Awards - SOLUTIONS
1 - Michel Caillaud (France) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney 1st Prize
The promoted Knight describes a continuous hexagon, screening against the bQ's check at the midpoint. It returns to its promotion square to be captured there. The play unfolds so naturally one almost overlooks that something astonishing is occurring!
1.a4 d5 2.Ra3 Bh3 3.Rb3 Kd7 4.Rb6 axb6 5.f4 Rxa4 6.f5 Re4 7.f6 Re6 8.fxe7 f5 9.e8=N Bc5 10.Nd6 Bd4 11.Ne4 Qh4+ 12.Ng3 Qe4 13.Nh5 g5 14.Ng7 Nf6 15.Ne8 Rhxe8
2 - Michel Caillaud & Reto Aschwanden (France/Switzerland) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney 2nd Prize
Two promoted white Bishops leave c8 to be screened by 12...f5, and then they return to c8 to be captured. As if this weren't enough, the Bf1 turns into an anti-Pronkin, and it too gets captured at c8!
1.b4 e5 2.b5 Ne7 3.b6 Ng6 4.bxc7 b5 5.c4 Bb7 6.c8=B Qa5 7.c5 Qxa2 8.c6 Ba3 9.c7 d6 10.Bh3 a5 11.c8=B Na6 12.Bcg4 f5 13.d3 OOO 14.Bg5 Kb8 15.e3 f4 16.Bc8 Rxc8 17.Be2 Rc1 18.Bc8 Rhxc8 19.Bg4 R8c2 20.Bc8 Bxc8
3 - Reto Aschwanden & Michel Caillaud (Switzerland/France) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney 3rd Prize
The promoted black Bishop returns "home" from its promotion square, in order to screen against a check, and then returns by a different route to get captured on the promotion square.
1.f3 g5 2.f4 Bg7 3.f5 Bc3 4.bxc3 Nf6 5.Ba3 Rg8 6.Bc5 Rg6 7.Na3 Rh6 8.Rb1 Rh3 9.gxh3 g4 10.Bg2 g3 11.Bd5 g2 12.Nf3 g1=B 13.Rb4 Be3 14.Rg1 Bh6 15.Rg8+ Bf8 16.Rh8 Ng8 17.Rf4 Bg7 18.Bc4 Bd4 19.f6 Bg1 20.Bxg1
4 - Mark Kirtley (Alpine, TX) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney 4th Prize
The promoted white Bishop leaves its promotion square by a counterclockwise route. No sooner has it returned than it leaves again and retraces its steps, clockwise now!
1.a4 h5 2.a5 Rh6 3.a6 Rc6 4.axb7 a5 5.bxc8=B a4 6.Ba6 Qc8 7.Bc4 Qa6 8.Be6 Qd3 9.exd3 a3 10.Qf3 a2 11.Qf6 exf6 12.f4 Bd6 13.f5 Bxh2 14.Kd1 Be5 15.Rh4 d6 16.Rb4 h4 17.Bc8 h3 18.Rxb8 h2 19.Rb5 h1=R 20.Be6 Rh4 21.Bc4 OOO 22.Rd5 Kb8 23.Ba6 Rhc4 24.Bc8
5 - Michel Caillaud & Reto Aschwanden (France/Switzerland) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney 5th Prize
Matching squares traced by the promoted Bishops! That this is managed without extra-set pieces is astounding.
1.c4 e5 2.c5 Bd6 3.cxd6 c5 4.Qb3 c4 5.Qh3 c3 6.d3 c2 7.Bd2 c1=B 8.b4 Bb2 9.Na3 Bc3 10.OOO g5 11.Be1 Bd2+ 12.Kb2 g4 13.Rc1 g3 14.Rxc8 gxf2 15.Rc3 Qh4 16.g3 Nf6 17.Bg2 f1=B 18.e3 Be2 19.Nc4 Bf3 20.Ne2 Rg8 21.Rf1 Rg6 22.Bh1 Bg2 23.Rf3 Bf1 24.Ka3 Bc1+ 25.Nb2
6 - Michel Caillaud & Reto Aschwanden (France/Switzerland) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney 6th Prize
The promoted Rook describes a small square (c8-c7-d7-c8) and then surprise, it becomes a Phoenix at a1! The construction shows no sign of strain, and the White side is charmingly "all at home" in the diagram.
