Julia's Fairies

JF Fairy Terms db

fairy-piecesFairy 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!

Select fairy piece:

Or enter word (part of the word):  

Select fairy condition:

Or enter word (part of the word):  

+ RUS

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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
ChameleonOn 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 ChessA 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 & MakeEvery 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-AndernachA 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-CirceAfter 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 ChessAll pieces on the board which are displayed as orthodox Q, R, B, S, are Chameleons. A Pawn can promote only in Chameleon-pieces.
CirceCaptured 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.
MaximummerBlack 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.
PWCWhen 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-CirceWhen 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 & MakeHaving 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.

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S. K. Balasubramanian
S. K. Balasubramanian
November 12, 2013 05:11

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

seetharaman
seetharaman
November 19, 2013 19:25

The font or color used is difficult to read. Is it so only for me?

Kjell Widlert
Kjell Widlert
November 19, 2013 22:13

Yes, definitely!

shankar ram
shankar ram
November 20, 2013 06:11

Maybe should add two more sections: stipulations and boards..?
The latter can also take care of things like magic squares..

Diyan Kostadinov
November 20, 2013 09:03

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.

Peter Fayers
Peter Fayers
March 5, 2015 09:21

In Take & Make, what does Type Dupont signify?
Regards,
Peter.

dupont
dupont
March 5, 2015 11:00

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.

Andrew Buchanan
Andrew Buchanan
September 14, 2017 07:16

Thanks for all your work. In Sentinels, can a pawn born on the second rank move 2 squares with its first move?

dupont
dupont
September 14, 2017 23:41

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”!

Andrew Buchanan
Andrew Buchanan
September 15, 2017 19:00

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 🙂

Manfred Rittirsch
Manfred Rittirsch
July 8, 2020 14:02

Great Initiative! I will try to enter some stuff when time allows.

Joost
Joost
December 3, 2020 16:45

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’.

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