Nice retro from chessbase

Paint some pieces black to make the position legal.

i assume you pasted the wrong fen? as a position with 2 white kings would struggle to be legal under the best of circumstances .. also it appears that white's pawns are breeding 😉 ..

Originally posted by idioms
i assume you pasted the wrong fen? as a position with 2 white kings would struggle to be legal under the best of circumstances .. also it appears that white's pawns are breeding 😉 ..

Reading the stipulation will bring enlightenment.

Originally posted by BigDoggProblem
Reading the stipulation will bring enlightenment.

Yes .. the ability to read does help ..

Originally posted by idioms
Yes .. the ability to read does help ..

I did the same kind of remark before, but I read it over again and found my mistake. Therefore I deleted my posting, leaving a blank space.

I would like a "delete posting" option...

Originally posted by idioms
i assume you pasted the wrong fen? as a position with 2 white kings would struggle to be legal under the best of circumstances .. also it appears that white's pawns are breeding 😉 ..

I'll give you a hint: You gotta paint exactly 1 king black.

Originally posted by David113
[fen]8/2PPPPPP/3PPPK1/4PP1P/4P1K1/5P1P/8/8 w - - 0 1[/fen]

Paint some pieces black to make the position legal.

bKg6 implies wKg4, but then Pf5/h5 can't be the same color (one K is in check from 2P at once) or different colors (both K's in check). wK must be on g6.

The Black a-pawn can't possibly be on the board. Of the 15 pawns, 7 are Black and 8 White. White is allowed 8 P captures and Black 7.

White needs a minimum of 6 P captures just to restore the a-d file pawns, and that assumes Pc7d7d6 and at least one e-pawn are White. Pf7 and h7 must be White to avoid imaginary check.



The logic of the solution is not too hard to see. Pe7 can't be Black, for this shuts in Bf8 and deprives White of a vital P capture. wPf6/bPf5 is impossible, for one of the White pawns must stay put on the f-file, so they cannot both be stuck behind a bP. bPh3/wPh5 fails because the h-pawns are stuck behind each other, demanding further captures.