Fairy chess

Oniţiu,Petrović,Dawson&Fox
1st Pr. Kniest TT. 1930
FIDE Album1914-1944/III

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Mate in 8 (withgrasshoppersGa8, f7, h2 and h1)

Solution:1.Gh3 Gh4 2.Gh5 Gh6 3.Gh7 Gh8 4.Ge7 Gd7 5.Gc7 Gb7 6.Ga7+ Ga6 7.Ga5+ Ga4 8.Ga3#

This example usesalgebraic notation.

Fairy chessis the area ofchess compositionin which there are some changes to therules of chess.The term was introduced byHenry Tatein 1914.Thomas R. Dawson(1889–1951), the "father of fairy chess",^[1]invented many fairy pieces and new conditions. He was also problem editor ofFairy Chess Review(1930–1951).

Although the term "fairy chess" is sometimes used for games, it is more usually applied to problems where the board,pieces,or rules are changed to express an idea or theme impossible in orthodox chess.^[2]Variations on chess intended to create complete, playable games are more typically referred to aschess variants.

Types of fairy chess problems

Types of changed rules in fairy chess problems include:

New stipulations:The alterations most used by fairy chess players, like Thomas Dawson, are new stipulations about mate instead of a direct mate stipulation. Many of them were invented and some became established.Selfmatesandhelpmatesare, in the 21st century, often considered to be orthodox (not fairy) stipulations. Among others arereflexmatesand various types ofseriesmovers.
New conditions:Encompassing all changes of rules including rules for captures, checks, checkmates, and general movement abilities. Many were invented; some became established, includingCirce chess,Madrasi chess,Andernach chess,monochromatic chess,patrol chess,Einstein chess,andDescartes chess.
New chess pieces:Conventionalchess piecesare generalized in many ways intofairy chess pieces,such asgrasshopper,nightrider,andcannon.
Different boards:One can vary board size from 8×8 to other sizes (10×10, 8×10, or 8x8 unusual board shapes, etc.) or use different geometries:cylinder(vertical and horizontal), anchor ring ortorusand others.

There are fairy chess problems that combine some of these changed rules.^{[clarification needed]}

All entries in the world championships and in theFIDE Albumsare divided into eight sections:directmates(2-movers,3-moversandmore-movers),endgame studies,helpmates,selfmates,fairy chess,retros,andmathematical problems.

Fairy chess literature

Books and pamphlets devoted to fairy chess:^[3]

Chess Eccentricitiesby G. H. Verney (1885)
Chancellor Chessby B. R. Foster (1886)
The 20th Century Retractorby Mrs. W. J. Baird (1907)
Space Chesspublications of Dr.Ferdinand Maackand the Hamburg Space Chess Club (1908–1919)
150 Schachkuriositätenby Problematicus (1910)
Retrograde Analysisby T. R. Dawson and W. Hundsdorfer (1915)
Fata Morganaby Dr. E. Birgfeld (1922)
On Retraction Chess Problemsby Dr. Niels Hoeg (1927)
Hexagonal Chessby H. D. Baskerville (1929)
Chess Chimes from Pragueby Z. Mach (1933)
Caissa's Wild Rosesby T. R. Dawson (1935)
C. M. Fox, His Problemsby T. R. Dawson (1936)
Caissa's Wild Roses in Clustersby T. R. Dawson (1937)
Ultimate Themesby T. R. Dawson (1938)
Une Nouvelle InventionbyZnosko-Borovsky(1947)
Caissa's Fairy Talesby T. R. Dawson (1947)
Am Rande des Schachbrettsby Dr. Karl Fabel (1947)
Einführlung in das Märchenschachby Hermann Stapff (1948)
Caissas Märchentranslated by Dr. Massmann (1949)
Einzüger Rekordeby N. Petrovic (April 1950)
Les Jeux d'Echecs Non-orthodoxesby J. Boyer (1951, Paris)
Elemente des Märchenschachsby T. R. D., translated by W. Karsch and Dr. J. Niemann (1953)
Nouveaux Jeux d'Echecs Non-orthodoxesby J. Boyer (1954, Paris)
Rund um das Schachbrettby Dr. Karl Fabel (1955)
32 Personaggi e un Autoreby L. Ceriani (1955)
Are There Any?by G. F. Anderson (1958)
Kurioses Schachby Dr. Karl Fabel (1960)
Der Jäger im Schachspielby Theodor Steudel (1960)
La Genesi Delle Posizioniby L. Ceriani (1961)
Doppelzugschachby H. Klüver (1963)
Faschingsschach der Weltby Hans Klüver (1963)
Ye Faerie Chessemanby D. L. Miller (1965)
Schach und Zahlby Bonsdorff, Fabel, and Riihimaa (1966)
Maximum Tablesby The Fairy Chess Correspondence Circle (1967)
A Guide to Fairy Chessby A. S. M. Dickins (1967)
Chess Variationsby John Gollon (1968)
Chess Unlimitedby C. Kemp and Dr. K. Fabel (1969)
Records in One-Mover Chess Construction Tasksby W. Cross and A. S. M. Dickins (1970)
An Album of Fairy Chessedited by A. S. M. Dickins (1970)
The Serieshelpmateby John Rice and A. S. M. Dickins (1971)

Periodicals devoted to fairy chess:^[4]

The Problemist Fairy Supplement(August 1930 – June 1936)
Fairy Chess Review(August 1936 – April 1958)
Feenschach,edited by W. Karsch

References

^Pritchard, D. B.(2007).The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants.John Beasley. p. 361.ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1.
^Pritchard, D. B.(1994),The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants,Games & Puzzles Publications, p. 107,ISBN 0-9524142-0-1
^Dickins (1971),pp. 51–52
^Dickins (1971),p. 52

Bibliography

Dickins, Anthony (1971) [Corrected repub. of 1969 2nd ed., The Q Press, Richmond, Surrey, England].A Guide to Fairy Chess.New York:Dover PublicationsInc.ISBN 0-486-22687-5.

External links

Fairy chessby Michael McDowell
Fairy chess glossaryby Otto Janko
MetaChess, an open source fairy chess engine

[1] Pritchard, D. B.(2007).The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants.John Beasley. p. 361.ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1.

[2] Pritchard, D. B.(1994),The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants,Games & Puzzles Publications, p. 107,ISBN 0-9524142-0-1

[FOOTNOTEDickins197151–52-3] Dickins (1971),pp. 51–52

[FOOTNOTEDickins197152-4] Dickins (1971),p. 52

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Types of fairy chess problems

Fairy chess literature

See also

References

External links