50
Lörinc, Juraj	3	5	5	13	12.00
Salai jr., Ladislav	23			23	9.83

“Regarding the selection percentages, I think the results without the “pre-selected” WCCI entries should also be mentioned. As seen below, they are only 14.76% for G1 and 18.47% for G2. In total, they are only 16.63%. If we take the WCCI entries into the total, then obviously the percentages increase.” (Shankar Ram, one of G1 judges)

Thanks a lot to the judges!
Sincere congratulations to all of us!

Originals June 2021

Julia's Fairies original problems June 12, 2021 June 22, 2021 Leave a comment

JF Original Problems | June 2021

The judge of JF-2021-I: Ofer Comay.
The judge of Retro & PG problems 2021-2022: not appointed

(22.06) No.1627 (PG 18 ; Dummy pawn promotion) James Malcom (USA). If can be considered as computer tested?
(22.06) No.1626 (hs#3 ; VAO, PAO) Ognian Dimitrov (Bulgaria).
(22.06) No.1625 (hs#10) Torsten Linß (Germany). “… because Ofer announced an “orthodox” section for his award…” (Author)
(22.06) No.1624 (ser-h#14 ; Kangaroo) Sébastien Luce (France). “Inspirated by the 1614, dedicated to Ognian DIMITROV.” (Author)
(20.06) No.1623 (#2 ; Masand) Ilija Serafimović (Serbia). After meeting Ilija (soon 17) as solver and composer on ECSC and WCCC meetings I’m glad to welcome him on JF as well! Finally 🙂
(12.06) No.1622 (hs#2) Aleksey Oganesjan (Russia). “Apparently for the first time in orthodox hs#2….” (Author)
(12.06) No.1621 (s=74) James Malcom (USA). Warm welcome to James – a very young (17) composer with a very long problem!
(12.06) No.1620 (hs#5 ; Chameleon) Ognian Dimitrov (Bulgaria).

Animated diagrams use Py2Web by Dmitri Turevski and WinChloe‘s graphics, Christian Poisson

Regarding certain concerns raised in the matplus forum

Fairy Classification June 6, 2021 June 6, 2021 1 comment

On 1-May-21, Julia made a post on the matplus forum about our project. After this, many concerns were raised in the thread. This is our response.

We thank all the contributors of the thread for their opinions and insights.
We have added notes, at various points in our document, to present the alternative views expressed:

=> See (hide) more…

(Introduction) Some elements can be included in more than one group. We have chosen the commonly followed classification. Such cases are indicated when they occur. Generally, the rules applying to one element in a group can be applied to another group to create new elements or sub-groups in that group. For example, the rules of the Vertical Cylinder can be applied to particular pieces as an attribute to create “Vertical Cylinder pieces”. The rules of Circe can be applied to specific pieces to create “Circe pieces”. The attributes of certain pieces can be applied to all pieces to create a condition as in “Chameleon Chess”. Certain stipulations can also be interpreted as conditions and vice versa.
(Stipulations) In some cases, a stipulation may have another stipulation as a goal. For example, the HelpSelfmate has Selfmate in 1 as the goal and Help Play as the play.
(Goals) There is some disagreement about whether some goals are actually conditions. An alternate definition considers a goal to be a condition if it results in the rules of the game being changed. If not then it is a valid goal. Typical examples of this anomaly are Series movers and Reflexmates. A series mover changes the rules of “alternating play by both sides”. A Reflexmate adds the Reflex condition. However, due to these two being considered as stipulations for a long time in published sources, literature, the WFCC codex, Solving software, the FIDE Albums and other competitions, it would be difficult to change their classification. We continue to follow the existing practice in these and other similar cases while acknowledging the alternate interpretations.
(Reflexmate) Could also be considered as a Selfmate with the condition “Reflex Chess”.
(Play) In general, all types of play could be considered as consisting of White and Black playing either in opposition or cooperation.
(Series play) Could also be considered as a condition. by stating that one side simply passes while the other side moves.
(Conditions) Using new boards (instead of plane 8×8), new pieces (instead of KQRBSP), cooperation (instead of opposition) and new goals (instead of checkmate) could also be considered as “changes in the rules”. Therefore, usage of new boards, pieces, goals and help play could also be interpreted as using new conditions. A helpmate would have to be called as #n with the condition “cooperation chess”. We will not go down this rabbit hole!
(MAFF) This condition is considered as a goal in WinChloe, though it is shown as a condition in most sources.

A specific criticism of our classification was that we have not defined the different main groups clearly and unambiguously. We feel some amount of ambiguity and exceptions will always be present.

However, we have only built on earlier work:

T.R.Dawson: In Caissa’s Wild Roses in Clusters considers Normal chess as consisting of a playing space, six men with specific freedom of movement, and various limitations on move freedom. These are equivalent to our main groups with stipulations and conditions being considered under a single group called limitations. He further continues by saying that Fairy Chess comprises the study of all such elements, taken in arbitrary groups at will.
A.S.M.Dickins: In A Guide to Fairy Chess (Dover Edition), groups elements into Fairy Pieces(p8), Fairy Boards(p14), Unorthodox Stipulations(p21), and Conditional Problems(p22).
WinChloe: Each problem has to be defined by Stipulation, Aim, Pieces and Conditions. Any new boards supported are covered under Conditions. Our Play and Goal is equivalent to WinChloe’s Stipulation and Aim.
Popeye: Each problem has to be defined by Stipulation, Pieces, and Conditions. Boards other than the 8×8 are not supported.
BCPS Glossary: Has the groups Stipulations(divided into Play, Goals and Other), Pieces and Conditions. Boards are not covered.

