It's a nice combination but also a failure of the composition. All black pieces have a function in the solution but "Bh8" has none. You can remove it without repercussion for the lines related to the solution. The same was already true for some black pawns but it hurts much more for an officer!
8 moves of martyrdom
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Arisktotle wrote:
It's a nice combination but also a failure of the composition. All black pieces have a function in the solution but "Bh8" has none. You can remove it without repercussion for the lines related to the solution. The same was already true for some black pawns but it hurts much more for an officer!
You are absolutely right. I will only note that A. Ratushny is not a chess composer. He is the author of Flickering Chess, which few people outside of Russia know about. If I have time, I will try to describe this variant of chess here on my chessdotcom blog.
Btw, here is the simplest "repair". Without "Bh8" white mates in 4 moves! Of course there are still redundant pawns but giving them all a purpose in life is another level challenge!
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Ok, I just have to say, that is the coolest puzzle I’ve ever seen! Where did you find it?
A. Ratushny, 1969
White to move and mate in 8
As a result, we have an amazing picture: the white king and one single pawn destroy the entire black army. If you pay attention, Black has all the pieces in play.