[Retros] Life after life

[afretro]

Francois Perruchaud wrote:


> In 2002, I composed this joke:

> Black is mate, but white allows him a posteriori

> to capture e.p.

> I don't know if we can say that black has only one move.

> He has certainly less than one move! Maybe 0.5 ;-)



> 3N4/p1Nppp2/1p1B4/kP6/pP6/r1P2P2/b5PP/1B2K2R

> White:Ke1,Nc7,Nd8,Bb1,Bd6,Rh1,Pb4,b5,c3,f3,g2,h2 /

> Black:Ka5,Ba2,Ra3,Pa4,a7,b6,d7,e7,f7

>(12 + 9)

> Helmate in 2 - a posteriori



> Black is mate, but

> 1.axb3 ep O-O (proving a posteriori that last move

> was not b3-b4) 2.Ta4 Cb7 and mate again.


In this connection, I would like to quote my problem from an article in diagrammes, 1990:
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

|   | . |   | . |   | . |   | . |

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

| . |   | . |   | . |   |*P |*P |

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

|   | . |   | . |   | . | P |*R |

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

| . |   | . |   | .P| P | . |*P |

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

|   | . | P | P | R | . |*P |*K |

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

| . |   | . | P |*R | P | S |   |

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

|   | . |   | . | P | . |   | . |

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

| . |   | . |   | K | R | . |*S |

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
12+8
a) h#2, white to move;
b) in the final position, h#2.5 (i.e. black helpmates white), AP
a) 1. ┘ Rxh1+ 2.Kg5 f4#;
b) 1.gf (en passant) 0-0! (legalizing the e.p. capture) 2.Rxe2 Sh1 3.Rg2#

Andrey Frolkin