Alice chess

Alice steps through the looking-glass; illustration by Sir John Tenniel.
a8 b8 c8 d8 e8 f8 g8 h8
a7 b7 c7 d7 e7 f7 g7 h7
a6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 h6
a5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 g5 h5
a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 g4 h4
a3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 g3 h3
a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 f2 g2 h2
a1 b1 c1 d1 e1 f1 g1 h1
A
a8 b8 c8 d8 e8 f8 g8 h8
a7 b7 c7 d7 e7 f7 g7 h7
a6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 h6
a5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 g5 h5
a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 g4 h4
a3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 g3 h3
a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 f2 g2 h2
a1 b1 c1 d1 e1 f1 g1 h1
B
White mates in two moves[1]
by Udo Marks

[Moves returning to board A are notated "/A".]

Solution: 1.Kb1/A! (waiting!)

  • 1...Re7 2.Rxe7/A#
  • 1...R(e8)–other 2.Re7/A#
  • 1...R(g5)–any 2.Rg5/A#
  • 1...Ba1 2.Qxa1/A#
  • 1...Bb2 2.Qxb2/A#
  • 1...B(c3)–other 2.Qc3/A#
  • 1...B(h5)–any 2.Nf3/A#
  • 1...N(c5)–any 2.Rc5/A#
  • 1...N(d6)–any 2.Bd6/A# (2.Bc7/A+? Nd6/A!)
  • 1...b6 (or 1...b5) 2.Nc6/A#
  • 1...e2 2.Qe3/A#
  • 1...g2 2.Bh2/A#! (2.Bg3/A+? Rxg3)

Tries:

  • 1.Qd3/A? (threatening 2.Rd5/A#) Nxd3? 2.Rc5/A#, but 1...Ra8+!
  • 1.b5/A? Ba1! 2.Qc3/A+ Bxd4/A!

Alice chess is a chess variant invented in 1953 by V. R. Parton which employs two chessboards rather than one,[a] and a slight (but significant) alteration to the standard rules of chess. The game is named after the main character "Alice" in Lewis Carroll's work Through the Looking-Glass, where transport through the mirror into an alternative world is portrayed on the chessboards by the after-move transfer of chess pieces between boards A and B.

This simple transfer rule is well known for causing disorientation and confusion in players new to the game, often leading to surprises and amusing mistakes as pieces "disappear" and "reappear" between boards, and pieces interposed to block attacks on one board are simply bypassed on the other. This "nothing is as it seems" experience probably accounts for Alice chess remaining Parton's most popular and successful variant among the numerous others he invented.

This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
  1. ^ The Problemist (March 1999) England.


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