1.g4 h6 2.g5 hxg5 3.d4 Rh6 4.d5 Rb6 5.d6 Nc6 6.dxc7 d6 7.a4 Kd7 8.Ra3 Ke6 9.Rf3 Bd7 10.c8=R Be8 11.Rc7 Rc8 12.Rd7 Rc7 13.Rf4 Qa8 14.Rd8 Rd7 15.Rc8 Nd8 16.Rc3 gxf4 17.Ra3 g5 18.Ra1
7 - Unto Heinonen (Finland) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney 7th Prize
The promoted bN must leave b1 to permit White to castle, and then oh what trouble he has getting back there! An irregular octogon, nicely featuring a visit to f1.
1.b4 c5 2.b5 Nc6 3.bxc6 d6 4.c7 Bd7 5.c8=N e6 6.Ne7 b5 7.Ng6 hxg6 8.c3 Rh4 9.Qc2 Ra4 10.e4 b4 11.Bc4 b3 12.d3 b2 13.Nd2 b1=N 14.h4 Na3 15.Rh2 Nb5 16.Ba3 Nd4 17.OOO Nf5 18.Re1 Ng3 19.Re3 Nf1 20.Rg3 g5 21.Ndf3 Nd2 22.Rg4 Nb1
8 - Rustam Ubaidullaev (Russia) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney 8th Prize
The promoted Bishop takes a 9-move trip in order to lose a tempo, and it gets captured upon its return to the promotion square. The only "flaw" is that the Bishop's withdrawal from the promotion square is required also to permit 12...0-0, so the motivation for the long trip is not entirely "tempo." [Note: Another entry, presumably by the same composer, features a similar Bishop trek on the queenside; in that problem the Bishop withdrawal also is a clearance of the back rank, and while the choice of square-order on the 3-square line (a3-b4-c5) is subtler, the promotee does not get captured at the end. Thus, I have chosen the present problem for the award.]
1.c4 h5 2.c5 h4 3.c6 Nxc6 4.Qa4 Rb8 5.Qa6 bxa6 6.f4 Rb5 7.f5 Bb7 8.f6 Rf5 9.fxg7 Nf6 10.g8=B Bh6 11.Bh7 Be3 12.Bg6 OO 13.Bh5 Kh8 14.Bg4 Rg8 15.Bf3 Rg3 16.Bh5 Qg8 17.Bg6 Nd8 18.Bh7 Qg5 19.Bg8 Nxg8
9 - Michel Caillaud (France) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney 9th Prize
This problem doubles a clearance maneuver, with the promoted white Rooks permitting the black Rooks to emerge. Delightfully achieved without extra-set Rooks!
1.h4 d5 2.Rh3 d4 3.Re3 dxe3 4.h5 Qd3 5.h6 Kd7 6.hxg7 h5 7.a4 Qh7 8.a5 f5 9.a6 Nf6 10.axb7 a5 11.g8=R Na6 12.Rg3 Rg8 13.b8=R Rg4 14.Rb3 Rh4 15.Rg8 Rb8 16.g4 Rb4 17.g5 Rbg4 18.Ra4 Rg2 19.Re4 fxe4 20.Rb8
Honorable Mentions, sorted by: number of moves, total units, and total white units.
10 - Dan Meinking (Cincinnati, OH) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney After Satoshi Hashimoto Honorable Mention
A continuous loop by the promoted black Bishop. Satoshi Hashimoto led the way with his Problemesis 2000 PG 11.5 (below).
1.d4 c5 2.Nd2 c4 3.Nb3 c3 4.Bd2 cxb2 5.Qc1 bxc1=B 6.c4 Ba3 7.Bc3 Bd6 8.OOO Bf4+ 9.Kb2 Bc1+ 10.Nxc1
COMPARE:
10a - Satoshi Hashimoto Problemesis 2000
15+15. Proof game in 11.5 moves (C+)
[rnbqkbnr/ppp2p1p/8/4p1p1/3PN2P/1PP5/PK2PPP1/2R1BBNR]
1.Nc3 d5 2.Ne4 d4 3.c3 d3 4.Qc2 dxc2 5.d4 g5 6.Bd2 c1B 7.b3 Ba3 8.h4 Bd6 9.OOO Bf4 10.Kb2 e5 11.Be1 Bc1+ 12.Rxc1
11 - Rustam Ubaidullaev (Russia) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention
The promoted wQ describes a large triangle, screening at g3 against a check from the bQ, and returning to its promotion square to be captured.
