Fairy Terms
By default just some most known fairy elements are shown on the page. You can use the dropdown menus to select all or some concrete Fairy piece / Fairy condition , or you can use the empty field to enter the name / part of the name / keyword from the definition to find the selection of pieces/conditions meeting your search key. Use [RUS] checkbox to see also the definitions in Russian.
You’re welcome to enter the missing definitions to the database, using the links INSERT fairy piece | INSERT fairy condition!
Search criterias:
Basic selection| Fairy pieces | |
|---|---|
| Bishop-Lion(BL) | Moves like Lion, but on Bishop-lines only. |
| Bishop-Locust(LB) | (1,0) Locust. Moves like Locust, but on Bishop-lines only. |
| Bishophopper(BH) | Moves along Bishop-lines over another unit of either color to the square immediately beyond that unit. A capture may be made on arrival, but the hurdle is not affected. |
| Camel(CA) | (1,3) Leaper |
| Chameleon | On completing a move, a Chameleon (from classical standard type) changes into another piece, in the sequence Q-S-B-R-Q... Promotion may be to a chameleon at any stage in the cycle. |
| Grasshopper(G) | Moves along Q-lines over another unit of either color to the square immediately beyond that unit. A capture may be made on arrival, but the hurdle is not affected. |
| LEO(LE) | (0,1)+(1,1) Chinese. Chinese Queen. Moves as Queen, but captures only by hopping over a hurdle to any square beyond. |
| Lion(Li) | (0,1)+(1,1) Lion. Moves along Queen lines over another unit of either color to any square beyond that unit. A capture may be made on arrival, but the hurdle is not affected. |
| Locust(L) | (0,1)+(1,1) Locust. Moves along Queen lines only by capturing an enemy unit, arriving on the square immediately beyond that unit, which must be vacant. |
| Nightrider(N) | (1,2) Rider. Operates along straight lines with squares lying a Knight's move away from each other. |
| PAO(PA) | (0,1) Chinese. Chinese piece operating along Rook lines: moves as Rook, but captures only by hopping over a hurdle to any square beyond. |
| Rook-Lion(RL) | (0,1) Lion. Moves along Rook lines over another unit of either color to any square beyond that unit. A capture may be made on arrival, but the hurdle is not affected. |
| Rook-Locust(LR) | (0,1) Locust. Moves like Locust, but on Bishop-lines only. |
| Rookhopper(RH) | Moves along Rook-lines over another unit of either color to the square immediately beyond that unit. A capture may be made on arrival, but the hurdle is not affected. |
| Rose(RO) | (1,2) Octagonal Rider (extents the move of the Knight on a circular path e.g. a4-b6-d7-f6-g4-f2-d1-b2 or a4-c5-e4-f2). |
| VAO(VA) | (1,1) Chinese. Chinese piece operating along Bishop lines: moves as Bishop, but captures only by hopping over a hurdle to any square beyond. |
| Zebra(Z) | (2,3) Leaper |
| Fairy conditions | |
| Andernach Chess | A piece (excluding King) changes its color after any capturing move. Rooks on a1, h1, a8 and h8 can be used for castling, provided the usual other rules for that move are satisfied. |
| Anti Take & Make | Every capture ("take") must be complemented by a further step ("make" which is not a capture) by the captured piece (Kings excluded), which must move from its square of vanish (according to the wishes of the capturing side in case of options). The capture is forbidden if the captured unit has no possible moves. Promotions at the end of the "make" element are normal. |
| Anti-Andernach | A piece (excluding King) changes its color after any non-capturing move. After capture, the piece retains its color. Rooks on a1, h1, a8 and h8 can be used for castling, provided the usual other rules for that move are satisfied. After castling, Rooks do not change color, If White makes a non-capturing move with neutral or halfneutral piece, that piece becomes black and vice versa. |
| Anti-Circe | After a capture the capturing piece (Ks included) must immediately be removed to its game array square (necessarily vacant, else the capture is illegal). Captures on the rebirth square are allowed in Anti-Circe Calvet and not allowed in Anti-Circe Cheylan. Game array squares are determined as in Circe: 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. |
| Chameleon Chess | All pieces on the board which are displayed as orthodox Q, R, B, S, are Chameleons. A Pawn can promote only in Chameleon-pieces. |
| 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. |
| Maximummer | Black must play the geometrically longest move or may choose from among longest moves of equal length, distances being measured from the center of each square. Diagonal and oblique distances are measured from the orthogonal coordinates by using Pythagora’s theorem (take the square root of the sum of the squares of the orthogonal distances). All other orthodox chess rules apply. White Maximummer: Only White must play the geometrically longest moves, Black plays orthodoxal. |
| PWC | When a capture is made, the captured unit (except a King) is replaced on the square the capturing unit just leaves. A Pawn is immovable on its 1st rank. |
| Super-Circe | When captured, a piece is reborn on any free field on the chess board without causing self-check or selfmate. Possible is also removal of captured piece from the board. The Pawns (white, black, neutrals, half- neutrals) can be reborn on the first or eight row also. When reborn on the first row (for Black) or on the eight row (for White) the promotion is obligatory. When reborn on the first row (for White) or on the eight row (for Black) the Pawns are immovable. |
| Take & Make | Having captured, a unit must immediately, as part of its move, play a non-capturing move in imitation of the captured unit from the capture-square. If no such move is available, the capture is illegal. Promotion by capture occurs only when a pawn arrives on the promotion rank as the result of a take&make move. Checks are as in normal chess: after the notional capture of the checked K, the checking unit does not move away from the King's square. |
Dear Julia,
It is a great service you do to the chess world. I wish that you add more fairy conditions and pieces in future. You may find more than 180 fairy conditions stated in Popeye out which I presume that many would be aware of only few conditions (I find that I know only about 20 fairy conditions mentioned there). Many composers may not be attempting a fairy condition or may not be using a fairy piece because of lack of knowledge about that condition or that piece. My only request to you is to kindly add as many fairy conditions & pieces as possible in your definitions.
