Deductive Puzzle #36

White's Queen Bishop is invisible! Prove whether it is on the board or not! If it is, where on the board is it? If not, where was it captured?

White has 9 pawns! 

Ah!! That should be a rook :(

I had assumed. 

Anyway, to the puzzle. I don't see how we can prove this either way, without special rules like neither king has been in check or whatever. Only two captures need to have been made by black, namely the f1 bishop and a piece on c6, which MUST have been the queen...

BUT WAIT! (Sorry, I'm typing as I deduce.) The queen must have been captured to allow the c8 bishop out, but for the c8 bishop to get where it is, the c1 bishop can't have yet escaped (due to the pawn still being on b2). Through this reasoning, the c1 bishop MUST have been captured by a black knight to let the queen out, through the a-pawn moving forward!

I did it! 

(I hope.)

Sorry if you don't like my wording in that post. I find it hard to explain properly... pretty sure it's correct though.

:)

That's the solution I derived, Nytik.

That's pretty much the first time I've ever solved one of these... without using what you guys have already written, anyway. 

aaah i get it, very clever!

Why is there a white pawn on a1?