1.f4 Nf6 2.f5 Ne4 3.f6 e5 4.fxg7 f5 5.g8=Q Qh4+ 6.Qg3 Qh3 7.gxh3 Bg7 8.Bg2 OO 9.Qb3+ Kh8 10.Qg8+ Rxg8 11.b3
12 - Michel Caillaud (France) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention
The promoted wR describes a small square and then returns to its promotion square to be captured.
1.h4 Nc6 2.Rh3 Ne5 3.Rd3 Ng6 4.Rd6 exd6 5.h5 Qg5 6.h6 Nf6 7.hxg7 h5 8.g8=R Qh6 9.Rg7 Be7 10.Rh7 OO 11.Rh8+ Kg7 12.Rg8+ Nxg8
13 - Olli Heimo (Finland) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention A long clearance by the promoted bQ, needed to allow the capture of the promoted wQ. Though this version is longer than another entry - presumably by the same composer - it avoids using an extra-set bQ.
1.b4 g5 2.b5 g4 3.b6 g3 4.bxc7 gxh2 5.g4 b5 6.g5 b4 7.g6 b3 8.g7 b2 9.gxh8=Q bxa1=Q 10.Qxg8 Qh8 11.Qg7 h5 12.Qa1 Qxa1 13.cxd8=R+
14 - Dan Meinking (Cincinnati, OH) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention
It is charming that the promoted wB must travel all the way "home" to avoid interfering with the two queens.
1.b4 f5 2.b5 f4 3.b6 f3 4.exf3 h5 5.Bb5 h4 6.Bc6 bxc6 7.b7 Rh5 8.bxc8=B Rd5 9.Ba6 Qc8 10.Bf1 Qa6 11.Qe2 Qd3 12.Qe5 Qg6 13.Ba6 Kd8 14.Bc8 Qe8
14a - Satoshi Hashimoto Probleemblad 2001
14+13. Proof game in 18.5 moves (C+)
[1n2n2r/p1pppp1p/2p3b1/5p1k/8/2P2K2/PPP1PP1P/RNBQ2NR]
1.g4 Na6 2.Bg2 Rb8 3.Bc6 bxc6 4.g5 Rb3 5.g6 Rc3 6.dxc3 Nb8 7.Bg5 Ba6 8.Bf6 gxf6 9.g7 Bd3 10.gxf8B Bg6 11.Bh6 f5 12.Bc1 Kf8 13.Kd2 Kg7 14.Ke3 Kh6 15.Kf3+ Kh5 16.Bh6 Qf8 17.Bxf8 Nf6 18.Bh6 Ne8 19.Bc1
15 - Jorge J. Lois (Argentina) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention
A number of entries featured "gate" maneuvers which allow opposing pieces (usually Q and Rs) to pass. This one has a charmingly simple appearance.
1.e3 g6 2.Bb5 Bg7 3.Bc6 dxc6 4.e4 Bf5 5.e5 Nd7 6.e6 Ne5 7.exf7+ Kd7 8.fxg8=B Nf7 9.Bxh7 Ke6 10.Bg8 Rh4 11.Bh7 Qh8 12.Bg8 Qh5 13.Bh7 Rh8 14.Bg8 Rh6 15.Bh7 Nh8 16.Bg8+
16 - Satoshi Hashimoto (Japan) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention
The promoted wN must vacate a8 to allow the promotion of the wR. Then what? The knight returns to get captured, that's what! A funny effect.
1.a4 h5 2.a5 Rh6 3.a6 Rf6 4.Ra5 Rf4 5.Rf5 g6 6.Rf6 exf6 7.b4 Bc5 8.b5 d6 9.b6 Nd7 10.bxa7 Rb8 11.a8=N Nf8 12.a7 Kd7 13.Nb6+ Kc6 14.a8=R Kb5 15.Ra1 c6 16.Na8 Rxa8
17 - Kostas Prentos (Greece) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention
Two long-range clearances by the wR and wB (Rb8-b3-b8 and Bh8-a1-h8) permit the black Q, R, and B to make their moves. Can this be shown with only the Q using the paths cleared by the R and B?
