[Retros] Pawn to-the-8th-rank mates

Francois Labelle flab at EECS.Berkeley.EDU
Sat Dec 23 15:11:20 EST 2006

I computed all "mate by promoting" proof games up to 6.0 moves.

TIMINGS

Here are the user-times in seconds: first to compute candidate proof
games, then to verify those candidates with Popeye, Natch, or Euclide.

9 plies: 9 + { 4 P, 31 N, 10 E}
10 plies: 85 + { 23 P, 167 N, 45 E}
11 plies: 4784 + { 781 P, 4926 N, 943 E}
12 plies: 39112 + {11968 P,~16700 N, 3219 E} (Natch time is an estimate)

To extrapolate the computing time, note that adding a move to the pawn
promoting side (going from even ply to odd) is relatively more expensive
than adding a move to the non-mating side (going from odd ply to even).

PROOF GAME CLASSIFICATION

I'm doing things differently than Hirokaz. Each game appears only *once*,
on one line, and each is fully analyzed for all 4 promotions (NBRQ). The
character-codes used are:

S: Single checkmate by the promoted piece
D: Double checkmate
V: discoVery checkmate
-: no checkmate

A lowercase letter is used (sdv) if promotions are "invisible" (the
material on the board shows no promotion).

The letter is followed by a star (*) if the PG is cooked.

My classification is somewhat detailed, and some merging of categories is
necessary to match Hirokaz's categories.

RESULTS

A line consists of:

- promotion move (ex: axb)
- classification information for N B R Q promotions
- number of moves
- total number of captures
- proof game and author

My comparison to previous records omits the slower opposite color games
and is based on the Dec 14 and Dec 21 summaries by Hirokaz Onoda.
http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/retros/2006-December/001595.html
http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/retros/2006-December/001643.html

I sorted the proof games in blocks based on the weakest promotion (NBRQ)
that gives a non-cooked checkmate proof game. Within each block I put the
single checkmate games first, followed by proof games with cooks, followed
by the double/discovery checkmates.

Records that I could not improve:
(games in <= 6.0 are optimal, games in <= 6.5 are optimal in length, but
not necessarily in number of captures)

