Messigny Chess: Instead of a normal move either side may interchange the positions of any pair of like pieces (including kings) of different coulours. Such an interchange may bit immediately be reversed by the other side.
Alphabetic Chess: The squares are considered in the order a1, a2…a8, b1…b8, c1 and so on to h8. At each turn, only the unit standing on the square which comes earliest in this order may move. However check and mate are normal.
No.1390Chris Feather England original – 23.03.2019
In each mate the wB/wS that does not give mate does guard duty instead.
In (a) there are switchbacks by both Knights (wSg4-f2-g4 and bSf7-h8-f7). The bK wants to move to h6, but that square is attacked by the wSg4. Therefore the bK first goes to h4, giving the move to the bPh2, which is then able to shift the wS by promoting to Knight with a subsequent swap of Knights. The bS must then move all the way to h8 to give the bK the move (but not 7.Sh6? because then the bK gets the move too early!). The move 15.Sf7 is necessary so that after White plays Sg4# the black King would still be in check after a Knight swap.
In (b) the bK also wants to move to h4, but not 1.Kf3? 2.Kg2 3.Kh3 4.Kh4, because then after 11.Kh1Ke6 the bKe6 is too far away from h1. Therefore play begins with a King swap, so that after 11.Kh1Ke2 the bK is on e2! In the mate the bK would still be in check after a King swap.
By the way, in the definition of Messigny Chess, the word “bit” should be “not”!
In each mate the wB/wS that does not give mate does guard duty instead.
In (a) there are switchbacks by both Knights (wSg4-f2-g4 and bSf7-h8-f7). The bK wants to move to h6, but that square is attacked by the wSg4. Therefore the bK first goes to h4, giving the move to the bPh2, which is then able to shift the wS by promoting to Knight with a subsequent swap of Knights. The bS must then move all the way to h8 to give the bK the move (but not 7.Sh6? because then the bK gets the move too early!). The move 15.Sf7 is necessary so that after White plays Sg4# the black King would still be in check after a Knight swap.
In (b) the bK also wants to move to h4, but not 1.Kf3? 2.Kg2 3.Kh3 4.Kh4, because then after 11.Kh1Ke6 the bKe6 is too far away from h1. Therefore play begins with a King swap, so that after 11.Kh1Ke2 the bK is on e2! In the mate the bK would still be in check after a King swap.
By the way, in the definition of Messigny Chess, the word “bit” should be “not”!