1.c4 f5 2.c5 Kf7 3.c6 Ke6 4.cxb7 Nc6 5.b8=R Kd5 6.Rb3 Rb8 7.h4 Rb4 8.h5 Rh4 9.h6 Rxh1 10.hxg7 Nh6 11.gxh8=B Bg7 12.a3 Bxb2 13.Ra2 Bxc1 14.Ba1 Qh8 15.Rc2 Qb2 16.Rb8 Qb7 17.Bh8
18 - Jorge J. Lois & Roberto Osorio (Argentina) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention
The promoted black Bishop makes a big (continuous) circuit to allow the wK to pass. The diagram is somewhat suggestive of the trick involved!
1.Nf3 a5 2.Nd4 a4 3.Nb3 axb3 4.a4 h5 5.a5 Rh6 6.a6 Rf6 7.Ra5 g6 8.Rf5 e5 9.h4 Bb4 10.Rh3 Bc3 11.bxc3 b2 12.d4 bxc1=B 13.Rd3 Ba3 14.Kd2 Bf8 15.Kc1 Bh6+ 16.Kb2 Bc1+ 17.Ka1
19 - Paul Raican (Romania) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention
The promoted bQ screens against the promoted wB, which has withdrawn temporarily to allow the bK to pass. A heavy idea shown without fuss.
1.f4 h5 2.f5 h4 3.f6 h3 4.fxe7 hxg2 5.exd8=B gxf1=B 6.Bxc7 Bxe2 7.Ba5 Bg4 8.Qf3 b5 9.Ke2 b4 10.Kd3 b3 11.Kc4 bxc2 12.b3 Bb7 13.Bb2 c1=Q+ 14.Kb5 Qc7 15.Na3 Kd8 16.Nc2 Kc8 17.Ne1 Qc1 18.Bd8
20 - Göran Wicklund (Sweden) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention
Here we see a double trip on the long diagonal, first an Indian maneuver and then a line-clearance.
1.f4 a5 2.f5 a4 3.f6 Ra5 4.fxg7 Rg5 5.gxh8=Q Bg7 6.a3 Bxb2 7.Ra2 Bxa3 8.Qa1 Kf8 9.Rb2 Kg7 10.Rb5+ Kh6 11.Ra5 b5 12.Qh8 Bb7 13.Qxg8 Bd5 14.Qh8 Be6 15.Qa1 Qh8 16.h3 Qb2 17.Rh2 Qxc1 18.Qh8
21 - Rustam Ubaidullaev (Russia) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention
The promoted knight returns to its promotion square to get captured, and it is followed by its anti-Phoenix brother from g1.
1.b4 Nc6 2.b5 Nd4 3.b6 Nb5 4.bxa7 b6 5.g4 Bb7 6.g5 Be4 7.g6 Bf5 8.gxh7 g6 9.hxg8=N Bg7 10.Nh6 Bb2 11.Ng4 OO 12.Nh6+ Kh7 13.Ng8 Rxg8 14.Nf3 Qf8 15.Ne5 Qg7 16.Ng4 Qc3 17.Nh6 Rg7 18.Ng8 Raxg8
22 - Ryan McCracken (Albuquerque, NM) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention
The two promotees form a fence to protect the bK, and then they return to their promotion squares. Both promotees are extra-set pieces; otherwise this might have garnered a prize.
1.h4 a5 2.Rh3 a4 3.Rc3 a3 4.Rc4 axb2 5.Na3 b1=R 6.Bb2 f5 7.Be5 f4 8.c3 f3 9.Bh2 fxg2 10.f4 Rb5 11.Nf3 g1=B 12.Bh3 Bc5 13.Be6 dxe6 14.Qa4 Kd7 15.OOO Kc6 16.Rg1 Kb6 17.Rg6 Bg1 18.Ne1 Rb1+
23 - Kostas Prentos (Greece) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention Sliding puzzle maneuvers by the promoted wRs to allow the black Q and Rs to exit. The subtle 18.Ra8-a3! (18.Ra8-a2??) lifts this version above #69 [PG in 20.5 moves, (14+14), Kc1/Kg6], presumably by the same author.