a S - - - 7.0 2 1.c3 b5 2.Qa4 Ba6 3.Qd4 b4 4.a4 b3 5.Ra2 bxa2 6.Kd1
Bxe2+ 7.Kc2 a1=N# (Andrew Buchanan & Nicolas Dupont)
b S - - - 8.0 2 1.a4 c5 2.Ra3 c4 3.Re3 c3 4.d3 cxb2 5.Kd2 Qc7 6.Qe1
Qc3+ 7.Nxc3 a6 8.Nd1 b1=N# (Andrew Buchanan)
c S - - - 8.0 3 1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 Qe7 3.Bd4 exd4 4.e4 d3 5.Qe2 dxc2
6.Qa6 Qxb4 7.Ke2 Qc5 8.Kd3 c1=N# (Andrew Buchanan)
d S - - - 6.0 1 1.d3 e5 2.Kd2 e4 3.Kc3 e3 4.Qd2 exd2 5.b3 Bb4+
6.Kb2 d1=N# (Mario Richter)
e S - - - 6.0 1 1.e3 d5 2.Ke2 d4 3.Kf3 d3 4.Qe2 dxe2 5.g3 Bg4+
6.Kg2 e1=N# (Mario Richter)
f S - - - 7.0 2 1.g3 d5 2.Bg2 Qd7 3.Be4 dxe4 4.d4 e3 5.Qd3 exf2+
6.Kd2 Qf5 7.Ke3 f1=N# (Andrew Buchanan)
g S - - - 8.5 3 1.h4 e6 2.h5 Ke7 3.h6 Kf6 4.hxg7 h5 5.d4 h4 6.Rxh4
Rh5 7.Rg4 Nh6 8.Bxh6 Rf5 9.g8=N# (Andrew Buchanan)
h S - - - 6.0 1 1.h4 g6 2.Rh3 g5 3.Re3 gxh4 4.f3 h3 5.Kf2 h2 6.Qe1
h1=N# (Gianni Donati 1996)
bxa S - - - 7.0 2 1.d4 c5 2.Qd3 c4 3.Qa3 c3 4.d5 cxb2 5.Kd2 Qb6 6.Kc3
Qd4+ 7.Kb3 bxa1=N# (A. Buchanan & H. Onoda)
axb S - - - 8.0 2 1.a4 c6 2.a5 Qxa5 3.Ra4 Qb5 4.Rh4 a5 5.d4 a4 6.Kd2
a3 7.Kc3 a2 8.Qd2 axb1=N# (Richard Stanley)
cxb S - - - 7.0 4 1.a4 c5 2.Ra3 Qa5 3.Rb3 Qxa4 4.d3 c4 5.Kd2 cxb3
6.Kc3 bxc2 7.Qd2 cxb1=N# (Andrew Buchanan)
bxc S - - - 6.0 2 1.e4 a5 2.Ne2 a4 3.Nec3 a3 4.Ke2 axb2 5.Qe1 Ra3
6.Nd1 bxc1=N# (Hirokaz Onoda)
dxc S - - - 8.0 2 1.c3 e5 2.Qa4 e4 3.Kd1 e3 4.Kc2 exd2 5.e3 b6 6.Bd3
Ba6 7.Be4 Bd3+ 8.Kb3 dxc1=N# (Nicolas Dupont)
cxd S - - - 5.5 2 1.d4 f5 2.d5 Kf7 3.d6 Ke6 4.dxc7 d6 5.Qd4 Bd7
6.cxd8=N# (Olli Heimo)
exd S - - - 5.5 2 1.d4 e6 2.d5 Ke7 3.Qd4 Kd6 4.dxe6+ Kc6 5.e7 b5
6.exd8=N# (Olli Heimo)
dxe S - - - 9.0 2 1.f4 e5 2.Kf2 e4 3.Qe1 e3+ 4.Kf3 exd2 5.e4 Be7 6.e5
Bh4 7.e6 Qf6 8.e7 Qe6 9.Bd3 dxe1=N# (Andrew Buchanan)
fxe S - - - 9.0 2 1.c3 e5 2.Qb3 e4 3.Kd1 e3 4.Kc2 exf2 5.e3 h5 6.Be2
h4 7.Bd1 h3 8.Ne2 Rh4 9.Re1 fxe1=N# (Nicolas Dupont)
exf S - - - 5.5 2 1.d4 f6 2.d5 Kf7 3.d6 Kg6 4.dxe7 d6 5.Qd5 Qd7
6.exf8=N# (Andrew Buchanan)
gxf S - - - 5.5 2 1.h4 d5 2.h5 Nd7 3.h6 Ndf6 4.hxg7 Kd7 5.Rh6 Ne8
6.gxf8=N# (Peter Roesler(version) 1994)
fxg S - - - 8.0 5 1.e3 h5 2.Qg4 hxg4 3.Ke2 Rxh2 4.Rxh2 g3 5.Rh6 gxf2
6.Rd6 e6 7.Kf3 Qh4 8.Be2 fxg1=N# (Andrew Buchanan)
hxg S - - - 8.5 5 1.g4 c6 2.g5 Qa5 3.g6 Qxd2+ 4.Qxd2 e6 5.Qh6 Ke7
6.Qxh7 Kf6 7.Qh5 Rh7 8.gxh7 Be7 9.hxg8=N# (Hirokaz Onoda)
gxh S - - - 6.5 2 1.h4 f6 2.h5 Kf7 3.h6 Qe8 4.hxg7 h5 5.e3 h4 6.Qg4
h3 7.gxh8=N# (Andrew Buchanan)
c D - - - 8.5 3 1.d4 e6 2.d5 Qf6 3.d6 Ne7 4.dxc7 d5 5.Qxd5 Bd7
6.Qxb7 Nd5 7.Bd2 Ke7 8.Ba5 Be8 9.c8=N# (Hirokaz Onoda)
e D - - - 8.5 2 1.d4 g6 2.d5 Bg7 3.d6 Kf8 4.Qd5 Bd4 5.Bg5 Kg7
6.Bxe7 Qf8 7.Bd8 Ne7 8.dxe7 Kf6 9.e8=N# (Paul Raican 1996)
f D - - - 9.5 2 1.d4 f6 2.d5 Kf7 3.d6 Kg6 4.dxe7 d5 5.e4 Bf5 6.e5
Nd7 7.exf6 Rb8 8.f7 Ngf6 9.e8=Q Bc5 10.f8=N# (Noam D. Elkies)
bxa D - - - 6.5 3 1.c4 e6 2.c5 Ke7 3.c6 Kd6 4.cxb7 c6 5.Qa4 Kc7
6.Qxa7 Bd6 7.bxa8=N# (Hirokaz Onoda)
axb V V D D 10.5 5 1.b4 c6 2.b5 Qa5 3.b6 Qxd2+ 4.Bxd2 d6 5.Ba5 Bg4
6.Qd4 Nd7 7.Qxg4 O-O-O 8.Qa4 Kb8 9.bxa7+ Ka8 10.Bc7 Rb8 11.axb8=N#
(Hirokaz Onoda)
cxb D - - - 7.5 4 1.d4 f5 2.d5 Nf6 3.d6 Rg8 4.dxc7 d6 5.Qd4 Be6
6.Qxa7 Kd7 7.Qxb7 Ne8 8.cxb8=N# (Hirokaz Onoda)
exd D - - - 6.5 3 1.d4 b5 2.d5 Bb7 3.d6 Be4 4.dxe7 Bg6 5.e4 f6
6.Qxd7+ Kf7 7.exd8=N# (Joerg Varnholt 1996)
dxe D - - - 9.5 4 1.e4 c6 2.e5 Qb6 3.e6 Kd8 4.exd7 e6 5.a3 Bxa3 6.Qf3
Ne7 7.Qxa3 Ng6 8.Qe7+ Kc7 9.Ra6 Re8 10.dxe8=N# (Hirokaz Onoda)
gxh D - - - 7.5 4 1.h4 d5 2.h5 d4 3.h6 Qd5 4.hxg7 Qxg2 5.Rxh7 Qh1
6.Bh3 f6 7.Bd7+ Kf7 8.gxh8=N# (Olli Heimo 1996)