We feel our classification of the main groups matches these sources and there is no need for further justification. Still, this matter was discussed in the initial posts on JF and an attempt was made to define these groups. See the comment. We will work on further improving these group definitions. Our first target was to first publish an interface with a reasonably large list of popular elements so that it could be immediately usable.

We do feel that our work is of value, despite the scepticism and disdain expressed.
During our discussions and correspondence,

We have searched for, compiled, catalogued, acknowledged and used a long list of sources on the internet by our other friends covering the same subject.
We discovered gaps in various groups which could be filled by new elements.
We found and corrected mistakes in existing definitions.
We identified and resolved ambiguities in the definitions of some elements.
We came across differences in the software implementations of the same element.
We saw the relationships between seemingly different elements.
We found the same elements existing under different names.
We have contacted various friends for help with some elements and they have generously responded.
We have presented an easy and searchable interface for the user to navigate and explore the various groups, elements and their definitions in three different modes.
In the depressing climate which pervades the world today, our project was a source of friendly interaction and inspiration.
Finally, We have, once again, come to understand and experience what TRD meant when he said: “Fairy Chess sets the heart and mind of all who know it aflame with passionate love of its joy“.

Our above response may not satisfy everybody. But we are here for the long haul and all suggestions for improvement will be considered. Gens Una Sumus.

Shankar Ram

“Reciprocal Stipulations” by Shankar Ram

Fairy Classification / Theoretical Articles June 3, 2021 June 3, 2021 Leave a comment

“One of the benefits of our Classification Project is the opportunity to study some rarely used fairy elements and also fill in gaps in their grouping. One such study resulted in this “mini-article”. More such will follow!” (NSR)

To summarise, our list of Reciprocal types are:
1 Reciprocal (Grazer) Helpmate (Reci-h#). Help Play – #1 & h#1 by B.
2 Reciprocal HelpSelfmate (Reci-hs#). Help Play – #1 & s#1 by W.
3 Reciprocal (Grazer) Selfmate (Reci-s#). Direct Play – #1 & s#1 by W.
4 Reciprocal SemiReflexmate (Reci-½r#). Direct Play – #1 & semi-r#1(h#1) by W.

Shankar Ram, June 2021

Originals May 2021 (2)

Julia's Fairies original problems May 30, 2021 June 2, 2021 4 Comments

JF Original Problems | May 2021 (2)

The judge of JF-2021-I: Ofer Comay.
The judge of Retro & PG problems 2021-2022: not appointed

(31.05) No.1619 (h!#19) Gunter Jordan (Germany). The fairy essence comes at the end.
(31.05) No.1618 (hs#4 ; Antineuköko) Maryan Kerhuel (France) & Jacques Rotenberg (Israel). Some better English version of the Antineuköko definition, please? Warm welcome to Maryan! (JV)
(31.05) No.1617 (SPG 13 ; Staugaard castling) Michel Caillaud (France). Dedicated to James MALCOM & Andrew BUCHANAN.
(30.05) No.1616 (hs#2.5 ; Nightrider) Marjan Kovačević (Serbia). “Logical hs# with two preparatory steps. “ (M.K.).
(30.05) No.1615 (SPG 13.5 ; Staugaard castling) Andrew Buchanan (Singapore) & Michel Caillaud (France). “Conrad Staugaard (see the biography) invented the condition later termed Pam-Krabbe. He seems to have been a funny and kind figure: like a Danish Lewis Carroll, but a socially-aware entrepreneur. He deserves to be commemorated with his condition….” (A.B.)

Animated diagrams use Py2Web by Dmitri Turevski and WinChloe‘s graphics, Christian Poisson

The Jungle and the Garden

Fairy Classification May 22, 2021 May 22, 2021 2 Comments

The Jungle and the Garden

We are happy to announce the next release of our classification (v 0.1)!

Our work to make a beautiful garden from the mysterious jungle continues

In this, we have been joined by Andrew Buchanan. A warm welcome to him!

Thanks to Juraj Lörinc and Eric Huber for help with some fairy conditions

Many corrections, modifications, rearrangements and additions have been made

There are now a total of 422 elements, up from 390 earlier

All 173 items in the JF Fairy Terms list are now included!

Some alternative viewpoints about the classifications have been added at various places

The list of other sources on the internet has been updated on the project page

– The FCCP Team

Originals May 2021

Julia's Fairies original problems May 18, 2021 May 20, 2021 Leave a comment

JF Original Problems | May 2021

The judge of JF-2021-I: Ofer Comay.
The judge of Retro & PG problems 2021-2022: not appointed

Coming soon: nobody in the waiting list…

(20.05) No.1614 (ser-h#18 ; Kangaroo) Ognian Dimitrov (Bulgaria). Warm welcome to Ognian!
(20.05) No.1613 (h#2 ; Madrasi) S.N. Ravi Shankar (India). “Inspired by Seetharaman’s 1608. The same idea, but achieved through a different fairy condition.” (Author)
(19.05) No.1612 (-17 & #1 Proca ; Anti-Circe) Günther Weeth+ (Germany) & Klaus Wenda (Austria) & Vlaicu Crisan (Romania). “Replacing No.1440 (Weeth & Wenda) which had to be eliminated from the tourney retros JF 2019-20 due to a cook. Vlaicu found a new position…” (Authors)
(18.05) No.1611 (reci-hs#9) Torsten Linß (Germany). “The stipulation is a straight forward synthesis of the reciprocal helpmate and the helpselfmate…” (Author) – something to be considered in the FCCP?

Animated diagrams use Py2Web by Dmitri Turevski and WinChloe‘s graphics, Christian Poisson