One move does not belong

@bigdogg said
If you mirror that position vertically, you get 1.Ba8#

Forgot to claim Ba6# is impossible from that position (since the bishop is already there.

@ponderable said
Forgot to claim Ba6# is impossible from that position (since the bishop is already there.

But nothing is on a6.

If you meant a8, and that was the black King, it could be moved.

I apologize for completely mangling the problem. Please disregard all my posts.
I actaully was under the impression that the diagonal from a1 to h8 was described what is definietyl wrong...

@ponderable said
I apologize for completely mangling the problem. Please disregard all my posts.
I actaully was under the impression that the diagonal from a1 to h8 was described what is definietyl wrong...

No worries.

Hi Ponderable

mangling the problem is my specialty. I've not given up.
Spent day at Dunbar visiting old friends and tonight have to get a team together
for 10 board for a league match tomorrow night.
(I always put this things off to last minute.)

@greenpawn34 said
Hi Ponderable

mangling the problem is my specialty. I've not given up.
Spent day at Dunbar visiting old friends and tonight have to get a team together
for 10 board for a league match tomorrow night.
(I always put this things off to last minute.)

This one is tough.

It took me a few days to solve.

[It's not my composition.]

1.Ba1# 1.Ba2# 1.Ba3# 1.Ba4# 1.Ba5# 1.Ba7+ 1.Ba8#
and the White Queen can reach c4. So 1. Ba6 is the bogey.

I came up with the same answer as did Geoff ( Ba6# ), and my construction is similar to his.

@greenpawn34 said
[fen]3R4/3B4/RB1k1BR1/3B2B1/8/3QB3/8/2B4K w - - 0 1[/fen]
1.Ba1# 1.Ba2# 1.Ba3# 1.Ba4# 1.Ba5# 1.Ba7+ 1.Ba8#
and the White Queen can reach c4. So 1. Ba6 is the bogey.

SOLV'D - 1.Ba6# is the invalid move.

For the diagram, we'll add wK to b8 to cover the c7 square and make 1.Ba7 a mate.

I was thinking after I had isolated the a-file Bishop Ba6 mate and found
how to play Qc4 I could tidy it up a bit but I was only too glad to get it.

With the Black King on d3 the impossible move would be Ba3# Yes?

@greenpawn34 said
I was thinking after I had isolated the a-file Bishop Ba6 mate and found
how to play Qc4 I could tidy it up a bit but I was only too glad to get it.

With the Black King on d3 the impossible move would be Ba3# Yes?

Seems like it.

Qc4 is to force the K to a square like d6 in the first place.

There was another version of this problem given to me. Same Bishop mates, but with 1.R1c4 and R1c7 instead of 1.Qc4.

I felt that this was cooked. For example:


This does not have 1.Ba8#
But move Ra8 to a7, and you have all but 1.Ba7#

The composer did not think my solution was acceptable. In his mind, "R1c7" means there's an R on c8.

Armed with that knowledge, I found:



This one has no 1.Ba6# as he intended.

I prefer the 1.Qc4 version. It gives less of the position away, and only needs one 'steering' move instead of two.