a - S - S 8.5 3 1.b4 d6 2.b5 Bf5 3.b6 Bxc2 4.Qxc2 Kd7 5.Qf5+ Kc6
6.d3 a6 7.Kd2 Ra7 8.bxa7 b6 9.a8=B# (Andrew Buchanan)
b - S - S 9.0 4 1.Nc3 a5 2.Nd5 a4 3.c3 a3 4.Qa4 axb2 5.Qxd7+ Kxd7
6.Kd1 Rxa2 7.Kc2 Ra4 8.Kd3 Re4 9.Ra4 b1=B# (Andrew Buchanan)
c - S - S 9.0 4 1.b3 c5 2.Bb2 Qb6 3.Bd4 cxd4 4.e4 d3 5.Qf3 Qxf2+
6.Kd1 dxc2+ 7.Kc1 Qxf1+ 8.Kb2 Qc4 9.Ka3 c1=B# (Nicolas Dupont)
d - S - S 6.0 2 1.c3 d5 2.Qc2 Qd6 3.Qe4 dxe4 4.Kd1 e3 5.Kc2 exd2
6.e3 d1=B# (Hirokaz Onoda)
e - S - S 5.5 1 1.d4 f6 2.d5 Kf7 3.d6 Kg6 4.dxe7 d5 5.e4 Qd6
6.e8=B# (Norbert Geissler 1996)
f - S - S 6.0 1 1.g3 e5 2.Bh3 e4 3.Kf1 e3 4.Kg2 exf2 5.e3 Qf6 6.Qg4
f1=B# (Nicolas Dupont)
g - S - S 7.0 2 1.Nf3 h5 2.Ne5 h4 3.f3 h3 4.Kf2 hxg2 5.h4 Rxh4
6.Qe1 Rg4 7.Rh8 g1=B# (Hirokaz Onoda)
h - S - S 8.0 2 1.h4 g5 2.Rh3 gxh4 3.Re3 h3 4.g3 h2 5.Bh3 d5 6.Kf1
Qd6 7.Kg2 Bxh3+ 8.Kf3 h1=B# (Andrew Buchanan)
bxa - S - S 8.0 2 1.d3 a5 2.Kd2 a4 3.Kc3 a3 4.Bd2 axb2 5.a4 c6 6.a5
Qb6 7.a6 Qb5 8.a7 bxa1=B# (Andrew Buchanan)
axb - S - S 7.0 4 1.c3 a5 2.Qb3 a4 3.Kd1 axb3 4.a4 Rxa4 5.Ra2 bxa2
6.Kc2 Re4 7.Kd3 axb1=B# (Andrew Buchanan)
cxb - s - S 10.0 4 1.e3 b5 2.Ke2 b4 3.Kd3 b3 4.Qe2 bxc2 5.b4 g6 6.b5
Bg7 7.b6 Bxa1 8.b7 e5 9.bxc8=N Qh4 10.Ne7 cxb1=B# (Andrew Buchanan)
bxc - S - S 8.5 6 1.a4 Nf6 2.a5 Ne4 3.a6 Nxd2 4.axb7 Nb3 5.Qd4 d6
6.Qxg7 Qd7 7.Qxh8 Qc6 8.Qxf8+ Kd7 9.bxc8=B# (Hirokaz Onoda)
dxc - S - S 9.0 2 1.d4 c5 2.Kd2 c4 3.Ke3 c3 4.Nd2 cxd2 5.c3 Qa5 6.Qa4
Qf5 7.Qc6 a5 8.a4 Ra7 9.Ra2 dxc1=B# (Andrew Buchanan)
cxd - S - S 7.5 5 1.b4 Nc6 2.b5 Nd4 3.b6 Nxe2 4.bxc7 Nc3 5.Qg4 e6
6.Qxg7 Bd6 7.Qxg8+ Ke7 8.cxd8=B# (Hirokaz Onoda)
exd - S - S 7.0 2 1.e3 d5 2.Ke2 d4 3.Kd3 Qd5 4.Be2 Qa5 5.Kc4 d3 6.Kb3
dxe2 7.c4 exd1=B# (Andrew Buchanan)
dxe - S - S 6.5 3 1.c4 a6 2.c5 a5 3.c6 a4 4.Qxa4 f6 5.cxd7+ Kf7 6.Qc6
Qe8 7.dxe8=B# (Richard Stanley)
fxe - S - S 7.5 3 1.d4 d6 2.d5 Be6 3.dxe6 Nc6 4.exf7+ Kd7 5.Be3 Qe8
6.Kd2 Nd8 7.Kc1 Kc6 8.fxe8=B# (Noam D. Elkies)
fxe - s - S 9.5 3 1.e4 Nc6 2.Bc4 Rb8 3.Be6 dxe6 4.g4 Kd7 5.g5 Qe8
6.g6 Nd8 7.gxf7 g5 8.Qh5 g4 9.e5 g3 10.fxe8=B# (Nicolas Dupont & Andrew
Buchanan)
exf - S - S 5.5 2 1.d4 g6 2.d5 Bh6 3.d6 Kf8 4.dxe7+ Kg7 5.Qd6 Qf8
6.exf8=B# (Goeran Forslund 1996)
gxf - S - S 7.5 3 1.h4 b6 2.h5 Ba6 3.h6 Bxe2 4.hxg7 Bf3 5.Qe2 e6
6.Qa6 Qf6 7.Qc8+ Ke7 8.gxf8=B# (Hirokaz Onoda)
fxg - S - S 9.0 5 1.d3 g5 2.Kd2 g4 3.Ke3 g3 4.Qd2 gxf2 5.g3 e6 6.Bg2
Qf6 7.Bxb7 Bxb7 8.Nf3 Bxf3 9.Rg1 fxg1=B# (Andrew Buchanan)
hxg - S - S 7.5 2 1.e3 h5 2.Qxh5 a6 3.Qc5 Rh5 4.h4 Rg5 5.h5 f6 6.h6
Kf7 7.h7 Ke6 8.hxg8=B# (Olli Heimo & Terho Marlo)
gxh - S - S 7.0 2 1.e3 h5 2.Ke2 h4 3.Kf3 h3 4.Be2 hxg2 5.h4 e6 6.h5
Qh4 7.h6 gxh1=B# (Andrew Buchanan)
bxc - S - S* 8.0 5 1.d3 a5 2.Bg5 a4 3.Bxe7 a3 4.Bg5 axb2 5.Bc1 Qg5
6.Qd2 Qxg2 7.Qc3 Qxf1+ 8.Kd2 bxc1=B# (Andrew Buchanan)
b - D - D 6.5 2 1.c4 e6 2.c5 Ke7 3.c6 Kd6 4.cxb7 c6 5.Qa4 Kc7
6.Qxa7 Na6 7.b8=B# (Hirokaz Onoda)
c - D - D 7.5 3 1.d4 f5 2.d5 Nf6 3.d6 Rg8 4.dxc7 d6 5.Qd4 Be6
6.Qxa7 Kd7 7.Qxb7 Ne8 8.c8=B# (Hirokaz Onoda)
d - D - D 8.5 3 1.e4 c6 2.e5 Qb6 3.e6 Kd8 4.exd7 e6 5.a3 Bxa3 6.Qf3
Ne7 7.Qxa3 Ng6 8.Qe7+ Kc7 9.d8=B# (Hirokaz Onoda)
e - D - D 5.5 2 1.d4 h5 2.d5 Rh6 3.d6 Re6 4.dxe7 f6 5.Qxd7+ Kf7
6.e8=B# (Noam D. Elkies 1996)
f - D - D 7.5 2 1.e4 g6 2.e5 Bh6 3.e6 Kf8 4.exf7 e5 5.Qg4 Qe7
6.Qxd7 Qc5 7.Qe7+ Kg7 8.f8=B# (Hirokaz Onoda)
g - D - D 7.5 4 1.f4 Nf6 2.f5 Ne4 3.f6 Nxd2 4.fxg7 Nf3+ 5.gxf3 f6
6.Qd3 Kf7 7.Qxh7 Qe8 8.g8=B# (Hirokaz Onoda)