—- Bala
Thank you, Bala! I’ve added some more fairy elements and will try to permanently add new. I’ve changed the order into alphabetical. And I will appreciate any comments about correctness of presented definitions, improvements and additions!
I have a feeling that Fairy Terms section would be a better place to continue the discussion opened by Peter’s problem No.420.
There’re some practical things which can be done already now based on those comments and on the last comment by Peter in particular:
I’m trying to create at least a better list of fairy terms. For now I have a database with 3 fields for each fairy term: name, definition in English, definition in Russian. Reading Peter’s comment I’ve started to think, that maybe I should add more fields to this db, like: code/name in Popeye, code/name in WinChloe, some additional comments? So, it would be more useful either for the future projects or at least for our current needs. But I’d need your help here, for sure.
Also, records of the database can be easily exported/imported into another database. So, the content of my database can be used as a part of any other.
A special website is not needed for a purpose of completing the database of fairy terms. It can be just one page like this one, plus with a form allowing to submit a new term. Some temporary database for the new submitted terms, and the main database for approved terms.
The font or color used is difficult to read. Is it so only for me?
Have changed the font color to black. Is it better?
Yes, definitely!
Maybe should add two more sections: stipulations and boards..?
The latter can also take care of things like magic squares..
Yes, will do! Will need some help probably with filling in those databases.
The new view of section is very good. The function to search by name (name filter) is very useful. Well done!
Will be good if you can include it also to original problems (I believe it is possible). For example when you go to Originals 2013 in my website you can write the name of author, or name of the used fairy condition etc. in the “Title filter” and press “enter” you will see the list with all published problems with this condition or author etc.
Such filters are very useful for the visitors in my opinion.
Yes, Diyan, I agree about Original Problems. But honestly for now I have a static page with a list of them shown as a table, and I just add manually rows to the table. To add a filters like here, I need either to use the database for the list of problems or some Java script filtering the static list… This is will another project! 🙂
In Take & Make, what does Type Dupont signify?
Regards,
Peter.
Peter,
It means that “delocalized” Pawns are allowed (e.g. a white Pawn on the first row). Such a Pawn may only move one step (capturing or not) and then it becomes a normal Pawn.
Thanks for all your work. In Sentinels, can a pawn born on the second rank move 2 squares with its first move?
There are several ways to check it with solving programs. A possibility is to create a simple statement and to look at the outputs. For example w: Sa2 Pc3 b:Pa6 =2 gives for Winchloe and Popeye respectively:
1.Cç1(+a2)! blocus
1…a5 2.a4=
1.Sa2-c1[+wPa2] !
So the answer to your question is “yes”!
Thanks very much. That’s consistent with a general principle that bits which appear on the board behave as if they are brand new, e.g. regenerated rooks Circe can castle, and promoted pieces in regular chess from the “first move” tasks. Parallels too with Magic the Gathering but I won’t bore you with those 🙂
Presenting a new look (together with some important changes in PHP code) of the Fairy Terms page. Something removed, something added… Your comments are welcomed! Your testing too 😖
Great Initiative! I will try to enter some stuff when time allows.
Thank you, Manfred! I would be grateful for any contribution!
To everybody: I’ve added one more entry field for insert fairy piece/condition – the name of the contributor. Please, be so kind to give me your name with the new entry so I’d know to whom to refer in case of any questions.
The definition of SAT is wrong (confirmed by Neal Turner, who is probably the composer with the most SAT compositions): ‘only one’ should be replaced with ‘at least one’.
Corrected, thanks!!