In the spring of this year, I offered Christian Poisson four my new fairy conditions (they are a part of my ‘Fairy Bolero project’ I have been developing since 2003). Christian has positively adopted my ideas and, as always, he very quickly programmed the four Bolero types that are now included in the latest version of WinChloe 3.45. Above all, I express my sincere gratitude to Christian Poisson and to Geoff Foster, who gives me great help in the grammatical editing of my texts!

The name Bolero

It is well known that the Bolero is one of the oldest and most traditional dances in Spanish history. Bolero is a beautiful and dynamic dance with inherent sudden pauses and rapid spins. Dozens of works by ingenious musical composers have been written in this style and rhythm. Undoubtedly the pinnacle in this regard is “Bolero” by Maurice Ravel – “the melody of the world”!
By naming my fairy project (and in particular – the new fairy conditions) “Bolero”, I express my immense love and reverence for Ravel`s immortal masterpiece (a favorite of my family!), which combines classical style and impressionism, rhythm and harmony in a unique way. What analogy can be made here with chess composition? Quite subjectively and conditionally, I assume that in some way, though to a small extent, the fairy project and the conditions “Bolero” are also synonymous with an extremely dynamic dance of figures combined with unexpected metamorphoses in their power and agility. Here, too, the classic rules of movement of the orthodox pieces (king, queen, rooks, bishops, knights) are combined with modernistic principles for the demonstration of their activity and the activity of the other fairy pieces on the board.

Basic Principles of the Bolero Project

In my plans for theoretical studies in the field of fairy composition, the ” Bolero Project” has existed since 2003. It contains as a basic idea for future new fairy conditions, pieces, etc, a simple classic principle. It is:
1. All 8 files (from “a” to “h”) of the chess board can be named after pieces (but not the pawns), so the files “a” and “h” are Rook`s files, “b” and “g” are Knight`s files, “c” and “f” are Bishop`s files”, “d” is Queen`s file and “e” is King`s file.
2. For all types of “The “Bolero Project” as the main principle determining the character of the movement of a piece “x”, the location of this piece of the corresponding file will be applied.
In all cases the piece “x” will mimic the movements of the orthodox chess pieces in some way: the king, the queen, the rook, the bishop and the knight. In particular, an “imitation of a royal move” means that the figure “x”, which is located on file “e”, must (in the optimal case! ) only move to its neighbouring eight squares (as a king) but without receiving royal status.
3. According to the my ‘Fairy Bolero Project,, two categories of pieces deserve special attention: pawns and kings (of all kinds – orthodox and fairy).
a) The Category of pawns – includes all types of pawns (orthodox and fairy).
b) The category of kings – includes all kinds of kings (orthodox or fairy) as well as Royal pawns.
4. Castling is permitted if the king and the rook are on their starting positions (or with Circe-reborn K and R) and the squares between them are not attacked by enemy pieces according to the Bolero condition.

Four kinds of Condition Bolero

I present here 4 types of Bolero that are programmed in WinChloe:
In the first two types: I. BOLERO and II.BOLERO INVERSE all types of kings and pawns are excluded from the Bolero.
In the other two types III. BOLERO RI and IV. BOLERO INVERSE RI only all types of pawns are excluded from the Bolero. Pay attention that here I am giving more detailed definitions of these conditions. In WinChloe you will find the laconic definitions of these conditions.

Definitions

I. BOLERO – A piece “x” (except for all kinds of kings and pawns) making capturing moves plays in the usual way, according to the rules of movement for its own nature.
If making non-capturing moves, “x” plays as follows: if located on the files “a” and “h” like a rook, on the files “b” and “g” like a knight, on the files “c” and “f” like a bishop, on the file “d” like a queen and on the file “e” like a king (to all neighbouring squares, but without acquiring royal status).
Castling is permitted if the king and the rook are on their starting positions (or with Circe-reborn K and R) and the squares between them are not attacked by enemy pieces according to the Bolero condition.

II. BOLERO INVERSE – A piece “x” (except for all kinds of kings and pawns) making non-capturing moves plays in the usual way, according to the rules of movement for its own nature.
If making capturing moves, “x” plays as follows: if located on the files “a” and “h” like a rook, on the files “b” and “g” like a knight, on the files “c” and “f” like a bishop, on the file “d” like a queen and on the file “e” like a king (to all neighbouring squares, but without acquiring royal status). Pieces of the Locust type capture enemy pieces according the rules of Bolero.
Castling is permitted if the king and the rook are on their starting positions (or with Circe-reborn K and R) and the squares between them are not attacked by enemy pieces according to the Bolero condition.

III. BOLERO REX INCLUSIV – A piece “x” (except for all kinds of pawns) making capturing moves plays in the usual way, according to the rules of movement for its own nature. If making non-capturing moves, “x” plays as follows: if located on the files “a” and “h” like a rook, on the files “b” and “g” like a knight, on the files “c” and “f” like a bishop, on the file “d” like a queen and on the file “e” like a king (to all neighbouring squares, but without acquiring royal status). The Royal pawn is perceived as a Royal unit – it can play in all directions but on its last row it must be promoted to a royal piece and on its first row it becomes a stationary royal pawn.
Castling is permitted if the king and the rook are on their starting positions (or with Circe-reborn K and R) and the squares between them are not attacked by enemy pieces according to the Bolero condition.

IV.BOLERO INVERSE REX INCLUSIV – A piece “x” (including kings but excepting all kinds of pawns) making non-capturing moves plays in the usual way, according to the rules of movement for its own nature.
If making capturing moves, “x” plays as follows: if located on the files “a” and “h” like a rook, on the files “b” and “g” like a knight, on the files “c” and “f” like a bishop, on the file “d” like a queen and on the file “e” like a king (to all neighbouring squares, but without acquiring royal status).
By making captures a Royal pawn can make moves in all directions but on its last row it should promote to a Royal piece, while on its first row it becomes an immovable Royal pawn without any other Bolero functions.
Castling is permitted if the king and the rook are on their starting positions (or with Circe-reborn K or / and R) and the squares between them are not attacked by enemy pieces according to the Bolero condition.
(These explanation are a strongly abridged version of a lengthy theoretic article, which I plan to publish in the coming months in France. In this future article, I will define the Piece Bolero figure as a single demonstration of Bolero – conditions, as well as other types of Bolero including also “Bolero PI (Pawns Inclusive)”).