1.h4 Na6 2.Rh3 Nc5 3.Rb3 a6 4.Rb5 axb5 5.a4 Ra6 6.a5 Rg6 7.a6 f6 8.a7 Kf7 9.a8=R Ke6 10.Rxc8 Kf5 11.Rca8 Kg4 12.R8a2 Qa8 13.h5 Qa3 14.h6 Qh3 15.Ra8 Nxh6 16.Rxf8 Nf7 17.Rfa8 h6 18.R8a3 Ra8 19.Nc3 Ra4 20.Na2 Rf4 21.Ra8
24 - Paul Raican (Romania) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Honorable Mention This is a somewhat quirky problem, in which the promoted bQ must hide at d3 until its final move.
1.b3 d5 2.Ba3 Qd6 3.Bc5 Qg3 4.hxg3 b5 5.Rh6 b4 6.Rd6 h5 7.e4 h4 8.Qe2 h3 9.Qa6 h2 10.c4 h1=Q 11.Nc3 Qh3 12.OOO Qd7 13.Kb2 Qa4 14.bxa4 b3 15.Ka3 b2 16.Be2 b1=Q 17.Bf3 Qd3 18.Rb1 Be6 19.Rb7 Nd7 20.Kb2 OOO 21.Ka1 Qb1+
Commendations, sorted by: number of moves, total units, and total white units.
25 - Michel Caillaud (France) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The promoted wQ does a tempo dance and then is captured on her promotion square. A version with a promoted wR (presumably by the same composer) is also charming.
1.b4 f5 2.b5 Kf7 3.b6 Kf6 4.bxc7 b6 5.cxb8=Q Qc7 6.Qb7 Qf4 7.Qc7 d6 8.Qb8 Rxb8
26 - Noam D. Elkies (Cambridge, MA) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The promoted wB is the only unit that can move while the bR travels h8-h3-a3-a4. This rook path is not immediately obvious, giving the problem a bit of zest.
1.f4 Nf6 2.f5 Ne4 3.f6 c5 4.fxg7 Qb6 5.g8=B Qg6 6.Bxh7 Nc6 7.Bg8 Rh3 8.Bh7 Ra3 9.Bg8 Ra4 [Try: 1.f4 c5 2.f5 Nc6 3.f6 Qc7 4.fxg7 Nf6 5.g8B Qg3 6.Bxh7 Qg6 7.Bg8 Rh4 8.any Ra4 9.any Ne4, but 5...Qg3 is check.]
27 - Andrew Buchanan (Los Angeles, CA) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The promoted wQ makes a little tempo-triangle while it also clears the way for black's Rook.
1.d4 e6 2.d5 Bc5 3.d6 Nh6 4.Qd5 OO 5.Qc6 dxc6 6.d7 Qf6 7.d8=Q Bd7 8.Qe7 Rc8 9.Qd8+ Be8 10.Qd6
28 - Ivan Denkovski & Gligor Denkovski (Macedonia) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The bR on f1 turns out to be an anti-Pronkin, replacing the theme promoted Rook that was captured there.
1.Nc3 d5 2.Ne4 dxe4 3.g4 Qd3 4.exd3 e3 5.Qf3 e2 6.g5 exf1=R+ 7.Ke2 Rxc1 8.g6 Rf1 9.Rxf1 hxg6 10.Kd1 Rxh2 11.Kc1 Rxf2 12.Qd1 Rxf1
29 - Kevin Begley (Elk Grove, CA) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The promoted Knight does a strange dance while the Nb1 sacrifices itself to create a pretty diagram.
1.c4 Nf6 2.c5 Nd5 3.c6 Nb4 4.cxb7 c5 5.Nc3 N8c6 6.b8=N Ba6 7.Nxd7 Bc4 8.Nb8 Qd7 9.Na6 OOO 10.Nb8 Kc7 11.Ne4 Qc8 12.Nd6 Rxd6 13.Na6+
30 - Roberto Osorio (Argentina) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The bRc1 turns out to be an anti-Pronkin. The promoted bR died on c6!
1.d4 b5 2.d5 b4 3.Qd4 b3 4.Kd2 bxc2 5.b4 h6 6.Bb2 c1=R 7.b5 Rxf1 8.b6 Rc1 9.b7 Rc6 10.Qb6 axb6 11.dxc6 Ra5 12.Kc3 Rc5+ 13.Kb4 Rc1 14.Nc3
31 - Noam Elkies (Cambridge, MA) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The promoted wN hops to 7 different squares and then returns to g8 to be captured. A comical effect.