a - - S S 6.5 2 1.c4 d5 2.Qb3 Bd7 3.Qh3 Bb5 4.cxb5 Qd6 5.b6 Nd7
6.bxa7 O-O-O 7.a8=R# (Andrew Buchanan & Joost de Heer)
b - - S S 7.0 4 1.d4 c5 2.Bd2 cxd4 3.Ba5 Qxa5+ 4.Nc3 dxc3 5.Qd4 b6
6.Rd1 cxb2+ 7.Rd2 b1=R# (Andrew Buchanan)
c - - S S 5.5 2 1.b4 d6 2.b5 Bf5 3.b6 Bxc2 4.bxc7 Bd3 5.Qa4+ Qd7
6.c8=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
d - - S S 5.5 2 1.b4 e6 2.Ba3 Bc5 3.bxc5 Qf6 4.c6 Ne7 5.cxd7+ Kf8
6.d8=R# (Richard Stanley 1996)
e - - S S 5.5 2 1.e4 d6 2.Qg4 Bf5 3.exf5 Qd7 4.f6 Kd8 5.fxe7+ Kc8
6.e8=R# (Noam D. Elkies)
f - - S S 6.0 2 1.g3 d6 2.Bg2 d5 3.Be4 dxe4 4.c3 e3 5.Qc2 exf2+
6.Kd1 f1=R# (Richard Stanley 1996)
h - - S S 7.0 2 1.e3 h5 2.Ne2 h4 3.Ng3 hxg3 4.Be2 Rh3 5.O-O Nh6
6.Re1 gxh2+ 7.Kf1 h1=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
h - - s S 6.5 4 1.h4 g5 2.hxg5 Bh6 3.Rxh6 Nxh6 4.g6 Rg8 5.gxh7 Rg3
6.a3 Ng4 7.h8=R# (Andrew Buchanan)
bxa - - S S 5.5 3 1.c4 d5 2.c5 Qd6 3.c6 Bd7 4.cxb7 Ba4 5.Qxa4+ Nd7
6.bxa8=R# (Andrew Buchanan)
axb - - S S 6.0 3 1.d3 c5 2.Qd2 Qa5 3.Qb4 cxb4 4.Be3 b3+ 5.Nd2 bxa2
6.Rb1 axb1=R# (Joost de Heer)
cxb - - S S 6.0 3 1.d3 c5 2.Qd2 Qa5 3.Qb4 cxb4 4.Be3 b3+ 5.Nd2 bxc2
6.Rb1 cxb1=R# (Andrew Buchanan)
bxc - - S S 4.5 2 1.a4 b6 2.a5 Bb7 3.a6 Qc8 4.axb7 a6 5.bxc8=R#
(Richard Stanley 1996)
dxc - - S S 5.5 2 1.e4 c6 2.e5 Qa5 3.e6 Kd8 4.exd7 e5 5.Qg4 Be7
6.dxc8=R# (Christoph Fieberg 2002)
cxd - - S S 4.5 2 1.d4 g6 2.d5 Bg7 3.d6 Kf8 4.dxc7 d6 5.cxd8=R#
(Hirokaz Onoda)
dxe - - S S 5.5 2 1.c4 e6 2.Qa4 Ba3 3.c5 Kf8 4.c6 Qe8 5.cxd7 c5
6.dxe8=R# (Olli Heimo)
gxf - - S S 4.5 2 1.f4 c6 2.f5 Qc7 3.f6 Kd8 4.fxg7 f6 5.gxf8=R# (Noam
D. Elkies 2002)
hxg - - S S 5.5 2 1.g4 h5 2.g5 Rh6 3.gxh6 g6 4.h7 Bh6 5.h3 Bg5
6.hxg8=R# (Andrew Buchanan & Hirokaz Onoda)
gxh - - S S 5.0 2 1.g3 h5 2.Bh3 h4 3.Bg2 h3 4.Nf3 hxg2 5.Ne5 gxh1=R#
(Mario Richter)
g - - S s* 7.5 3 1.e3 h5 2.Qxh5 Rxh5 3.h4 Re5 4.h5 g6 5.h6 Bg7
6.hxg7 Nh6 7.d4 Nf5 8.g8=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
h - - S s* 7.5 4 1.e3 h5 2.Qxh5 Rxh5 3.h4 Rg5 4.hxg5 Nh6 5.gxh6 g6
6.h7 Bh6 7.d4 Bg5 8.h8=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
axb - - S s* 9.0 5 1.a4 c6 2.a5 Qxa5 3.Rxa5 Kd8 4.Rc5 a5 5.b4 axb4
6.Ba3 bxa3 7.Qc1 a2 8.Qa3 Kc7 9.Qh3 axb1=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
hxg - - S s* 6.5 3 1.e3 h5 2.Qxh5 Rxh5 3.h4 Rf5 4.h5 g6 5.h6 Bg7 6.h7
Bf6 7.hxg8=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
bxc - - D D 9.5 4 1.c4 d6 2.c5 Bh3 3.c6 Bxg2 4.cxb7 c5 5.Qa4+ Bc6
6.Qxa7 Kd7 7.Bh3+ Kc7 8.Bg4 Na6 9.h3 Rc8 10.bxc8=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
dxc - - D D 7.5 4 1.e4 c6 2.e5 Qc7 3.e6 Kd8 4.exd7 e5 5.Bc4 Bb4 6.Be6
Bxd2+ 7.Qxd2 Ne7 8.dxc8=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
cxd - - D D 8.5 2 1.d4 e5 2.d5 Be7 3.d6 Bf6 4.dxc7 d5 5.Be3 Be6 6.Bb6
Kd7 7.Qd4 Kc8 8.Qc5 Nd7 9.cxd8=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
exd - - D D 7.5 3 1.d4 b6 2.d5 Bb7 3.d6 Bf3 4.dxe7 d5 5.Qd3 d4 6.Qe4
d3 7.Bg5 dxc2 8.exd8=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
dxe - - D D 8.5 5 1.e4 c6 2.e5 Qc7 3.e6 Kd8 4.exd7 e5 5.Bb5 Bb4
6.Bxc6 Bxd2+ 7.Qxd2 Ne7 8.Kd1 Re8 9.dxe8=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
exf - - D D 6.5 6 1.d4 c6 2.d5 Qb6 3.d6 Qxb2 4.dxe7 Qxc2 5.Ba3 Qxe2+
6.Qxe2 Nf6 7.exf8=R# (Olli Heimo 1996)
gxf - - D D 7.5 4 1.h4 a5 2.h5 Ra6 3.h6 Rd6 4.hxg7 Rxd2 5.Rxh7 Rd6
6.Qd2 f5 7.Qh6 Kf7 8.gxf8=R# (Joerg Varnholt 1996)
fxg - - D D 7.5 2 1.e4 g6 2.e5 Bh6 3.e6 Kf8 4.exf7 e5 5.Qf3 Qg5 6.Qf6
Qf5 7.Bc4 Bf4 8.fxg8=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)

