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I'm interested in extremely difficult retros.....

I'm interested in extremely difficult retros.....

Posers and Puzzles

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Can somebody (SwissGambit? 😉) post some examples of difficult retros? but NOT PGs, please - I have enough of those.😀

Thank you🙂

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Hmm, I typed "difficult retro" on google. This was the first result:
I don't know how to set "illegal" positions in fen, so I will just write the pieces squares.

Pieces: Kc8, Kd6, Qc6, Rd8, Rf6, Ba8, Ne8, a7, b7

Colour the pieces. What was the last move?

I'm afraid it's too easy for you though, so I will look a bit further 😉

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Originally posted by heinzkat
[fen]B1KRN3/PP6/2QK1R2/8/8/8/8/8[/fen]
Actually, this retro is not difficult at all...🙁

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Ever tried your hand at SwissGambit's Illegal Cluster problem(s)?

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how about this (unless you know it already, it will probably keep you busy for a while 😉):



white to move and draw.

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Hint: 50-move rule

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Originally posted by crazyblue
how about this (unless you know it already, it will probably keep you busy for a while 😉):

[fen]nB3RbN/1kppppq1/1p4p1/1P3p2/Bp3P1n/4PrbP/2PP1rP1/R3K3 w - - 0 1[/fen]

white to move and draw.
But in that one the idea is clear immediately (that white castles and thus proves that 50 moves were made without capture/pawn move).

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Originally posted by David113
Can somebody (SwissGambit? 😉) post some examples of difficult retros? but NOT PGs, please - I have enough of those.😀

Thank you🙂

Release the position

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That means, I suppose, pick as few as possible pieces off the board in order to make it legal?

edit: Googled it, I suppose you need to fix the diagram (2 Black Kings)

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Originally posted by heinzkat
That means, I suppose, pick as few as possible pieces off the board in order to make it legal?

edit: Googled it, I suppose you need to fix the diagram (2 Black Kings)
How did you find it given that the diagram was wrong?

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"Release the position"

In essence, this stipulation asks you to find how a given (usually quite tangled) position can be reached legally. So that it really asks for a proof game but without insisting on giving all painful details of a proof game. You "only" have to find the tricky maneuver that is required to lock everything the way it appears in the diagram.

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Originally posted by SwissGambit
How did you find it given that the diagram was wrong?
I guess he googled "release the position", not the diagram, and found that in a "release the position" problem the position must be leagl so the 2 kings are a mistake.🙂

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Originally posted by David113
I guess he googled "release the position", not the diagram, and found that in a "release the position" problem the position must be leagl so the 2 kings are a mistake.🙂
Yes, that is what I did, sorry for being unclear.

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Originally posted by SwissGambit
[fen]Nrbb4/qprp3p/PpQK1p1P/RRpp4/Brk2P2/B1P5/1PP5/1N6 w[/fen]
Release the position
Thank you SwissGambit🙂