1.f4 e5 2.f5 Qg5 3.f6 Bc5 4.fxg7 Nf6 5.g8=N d6 6.Nh6 Be6 7.Nxf7 OO 8.Nh8 Nbd7 9.Ng6 Rae8 10.Nxf8 Re7 11.Nxh7 Ne8 12.Nf6+ Kh8 13.Ng8 Bxg8 14.g4 Qh4#
32 - Mark Kirtley & Dan Meinking (U.S.A.) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
A nifty corner-to-corner clearance by the promoted bQ.
1.a4 b5 2.axb5 a6 3.Rxa6 h5 4.Rh6 Ra3 5.f4 Rc3 6.dxc3 h4 7.Qd3 h3 8.Qh7 hxg2 9.f5 gxh1=Q 10.Bg5 Qa8 11.Bf6 exf6 12.Bg2 Ba3 13.Bb7 Qe7 14.Ba6 Qb4 15.cxb4 Qh1
33 - Goran Wicklund (Sweden) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
Tempo maneuvers by both promotees!
1.f4 a5 2.f5 a4 3.f6 a3 4.fxg7 Nf6 5.gxf8=B Rg8 6.Bh6 Rg3 7.Bg7 Rb3 8.axb3 a2 9.Bf8 axb1=Q 10.Ra7 b6 11.Rb7 Ra3 12.bxa3 Qa1 13.Bb2 Qa2 14.Qa1 Kxf8 15.Kd1 Qb1+
34 - Jorge J. Lois & Roberto Osorio (Argentina) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The promoted Knight travels a hexagonal path to remove the bQ.
1.Na3 f5 2.Nc4 f4 3.Ne5 f3 4.Ng6 hxg6 5.h3 Rh5 6.h4 Ra5 7.h5 b5 8.h6 Bb7 9.h7 Bd5 10.h8=N Nc6 11.Nf7 Rb8 12.Nxd8 Rb6 13.Nb7 Kf7 14.Nd6+ Ke6 15.Nf7 Rba6 16.Nh8
35 - Goran Wicklund (Sweden) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The promoted bR repeats the theme 4 times and then turns into a Phoenix.
1.a4 f5 2.a5 f4 3.a6 f3 4.axb7 fxg2 5.bxa8=Q gxh1=R 6.Bh3 Rxh2 7.Kf1 Rh1 8.Kg2 Rxg1+ 9.Kf3 Rh1 10.Qg1 g6 11.Qg3 Rxc1 12.Qxa7 Rxb1 13.Qd4 Rh1 14.Rg1 Bh6 15.Rg2 Ra1 16.Qg7 Ra8
36 - Jorge J. Lois (Argentina) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The promoted bN and bB vacate their posts - and form a battery - to allow White to castle.
1.f4 a5 2.f5 a4 3.f6 a3 4.fxe7 Ra4 5.exf8=N Rh4 6.e4 b5 7.Bd3 b4 8.Ne2 b3 9.Rf1 bxc2 10.Rf4 cxb1=N 11.Qb3 axb2 12.Bc2 bxc1=B 13.d3 Be3 14.Qxb8 Nd2 15.OOO Nb1+ 16.Kb2 Bc1+ 17.Kb3
36a - Reto Aschwanden Problemesis 2001 (#60)
14+14. Proof game in 15.5 moves (C+)
[rnbqkbnr/1pp1pppp/1Q6/7P/P2P1R1N/B7/K3PPP1/2R2BN1]
1.h4 d5 2.h5 d4 3.Rh4 d3 4.Rf4 dxc2 5.d4 a5 6.Nd2 a4 7.Ndf3 a3 8.Nh4 axb2 9.a4 b1N 10.Ba3 c1B 11.Qb3 Be3 12.Qb6 Nd2 13.OOO Nb1+ 14.Kxb1 Bd2 15.Ka2 Bc1 16.Rxc1
37 - Ion Murarasu & Paul Raican (Romania) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The maneuvers by the White promotees are charming. The bR promotion-and-return (exd1Rxc1-d1) , though thematic, detracts from the effect somewhat.
1.h4 f5 2.h5 f4 3.h6 f3 4.hxg7 fxe2 5.gxf8=B exd1=R+ 6.Ke2 Rxc1 7.Bxe7 Rd1 8.Bg5 Qf6 9.a4 Ke7 10.a5 Kd6 11.a6 Ne7 12.axb7 Na6 13.b8=R Bb7 14.Rg8 Rf8 15.Bh6 Rf7 16.Rb8 Bc8 17.Bf8
38 - Kostas Prentos (Greece) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The theme wR lets a bR exit, and then gives himself up after returning to his promotion square; meanwhile a theme wB does a gate maneuver to let the bRh8 get to f8.