c - - - S 4.5 2 1.c4 d5 2.c5 Qd6 3.cxd6 Bd7 4.dxc7 Bc6 5.c8=Q#
(Andrew Buchanan)
f - - - S 5.0 1 1.e3 g5 2.Bd3 g4 3.Be4 g3 4.Qg4 gxf2+ 5.Kd1 f1=Q#
(Andrew Buchanan)
g - - - S 7.5 4 1.d3 Nh6 2.Bxh6 gxh6 3.f4 Bg7 4.f5 Bc3+ 5.bxc3 Rg8
6.f6 Rg7 7.fxg7 f6 8.g8=Q# (Hirokaz Onoda)
h - - - S 8.0 2 1.e4 h5 2.Ne2 h4 3.Ng3 hxg3 4.Be2 Rh3 5.O-O Nh6
6.Re1 gxh2+ 7.Kf1 Re3 8.g3 h1=Q# (Hirokaz Onoda)
bxc - - - S 4.5 2 1.a4 c6 2.a5 Qc7 3.a6 Qf4 4.axb7 d6 5.bxc8=Q# (Noam
D. Elkies 2002)
fxe - - - S 5.0 2 1.d3 e5 2.Bg5 e4 3.Kd2 e3+ 4.Kc1 exf2 5.Qe1 fxe1=Q#
(Andrew Buchanan)
gxf - - - S 4.5 2 1.h4 e6 2.h5 Qh4 3.h6 Kd8 4.hxg7 h6 5.gxf8=Q#
(Hirokaz Onoda)
c - - - D 6.5 4 1.b4 d6 2.b5 Bg4 3.b6 Bxe2 4.bxc7 Bxf1 5.Qf3 Kd7
6.Qxb7 Qe8 7.c8=Q# (Hirokaz Onoda)

