Two ridiculous problems from Arthur Ford Mackenzie’s 1887 book Chess: Its Poetry and Its Prose:
Left: “White to mate without making a move.”
Right: “White to mate in 1/4 of a move.”
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Left: “White mates without moving simply by removing the Black Pawn from [d5], he having just taken that Pawn en passant with the White Pawn standing on [d6]. The position is impossible unless Black and White had thus played last, for in no other way could the White King be now standing in the check of the Pawn.”
Right: “The move of Castling may be divided into four parts. First, lifting up the King: second, placing him on the proper square; third, lifting up the Rook; and fourth, placing the Rook on the proper square. In this position White has made 3/4 of this move: he has taken up the King, and placed him on the Bishop’s square; he has also taken up the Rook, which completes the 3/4 of the move. All that remains, therefore, is to place the Rook on Queen’s square, the remaining fourth of the move, and checkmate is accomplished in a quarter of a move!”
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