I’m very grateful to Julia for her invitation to judge this interesting fairy retro tourney: I’m convinced that carefully selected fairy conditions (more than fairy pieces) will extend the options for interesting retrograde analysis in the future. The most popular current example is AntiCirce with defensive retractors, but the general idea goes back to Thomas R. Dawson (whom else?), and gets more and more popular.

Sometimes there are discussions if a fairy retro is more a retro or more a fairy problem? My opinion is clear: It is a retro problem, since the general definition of retros (something like “Retros look back to the history, while all other problem types look to the future.”) is valid also for fairy retros. The use of fairy conditions (or pieces) is just a change of the basic rules of chess, but not a change in the “direction of thinking”: It is like a changed set of axioms in mathematics — Fairy chess as “Non-Euclidian Chess”.

The 2015-2016 retro period in Julia’s Fairies again showed a high quality of original problems, that made my task to identify the “best ones” very pleasurable!

After my first selection down to 29 problems I asked Hans Gruber an Dirk Borst for support in careful checking these problems for correctness. And they were successful in cooking some of them: Thanks a lot, Hans and Dirk!

813: Dual 8.– Se4 9.Bh3 Rd3 10.exd3 [Rg3] Rxg4 [Pg5] 11.Qxg4 [Rg2]+ f5 12.gxf6 e.p. [Pf4]+ etc. (Hans Gruber).

965.2: Cook 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Qb3 c3 4.Qb6 cxb2 5.h4 g5 6.hxg5 c6 7.Rh6 e5 8.Rxc6 e4 9.Rf6 e3 10.g6 exf2+ 11.Kd2 bxa1=G 12.Ba3 Gc1 13.e4 Gxg1 14.Bb4 Ge1 15.Be2 Ga1 16.Kd3 Gc1 (Dirk Borst).

980: Cook 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 [bPe4] g5 3.e6 Ba3 4.e7 Bxb2 [wPb4], and continue with the intended solution (Hans Gruber).

1146: Cook 1.a4 d5 2.f3 d4 3.g3 d3 4.Sc3 dxc2 5.d4 Qxd4 6.Bh6 cxd1=Q+ [bRa1, bPa4, bPe2, wQd4] 7.Sxd1 Ra3 8.Bh3 Rxf3 9.Kxe2 Rxg3 10.Sf3 Rxh3 11.Kd3 Sc6 etc. (Dirk Borst) — and independently and differently by the new fairy proof game test program „jacobi“. Tries to correct were also cooked.

1164: Dual 10.f3! exf3 [wPf4] 11.e4 g5 12.fxg5 [bPg4] Qxg5 [wPg6!!], and continue with the intended solution (Hans Gruber).

Before we come to the distinctions let me give a few remarks on problems which did not make it into the award:

716: Even though “only” four solutions and one man more, I prefer 728 — see below.

783: With this set of conditions the quite high number of interchanges is not really surprising, but more or less “automatic”.

930a: Nice timing in the solution, but the content is quite orthodox. That the bB tour is partially hidden by Pawns is not surprising with Sentinelles condition — of course it makes it harder to identify the thematic man.

1013: This beautiful Wenigsteiner task was safely “booked” for a distinction till I found out, that Alexander had published a 21 mover (Ke1 Ph5 — Kb1 Sf1 — Problem Paradise I-III/2016, dedicated to Vlaicu Crisan, 3^rd place Wenigsteiner of the Year 2016) at the very same time and a little bit later even a 23 mover (Ke1 — Ka2 Pe2g5, Problem Paradise IV-VI/2016, 4^th–5^th place Wenigsteiner of the Year 2016).

1076: Of course, this always reminds of Dittmanns famous two-Kings-retractor from feenschach 2003 (see PDB P1067390). No, this is not an anticipation, but it is easier with Klan to uncapture a helpful Queen…

But now let’s start!

1^st Prize: 932 by Vlaicu Crișan & Klaus Wenda

This is an excellent example for clear structuring the solution according to the New-German school in a defensive retractor: The main plan is quite obvious, the reason(s) it does not work immediately also not so hard to see. Also not too hard to see is the plan to deal with the obstacles: Just bring wBc4 to b7. That “only” needs two white moves, but to hold down Blacks power it requires intelligent planning. Surprisingly the Bishop will not directly proceed to b7 but makes a detour via f1 — to be able to uncapture a black Queen (!) when arriving at b7.

This all is supported by a long and quite hidden white King-tour to a5 and back to f4 just to win the two required tempi by uncapturing two black men having to uncheck.

I agree with Günther Weeth commenting this problem: “One of the best trips of the wK I’ve ever seen.”

2^nd Prize: 1007 by Nicolas Dupont

Castling Chess is a condition that generalises the orthodox castling rules to other men and other positions. This allows to reconstruct the initial Pawn position in the course of the game and so to have riders (Queen, Rook, Bishop) outside this apparently static structure.

But not only the (four) “Pawn-castlings” are impressive, moreover I appreciate the “diagonal Rook-castling”. And the diagram position is very elegant: Three twins outside the Pawn structure, where the black twin reminds of the orthodox castling pattern. Very time and material economic: no supporting capture is necessary.

3^rd Prize: 619.1 by Klaus Wenda

Again a clearly-cut logical structure of the solution: Immediately playing the main plan does not work, since the mating net around the black King still has a hole. White can close this hole in the first move, but has Black kept busy till white King returne to e1 to play the main plan. This “keeping busy” has to be performed by carefully interweaving black Rooks and Bishop e5, so the trip home of wK takes five moves instead of the obviously only two necessary ones.

1^st Honourable Mention: 971 by Nicolas Dupont

Strictly thinking this problem is “unthematic” in Julia’s Fairies, because it is totally orthodox!

This proof game is an excellent demonstration of systematic work in a highly complex environment of complicated theme elements for “Proof Games of the Future” where (at least) two elements are (at least) doubled. Here we have two black and two white Ceriani-Frolkin-Queens, but today this is not enough for a distinction. So these “captured promotions” are linked with other content: White promoted Queens are cross-captured by black Pawns (fxe6, exf6), while the black Queens revisit their initial (Pawn) squares: Pc7-c1=Q, Qc7+ and Ph7-h1=Q, Qh7.

This is a fine blend of elements, where the elements themselves are quite known, but this blend makes it a problem to be honoured.

2^nd Honourable Mention: 885.1 by Günther Weeth

A highly complex, “Wagnerian” Hoeg retractor: To prepare a fantastic mate by white King in northwest White has two different trips for his King back to e1: The longer one is the faster one. This is extremely tricky, and I recommend analysing the complete solution with care: For example, 6.Sa8xb6[Sg1](+Bb6): Black is forced to add a Bishop at b6, because that is the only man being able to uncheck bRh1/wKe1. This complexity, on the other hand, hides a clear-cut general strategic idea as, for example, in 932 and 619.1.

3^rd Honourable Mention: 738 by Vlaicu Crișan & Andreas Thoma

First rendition of a doubled draw pendulum in miniature form in excellent construction. Of course here we have the standard time-material trade-off: The reduced material requires more moves.

Commendations without ranking (in the order of publication)

D-Bornheim, December 31, 2017
Thomas Brand, International Judge of the FIDE