Records that I could improve (including only reducing the total number of
captures):

d - - S s 7.0 1 1.c4 d5 2.Qb3 d4 3.Qh3 d3 4.g3 Qd4 5.Bg2 Qe3 6.dxe3
d2+ 7.Kf1 d1=R# (Richard Stanley 1996)
d - - S s 6.0 2 1.c3 e5 2.Qa4 Qh4 3.Qxh4 e4 4.g4 e3 5.Bg2 exd2+
6.Kf1 d1=R#
g - - S S 6.5 2 1.g4 h5 2.g5 Rh6 3.gxh6 g5 4.h3 Bg7 5.hxg7 Nh6 6.h4
Nf5 7.g8=R# (Andrew Buchanan)
g - - S S 6.0 3 1.e3 d5 2.Bd3 Bg4 3.Be4 dxe4 4.Nf3 exf3 5.h3 fxg2
6.Rh2 g1=R#
exd - - S S 5.5 3 1.d4 g6 2.d5 Bg7 3.d6 Be5 4.dxe7 d6 5.Qxd6 Be6
6.exd8=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
exd - - S S 5.5 2 1.d4 Na6 2.d5 Nc5 3.d6 Na4 4.dxe7 d5 5.Bg5 d4
6.exd8=R#
fxe - - S S 6.5 2 1.e4 d6 2.e5 Bf5 3.e6 Be4 4.exf7+ Kd7 5.Bb5+ Kc8
6.Ba4 Qe8 7.fxe8=R# (Andrew Buchanan)
fxe - - S S 6.0 2 1.d4 e5 2.Qd3 Qh4 3.Bg5 e4 4.Nd2 e3 5.O-O-O exf2
6.Re1 fxe1=R#
exf - - S S 5.5 3 1.d4 g6 2.d5 Bg7 3.d6 Bxb2 4.dxe7 Bg7 5.Ba3 Bf8
6.exf8=R# (Andrew Buchanan)
exf - - S S 5.5 2 1.d4 Na6 2.d5 Nc5 3.d6 Na4 4.dxe7 c5 5.Qd6 Qb6
6.exf8=R#
fxg - - S S 6.5 5 1.h4 g5 2.hxg5 Bg7 3.Rxh7 Kf8 4.Rxg7 Rh5 5.g6 Rd5
6.gxf7 e5 7.fxg8=R# (Andrew Buchanan)
fxg - - S S 6.0 2 1.f4 e5 2.Nf3 e4 3.Rg1 exf3 4.e4 Bc5 5.Be2 f2+
6.Kf1 fxg1=R#
c - - S s* 6.5 2 1.c4 b6 2.Qb3 Bb7 3.Qxb6 cxb6 4.c5 Qc7 5.c6 Qd6
6.c7 Bc6 7.c8=R# (Hirokaz Onoda)
c - - S s* 6.0 3 1.b3 c5 2.Bb2 Qa5 3.Bd4 cxd4 4.Qc1 d3 5.Qa3 dxc2
6.Qxa5 c1=R#
bxc - - S s* 5.5 5 1.d4 c6 2.d5 Qb6 3.Qd4 Qxd4 4.dxc6 Qxb2 5.cxb7 Qb5
6.bxc8=R# (Andrew Buchanan)
bxc - - S s* 5.5 3 1.c4 b5 2.cxb5 c5 3.b6 c4 4.b7 Qb6 5.Qb3 Qxb3
6.bxc8=R#
cxd - - S s* 6.5 4 1.d4 g6 2.d5 Bg7 3.d6 Kf8 4.dxc7 d6 5.Qxd6 exd6
6.Bd2 Ne7 7.cxd8=R# (Andrew Buchanan)
cxd - - S s* 6.0 3 1.g3 d5 2.Bg2 d4 3.Kf1 Qd5 4.Bxd5 d3 5.Bg2 dxc2
6.d3 cxd1=R#