1.g4 Nc6 2.Bg2 Nd4 3.Bc6 bxc6 4.b4 Ba6 5.b5 Qb8 6.b6 Bd3 7.bxa7 Qb6 8.g5 OOO 9.a8=R+ Kb7 10.Ra3 Ra8 11.g6 Ra4 12.gxh7 Rc4 13.Ra8 Bg6 14.Rxf8 Ka6 15.hxg8=B Ka5 16.Bh7 Rxf8 17.Bg8
39 - Rustam Ubaidullaev (Russia) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The bQ and bK do little sidesteps to allow the promoted wN get to f8 and back. On top of that, both sides need to waste a move (1.b3, 2.b4 and 7...a6 and 17...a5+).
1.b3 h5 2.b4 Rh6 3.b5 Re6 4.b6 Rxe2+ 5.Kxe2 Na6 6.Kd3 Nc5+ 7.Kc3 a6 8.Bd3 Ra7 9.bxa7 c6 10.a8=N Qb6 11.Nc7+ Kd8 12.Ne6+ Ke8 13.Nxf8 Qd8 14.Ne6 b5 15.Nc7+ Kf8 16.Na8 Ke8 17.Kb4 a5+
40 - Goran Wicklund (Sweden) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The theme is doubled (Bb1-c2-d1-c2-b1 and Qg1-c5xc1-c5-g1+) so that the Bc1 can be removed.
1.Nf3 a5 2.Nd4 a4 3.Nb3 axb3 4.f4 bxc2 5.f5 cxb1=B 6.Qa4 Bc2 7.f6 Bd1 8.fxe7 f5 9.Qa7 f4 10.a4 f3 11.Ra3 fxg2 12.Rh3 g1=Q 13.Rxh7 Qc5 14.h4 Qxc1 15.h5 Qc5 16.h6 Bc2 17.Rh5 Bb1 18.Bh3 Qg1+
41 - Bo Lindgren & Dirk Borst (Sweden/Netherlands) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The long trip by the promoted bN is noteworthy. This problem might have placed higher had it been possible to avoid the capture on c2 when the knight returns.
1.Nc3 a5 2.Ne4 a4 3.Ng5 a3 4.Nxh7 axb2 5.Nxf8 bxa1=N 6.Ba3 Nb3 7.Bc5 Nd4 8.Ba7 b6 9.Qa1 Bb7 10.Qc3 Bf3 11.exf3 Ne6 12.Bd3 Nxf8 13.Ne2 Ne6 14.OO Nd4 15.Rc1 Nxc2 16.Kf1 Na1 17.Bb1 Nh6 18.Rc2 OO
42 - Kostas Prentos (Greece) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
When I proposed the theme for this tourney, I joked that perhaps someone would create a thematic AUW. I didn't pause to consider that this might actually be possible, and as it happens, four entries achieved this! This entry is the most interesting.
1.h4 f5 2.h5 f4 3.h6 f3 4.hxg7 fxe2 5.f4 d5 6.Kf2 e1=R 7.Qf3 Rxc1 8.f5 Re1 9.f6 Bf5 10.fxe7 Nf6 11.exd8=N Bd6 12.g8=B Re7 13.Be6 Nbd7 14.Nf7 OO 15.a4 Rae8 16.Nd8+ Kh8 17.a5 Rg8 18.a6 Rg3 19.axb7 a5 20.b8=Q a4 21.Qxc7 a3 22.Qb8 Bc7 23.Bg8
43 - Olli Heimo (Finland) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The promoted bN is thematic, but incidental. The promoted wQ is thematic and outrageous. Her tour to remove bPc7 and then to give herself up at h6 is wild. How unladylike!
