Impossible to Checkmate!
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madhacker wrote:
An alternative to these "forced stalemate" positions would be an unpenetrable pawn chain, e.g.
Post #15 already beat your score.
All the pieces without promotions and without a stalemate...39 points.
And a variation with promotions, for 49 it seems.
Not impossible for white to checkmate in yours dutchday as black can capture the rooks and create open files.
The last one is also illegal due to the Be1. But interesting effort.
I agree there could be a checkmate if black makes a mistake and takes: But black will lose. I am assuming white tries to checkmate and blacks defends. It did not say a helpmate should be facilitated.
The bishop on e1 is illegal, but again it is unclear if that was a requirement. I couldn't think of anything else at the time. Remove it and you still have 46 points worth.
piphilologist wrote:
chessplayer11 wrote:
piphilologist wrote:
This means almost all of the positions in this thread up to now have been incorrect.
Hey. I hope you don't mean mine. I gave a complete move list.
And no, he said it pretty much has ended, which was true. It was white's turn and any move would have resulted in a stalemate. As white still had one more move, it was "pretty much" over, but not quite yet. So you're last statement is just incorrect.
No, the game had already ended. Read the rules of chess.
5.2 b. The game is drawn when a position has arisen in which neither player can checkmate the opponent’s king with any series of legal moves. The game is said to end in a ‘dead position’. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing the position was legal.
Also your post was incorrect as the game was already over in a checkmate. And according to post 6 the game must not be already over.
But anyway here is a correct 103. All white moves stalemate black except for 1.Ng2?? hxg2# losing. As it is possible for black to checkmate white this is not a dead position.
edit:whoops Rg3... let me fix that
edit2: I can't seem to get it without using 3 knights which puts the points down to 97 :( see if someone else can get 103
try releasing black p. w/ ng6,pxb or p.h4..rh3 for white and black p. moves on either g file (if p.had p.xb)or h5 n.(h2)f3 dis. mate
Dutchday wrote:
I agree there could be a checkmate if black makes a mistake and takes: But black will lose. I am assuming white tries to checkmate and blacks defends. It did not say a helpmate should be facilitated.
The bishop on e1 is illegal, but again it is unclear if that was a requirement. I couldn't think of anything else at the time. Remove it and you still have 46 points worth.
But impossible is impossible, not 'against reasonable defence'.
Ok another plan:
Every piece used and promoted, and no rook capture prevents stalemate next move. Rook moves along the second rank.
BTW if anyone objects I think only pawnattack has a viable solution: Since no move at all, even a blunder will lead to mate. The pawn chain with one bishop is also good, but less in points.
That's your take on it, Scott, and you're entitled to your opinion.
It's not an opinion, it's a fact. Impossible has a precise meaning.
You have no idea how difficult this was... but following piphilologist suggestion, I managed to create a 103 example where white cannot checkmate. He can only draw or lose. This position is legal:
1. Bg5 g4 2. Re3#
Black pawns are going down the board, there is no g4 for black.
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ChessNetwork seems to have disappeared from this thread. I wonder what was his intended solution...
shoopi wrote:
You have no idea how difficult this was... but following piphilologist suggestion, I managed to create a 103 example where white cannot checkmate. He can only draw or lose. This position is legal:
Clever knight hitting g3 and h4!
59 Q + 3 minors = 540.
Who knows, we might be playing 100 player bughouse....