d - - - S 5.0 2 1.e3 d5 2.Bc4 dxc4 3.Qf3 c3 4.Ke2 cxd2 5.c3 d1=Q#
(Andrew Buchanan)
d - - - S 5.0 1 1.e3 c5 2.Ba6 c4 3.d3 c3 4.Qd2 cxd2+ 5.Kf1 d1=Q#
cxd - - - S 4.5 3 1.e4 e6 2.e5 Bd6 3.exd6 Kf8 4.dxc7 d6 5.cxd8=Q#
(Gianni Donati 1996)
cxd - - - S 4.5 2 1.b4 e5 2.b5 Ba3 3.b6 Kf8 4.bxc7 b5 5.cxd8=Q#
hxg - - - S 6.5 4 1.g4 h5 2.g5 Rh6 3.gxh6 g6 4.h7 Bh6 5.e3 Bxe3
6.fxe3 f5 7.hxg8=Q# (Hirokaz Onoda)
hxg - - - S 6.0 3 1.g3 h5 2.Bh3 h4 3.Be6 hxg3 4.h3 Rh4 5.Rh2 gxh2
6.f3 hxg1=Q#

New tasks:
(But most of these play on the visibility of promotions which wasn't a
focus before.)

c - - S s 5.5 3 1.b4 d5 2.b5 Bg4 3.b6 Bxe2 4.bxc7 Bxd1 5.Bb5+ Qd7
6.c8=R#
c - - s S 6.0 3 1.b3 d5 2.Bb2 Bd7 3.Bxg7 d4 4.c3 d3 5.Qc2 dxc2
6.Bxh8 c1=R#
d - - s S 6.0 3 1.e3 c5 2.Qf3 c4 3.Qxb7 c3 4.Qxa8 Ba6 5.Be2 cxd2+
6.Kf1 d1=R#
f - - s S 6.0 3 1.e3 g5 2.Ba6 g4 3.Bxb7 g3 4.Bxa8 Ba6 5.Qg4 gxf2+
6.Kd1 f1=R#
bxa - - s S 6.0 6 1.b4 a5 2.Ba3 axb4 3.Qc1 Rxa3 4.Nxa3 bxa3 5.Qb2
axb2 6.Kd1 bxa1=R#
bxc - - S s 5.5 5 1.d4 c5 2.dxc5 Nf6 3.Qxd7+ Qxd7 4.c6 Qd3 5.cxb7
Nfd7 6.bxc8=R#
bxc - - s S 4.5 3 1.a4 c5 2.a5 c4 3.a6 Qa5 4.axb7 Qxa1 5.bxc8=R#
bxc - - s s 6.0 5 1.b4 a5 2.Bb2 axb4 3.Qc1 Ra3 4.Bxa3 b3 5.Bxe7 b2
6.Bxd8 bxc1=R#
dxc - - S s 6.0 3 1.c3 e5 2.Qa4 Qh4 3.Qxh4 e4 4.g4 e3 5.Bg2 exd2+
6.Kf1 dxc1=R#
dxc - - s S 6.0 4 1.b3 c5 2.Bb2 c4 3.Bxg7 c3 4.Bxh8 Bh6 5.Qc1 cxd2+
6.Kd1 dxc1=R#
cxd - - S s 5.5 5 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nh6 3.Qd6 Bxd6 4.exd6 Kf8 5.dxc7 Kg8
6.cxd8=R#
cxd - - s S 5.5 3 1.b4 g5 2.b5 Bg7 3.b6 Bxa1 4.bxc7 Bg7 5.Bb2 Kf8
6.cxd8=R#
exd - - S s 6.0 4 1.b3 d5 2.Ba3 d4 3.Bxe7 d3 4.Bxd8 dxe2 5.d4 Bg4
6.d5 exd1=R#
exd - - s S 5.5 4 1.f4 Nf6 2.f5 Ne4 3.f6 Nxd2 4.fxe7 Nb3 5.Bg5 Nxa1
6.exd8=R#
fxe - - S s 6.0 3 1.d4 e5 2.Qd3 Qg5 3.Bxg5 e4 4.Nd2 e3 5.O-O-O exf2
6.Re1 fxe1=R#
exf - - s S 5.5 4 1.d4 Nc6 2.d5 Nd4 3.d6 Nxe2 4.dxe7 Ng3 5.Qd6 Nxh1
6.exf8=R#
gxf - - S s 6.0 5 1.Nc3 d5 2.Ne4 dxe4 3.f3 Qd3 4.cxd3 exf3 5.Qc2 fxg2
6.Kd1 gxf1=R#
gxf - - s S 5.5 4 1.f4 c6 2.f5 Qb6 3.f6 Qxb2 4.fxg7 Qxa1 5.Ba3 e5
6.gxf8=R#
gxh - - s S 5.5 3 1.h4 Nh6 2.h5 Nf5 3.h6 g6 4.Rh5 Bg7 5.hxg7 gxh5
6.gxh8=R#
exd - - S s* 6.0 4 1.b4 d5 2.Bb2 Bg4 3.Be5 d4 4.Bxc7 d3 5.Bxd8 dxe2
6.Bc7 exd1=R#