1.Nf3 a5 2.Nd4 a4 3.Nb3 axb3 4.a3 Ra4 5.Ra2 bxa2 6.h4 axb1=N 7.Rh3 Nc3 8.Rd3 Nxd1 9.Rxd7 Nc3 10.Rd6 Nb1 11.Rg6 hxg6 12.Kd1 Rh5 13.Ke1 Rb5 14.h5 Bf5 15.h6 e6 16.h7 Be7 17.h8=Q Bg5 18.Qh2 Rh4 19.Qxc7 Qd4 20.Qc8+ Ke7 21.a4 Kd6 22.a5 Ne7 23.Qh8 Na3 24.Qh6 gxh6
Try: 1.h4 2.Rh3 3.Rb3 4.a3 5.Ra2 6.Nf3 7.Ne5 8.Nxd7 9.Ne5 10.Ng6 saves 1 move, but leaves wK on wrong square.
44 - Göran Wicklund (Sweden) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
The promoted wRs capture the bBs at c8 and f8, and withdraw to allow the bQ and bR to exit. Then they return to the capture squares after passing through their promotion square.
1.b4 Nc6 2.b5 Nd4 3.b6 Nxe2 4.d4 a5 5.Nd2 a4 6.Nb3 axb3 7.a4 Ra5 8.Ra3 Rc5 9.a5 b2 10.a6 b1=B 11.a7 Ba2 12.a8=R Be6 13.Rxc8 Bh3 14.Rca8 Qb8 15.R8a4 Qa7 16.bxa7 e6 17.a8=R+ Ke7 18.Rxf8 Nh6 19.Rfa8 Nf5 20.R8a5 Ra8 21.Bh6 Ra6 22.Qd2 Rb6 23.Ra8 Nc1 24.Rf8 Rb1 25.Raa8 Ra1 26.Rac8
45 - Andrey Frolkin (Ukraine) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
A four-fold expression of the theme, neatly done.
1.h4 f5 2.h5 f4 3.h6 f3 4.hxg7 fxg2 5.f4 h5 6.f5 Nh6 7.g8=N Kf7 8.Nxe7 Rg8 9.f6 Rg4 10.Ng8 Kg6 11.f7 Bd6 12.f8=N+ Kg5 13.Nxd7 Bf4 14.Nf8 Nd7 15.a4 Nf6 16.a5 Nh7 17.a6 Qf6 18.axb7 a5 19.b8=B Bb7 20.Bxc7 Rd8 21.Bb8 Rd3 22.exd3 a4 23.Ne2 g1=N 24.Nec3 Ne2 25.Bg2 Nxc1 26.OO Ne2+ 27.Kh1 Ng1
46 - Nicolas Dupont (France) Gianni Donati 50th Jubilee Tourney Commendation
A six-fold oscillation by the theme Bishop, made necessary because no one else can move.
1.Nf3 e5 2.Nd4 exd4 3.Nc3 dxc3 4.h4 cxb2 5.Rh3 bxa1B 6.Rg3 Bb2 7.Rg6 hxg6 8.a4 Rh5 9.a5 Rxa5 10.h5 Ra1 11.h6 a5 12.hxg7 Nh6 13.g8B a4 14.Bh7 a3 15.Bg8 a2 16.Bh7 B8a3 17.Bg8 Ke7 18.Bh7 Kd6 19.Bg8 Kc5 20.Bh7 Kb4 21.Bg8 c5 22.Bh7 Qa5 23.Bg8 b6 24.Bh7 Bb7 25.Bg8 Bf3 26.Bh7 Nc6 27.Bg8 Re8 28.Bh7 Re4 29.Bg8 Ne5 30.Bh7
46a - Satoshi Hashimoto Problem Paradise 1999 (#95)
13+15. Proof game in 28.5 moves
[1kn2bR1/p2bp1pr/1p1p4/2p1q1B1/8/b2P1pr1/PPPQPPP1/2KR1B2]
1.Nc3 h5 2.Ne4 h4 3.Ng3 hxg3 4.h4 f5 5.Rh2 gxh2 6.h5 hxg1B 7.h6 Bh2 8.h7 Bd6 9.hxg8R Rh7 10.Rh8 Ba3 11.Rg8 c5 12.Rh8 Qc7 13.Rg8 Qe5 14.Rh8 d6 15.Rg8 Nd7 16.Rh8 Nb6 17.Rg8 Bd7 18.Rh8 O-O-O 19.Rg8 Kb8 20.Rh8 Rc8 21.Rg8 Rc6 22.Rh8 Nc8 23.Rg8 Rb6 24.Rh8 Rb3 25.Rg8 Rg3 26.d3 b6 27.Bg5 f4 28.Qd2 f3 29.O-O-O