Ratings and Comments for:
Pocket pieces thematic tourney C 30.4.2002

The following are readers' comments and ratings for the page Pocket pieces thematic tourney C 30.4.2002.

Date Rating Comment

5 Jul 2001 None After thinking about it some more, I'm not sure a "pocket piece" problem would differ in any major way from an ordinary chess problem. I mean, the main difference between dropping a piece onto the board and moving it from one square to another is that in the former case you can't capture an enemy piece. Only in very constricted board conditions might you encounter a situation where a piece could be dropped onto a square that it couldn't reach by being moved from another square -- and in this case, the solution to the problem is likely to be obvious. With respect to the defending (losing) player dropping a piece, this is a little more interesting. By definition nothing the defending player can do is going to avoid checkmate, so the fact that the player has a queen in hand, for instance, is relevant in the sense that the solution must be one where dropping the pocket piece won't help, no matter where it is dropped. --Jim Aikin

3 Jul 2001 None I can't make heads or tails what these problems are about. It is all Greek to me. How about a primer on what the problemist codes actually mean? --Fergus

3 Jul 2001 None There are several reasons why the examples on this page are confusing.
First, I believe S is a Knight, since the moves make sense. Isn't the Knight called a Springer in some languages?
The more general problem with the examples is that they are written in Chess-problemese, not English as they appear. For example, #2 is shorthand for mate in 2, white to move. Problem two is more mysterious. I've done some delving on the web, and I some idea. White starts by undoing a previous legal move (this is a form of retrograde analysis problem), then it's a helpmate I think in 5 (the 1, I think applies to the number of retracted moves). A help mate is where both black and white are cooperating to mate white.
Hopefully someone more familiar with the language of the problemists will provide a fuller explanation.
PBA

3 Jul 2001 None Maybe I'm missing something, but the example problems given make very little sense to me. In Problem 1, is "S" being used as an abbreviation for "bishop"? If so, how is the white bishop supposed to get from c5 to e6 or b3? If this piece is a cardinal (chancellor, call it what you will), the text should say so. And after Sxc5, why not 1. ... Nxc5? How can "the defending pocket S" counter any threat at all, until it's placed on the board? In Problem 2, what does "retract" mean? The white king isn't on a7, so how can its move to a7 be retracted? If the notation "(+R)" means a pocket rook is being deployed, where is it being deployed? And when? The text includes the line "2.0-0-0," but that's a move by white, and white's king is not in position to castle. When did black deploy his pR? This is not indicated in the text. I'd volunteer to edit this text, if I understood it.... --Jim Aikin

Date	Rating	Comment
5 Jul 2001	None	After thinking about it some more, I'm not sure a "pocket piece" problem would differ in any major way from an ordinary chess problem. I mean, the main difference between dropping a piece onto the board and moving it from one square to another is that in the former case you can't capture an enemy piece. Only in very constricted board conditions might you encounter a situation where a piece could be dropped onto a square that it couldn't reach by being moved from another square -- and in this case, the solution to the problem is likely to be obvious. With respect to the defending (losing) player dropping a piece, this is a little more interesting. By definition nothing the defending player can do is going to avoid checkmate, so the fact that the player has a queen in hand, for instance, is relevant in the sense that the solution must be one where dropping the pocket piece won't help, no matter where it is dropped. --Jim Aikin
3 Jul 2001	None	I can't make heads or tails what these problems are about. It is all Greek to me. How about a primer on what the problemist codes actually mean? --Fergus
3 Jul 2001	None	There are several reasons why the examples on this page are confusing. First, I believe S is a Knight, since the moves make sense. Isn't the Knight called a Springer in some languages? The more general problem with the examples is that they are written in Chess-problemese, not English as they appear. For example, #2 is shorthand for mate in 2, white to move. Problem two is more mysterious. I've done some delving on the web, and I some idea. White starts by undoing a previous legal move (this is a form of retrograde analysis problem), then it's a helpmate I think in 5 (the 1, I think applies to the number of retracted moves). A help mate is where both black and white are cooperating to mate white. Hopefully someone more familiar with the language of the problemists will provide a fuller explanation. PBA
3 Jul 2001	None	Maybe I'm missing something, but the example problems given make very little sense to me. In Problem 1, is "S" being used as an abbreviation for "bishop"? If so, how is the white bishop supposed to get from c5 to e6 or b3? If this piece is a cardinal (chancellor, call it what you will), the text should say so. And after Sxc5, why not 1. ... Nxc5? How can "the defending pocket S" counter any threat at all, until it's placed on the board? In Problem 2, what does "retract" mean? The white king isn't on a7, so how can its move to a7 be retracted? If the notation "(+R)" means a pocket rook is being deployed, where is it being deployed? And when? The text includes the line "2.0-0-0," but that's a move by white, and white's king is not in position to castle. When did black deploy his pR? This is not indicated in the text. I'd volunteer to edit this text, if I understood it.... --Jim Aikin

Last modified: Monday, December 22, 2008

Ratings and Comments for:Pocket pieces thematic tourney C 30.4.2002

Ratings and Comments for:
Pocket pieces thematic tourney C 30.4.2002