a) 1...a6*b7 2.Kc6-c7 Ke4-d5 3.Kc7-d8 b7-b8=Q #
b) bSb5<-->bPa7 1.Re7-c7 e6-e7 2.Kc6-d7 Ke4-d5 3.Kd7-c8 e7-e8=Q #
Note: a typo in the original publication in Problem Paradise 97 was corrected in Problem Paradise 98.
(a) White has no legal last move. So by Codex Article 15 it's WTM instead. (b) Now wK might have just come from d4, so it's BTM.
Thematically the solutions have some harmony: both require queen promotion rather than making do with rook, both include a pure White tempo move. bK's paths to back rank cross: in one it's c7-d8, in the other it's d7-c8. "PP" stands for Problem Paradise, the middle panel of the "HOPPER" triptych, and also indicates the white non-royal material.
Easter Egg: twin (a) also has a unique try as h#2. But Codex Article 15 means that in retropat, we *lose* a Black move, so I prefer to specify h#3, which matches twin (b).
A subsidiary, non-serious question: which piece is the "manager"? All pieces are necessary for one or both solutions, *except* for bPa4 which is a purely decorative weasel :-)
a) 1...a6*b7 2.Kc6-c7 Ke4-d5 3.Kc7-d8 b7-b8=Q #
b) bSb5<-->bPa7 1.Re7-c7 e6-e7 2.Kc6-d7 Ke4-d5 3.Kd7-c8 e7-e8=Q #
Note: a typo in the original publication in Problem Paradise 97 was corrected in Problem Paradise 98.
(a) White has no legal last move. So by Codex Article 15 it's WTM instead. (b) Now wK might have just come from d4, so it's BTM.
Thematically the solutions have some harmony: both require queen promotion rather than making do with rook, both include a pure White tempo move. bK's paths to back rank cross: in one it's c7-d8, in the other it's d7-c8. "PP" stands for Problem Paradise, the middle panel of the "HOPPER" triptych, and also indicates the white non-royal material.
Easter Egg: twin (a) also has a unique try as h#2. But Codex Article 15 means that in retropat, we *lose* a Black move, so I prefer to specify h#3, which matches twin (b).
A subsidiary, non-serious question: which piece is the "manager"? All pieces are necessary for one or both solutions, *except* for bPa4 which is a purely decorative weasel :-)