c - - - s 4.5 3 1.e4 d5 2.e5 Qd6 3.exd6 Bg4 4.dxc7 Bxd1 5.c8=Q#
d - - - s 6.0 3 1.e3 d5 2.Bc4 dxc4 3.Kf1 Qd3+ 4.cxd3 c3 5.Qb3 cxd2
6.Qa3 d1=Q#
e - - - S 5.5 2 1.e4 d5 2.Qe2 Bf5 3.exf5 Qd6 4.f6 Kd7 5.fxe7 f5
6.e8=Q#
f - - - s 5.5 3 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Ba3 3.Qd6 cxd6 4.e6 Qc7 5.exf7+ Kd8
6.f8=Q#
bxc - - - s 5.5 4 1.a4 d5 2.a5 Bg4 3.a6 Bxe2 4.axb7 Bxd1 5.Ba6 Qc8
6.bxc8=Q#
dxc - - - S 6.0 2 1.c3 e5 2.Qa4 e4 3.Kd1 e3 4.Qg4 exd2 5.a4 Ba3 6.b3
dxc1=Q#
dxc - - - s 6.0 4 1.b3 c5 2.Ba3 c4 3.Bxe7 c3 4.Bxd8 Ba3 5.Qc1 cxd2+
6.Kd1 dxc1=Q#
cxd - - - s 5.5 3 1.d4 c5 2.d5 Nc6 3.dxc6 e5 4.Qd6 Bxd6 5.c7 Kf8
6.cxd8=Q#
exd - - - S 5.5 3 1.d4 Na6 2.d5 Nc5 3.d6 Na4 4.dxe7 d5 5.Qxd5 c5
6.exd8=Q#
fxe - - - s 5.5 3 1.e4 d5 2.Qg4 Bxg4 3.e5 Kd7 4.e6+ Kc8 5.exf7 Qe8
6.fxe8=Q#
exf - - - S 5.5 2 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bh6 g5 3.d5 Bg7 4.d6 Rf8 5.dxe7 Bh8
6.exf8=Q#
gxf - - - s 5.5 5 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 f6 3.Qd6 cxd6 4.exf6 Qc7 5.fxg7 Kd8
6.gxf8=Q#
c - - s*S 6.0 4 1.b4 a5 2.Ba3 axb4 3.Qc1 Rxa3 4.Qxa3 b3 5.Qa5 bxc2
6.a3 c1=Q#
g - - s*S 6.0 3 1.g3 h5 2.Bh3 h4 3.Bg2 h3 4.Nf3 hxg2 5.Nd4 Rxh2
6.Rxh2 g1=Q#
h - - s*S 6.0 4 1.e3 h5 2.Ne2 h4 3.Ng3 hxg3 4.Be2 Rxh2 5.Rxh2 gxh2
6.Kf1 h1=Q#
bxc - - s*S 5.5 3 1.a4 b5 2.axb5 c5 3.Ra5 Qxa5 4.b6 Qb4 5.b7 a5
6.bxc8=Q#
gxh - - s*S 5.5 6 1.h4 g5 2.hxg5 h6 3.Rxh6 Nxh6 4.gxh6 Bg7 5.hxg7 Na6
6.gxh8=Q#
e - - - D 5.5 2 1.d4 e5 2.d5 Ba3 3.d6 Ne7 4.dxe7 f6 5.Qxd7+ Kf7
6.e8=Q#

Francois

More information about the Retros mailing list