My works 145 - 150

a) 1...Gd7[Ih6] 2.Kg6[Ih7] Gb5[If5] 3.Kf6[Ie5] Gb4[Ie3] 4.Kf5[Ie2] Gc7[Ie5] 5.Gb7[Ib8] Gc5[Ib6] 6.Ke5[Ia6] Gd7[Ic8] 7.Gd5[Ie6] Ga3[Ic4] 8.Kd6[Ib5] Gg7[Ie5] 9.Kc5[Id4] Gc4[Ia1]#

b) 1...Gb7[If8] 2.Kf4[Ie7] Gf3[Ie3] 3.Gg4[Ig3] Gf5[Ig5] 4.Ke5[If6] Gb5[If4] 5.Kf6[Ig5] Gb4[Ig3] 6.Ke6[If3] Gd7[Ih5] 7.Kd6[Ig5] Ga4[Ie5] 8.Kc7[Id6] Gb7[Ib6] 9.Kb6[Ia5] Gb5[Ia3]#

c) 1...Gc7[Ig6] 2.Kf5[If6] Gc5[If4] 3.Ke6[Ie5] Gb7[Ie7] 4.Gc4[Ie5] Gc3[Ie3] 5.Kd6[Id3] Gd4[If5] 6.Kd7[If6] Gc5[If8] 7.Kc6[Ie7] Gf4[Ig7] 8.Kb5[If6] Ga7[Ia6] 9.Gg4[Ic6] Ga5[Ia6]#

d) 1...Gb4[Ic5] 2.Kh5[Id5] Gd3[If3] 3.Kg4[Ie2] Gc7[Ie5] 4.Gb7[Ib8] Gc5[Ib6] 5.Kg3[Ib5] Gb5[Ib8] 6.Gc4[Ib6] Gb6[Ib8] 7.Kf2[Ia7] Gd5[Ic7] 8.Kf1[Ic6] Gb5[Ia6] 9.Ge2[Ic4] Ga7[Ia6]#

As judge Ulf Hammarström wrote "exaggerated piece of art", but the next one is even more monstrous...

Personal rating: C.

a) 1...Se1[Ib6] 2.Kd2[Ia5] Sf3[Ib7] 3.nRf1[If7] nRf2[If8]+ 4.Kc1[Ie7] nRf1[Ie6] 5.nRh1[Ig6] Sg5[Ih8]#
b) 1...Ke7[Ig8] 2.Kf2[Ih7] Ke8[Ih8] 3.Ke2[Ig8] Kf7[Ih7] 4.Kd1[Ig6] Sd4[Ie7] 5.nRa1[Id7] Sb5[Ib8]#
c) 1...Sd4[Ie6] 2.nRd1[Ig6] nRc1[If6] 3.Kd2[Ie5] Ke5[If4] 4.nRc5[If8]+ Sf3[Ih7]+ 5.Kd3[Ih8] Ke4[Ih7]#
d) 1...Kc5[If1] 2.nRd1[Ih1] Sd4[If2] 3.nRa1[Ic2] nRa2[Ic3] 4.Kd2[Ib2] Se6[Ic4]+ 5.Kc3[Ib5] Kb4[Ia4]#
e) 1...nRd1[Ig4] 2.nRd5[Ig8] Kxd5[Ig7] 3.Kf2[Ih6] Kd4[Ih5] 4.Ke2[Ig5] Kc3[If4] 5.Kd1[Ie3] Kd2[If2]#
f) 1...nRb2[Ig7] 2.Kd4[If8] Sg1[Ig6] 3.nRb4[Ig8] Ke5[Ih7]+ 4.Kc3[Ig6] Ke4[Ig5] 5.nRb1[Ig2] Kd3[If1]#
g) 1...nRb2[Ia4] 2.nRh2[Ig4] Sg5[Ih6] 3.nRf2[If6] Sh7[Ig8] 4.nRa2[Ib8] Kd5[Ib7] 5.nRf2[Ig7] Ke4[Ih6]#
h) 1...Se5[Ig6] 2.nRb3[Ig8] Kc5[If7] 3.nRb1[If5] Sg4[Ih4]+ 4.Kd2[Ig3] Sf2[If1] 5.Kc3[Ie2] Sd1[Ic1]#
i) 1...nRc1[Ie2] 2.nRf1[Ih2] nRf2[Ih3] 3.Kd3[Ig3] Se1[If1]+ 4.nRf8[If7] Ke5[Ig6] 5.nRf3[Ig1] Kd5[If1]#
j) 1...Ke5[Id1] 2.nRb8[Id8] Sh2[If7] 3.nRb2[If1] nRd2[Ih1] 4.nRa2[Ie1] nRa3[Ie2] 5.nRc3[Ig2] Sf1[Ie1]#

Ten (!!) positions with almost nothing common, only some echoed mates. But manoeuvring using imitator and neutral rook, fight against limiting Maximummer, is for me interesting.

Personal rating: C.

1.Ra4 LIa1 2.Kd5 LIa8 3.Rc4 Sc6#

1.Re1 Kd6 2.Re4 Sd7 3.LIe3 Se5#

Echo of ideal mate.

Personal rating: C.

David Brown's jubilee tourney asked for direct mates (section A) and helpmates (section B) in 2 or 3 moves using orphans. I submitted 9 problems, judge awarded 3 of them very high.

1.Be4 Og4 2.Rg6 Oc6#

1.Rd7 Oe8 2.Bf7 Od4#

Diagonal-orthogonal echo of strategy. Black pins own piece using white orphan, but he must take care of not allowing specifical move beginning and ending on pin line.

Personal rating: C.

a) 1.Oc5+ Oexh4 2.Be7 Oe3# (3.Rxh4??)
b) 1.Oe3+ Ogxg7 2.Rg3 Oc5# (3.Bxg7??)

This time I give the word to the judge David Brown:
"Two Orphans fire the familiar bateries, but include tremendous innovations for the preliminaries and for the mates. To begin forming each battery, Black plays a shocking interference unpin check, which White disengages by moving over a newly opened line. The batteries are armed, then fired.
However, on these mates there are now two stunning protecting non-moves. In a), it appears that bR can simultaneously disengage his check into the Oe3 and capture the Oh4, 3.Rxh4?. But NO! For now there exists a new illegal chain h4-h6-e6-e3! And in b), if the bB disengages c5 and captures the Og7, 3.Bxg7?, we get the illegal chain g7-h6-e3-c5!
Also pretty is that squares c5 and e3 reciprocally home Black's chain-check and White's mate. This masterpiece shows a remarkable echo of strategic motivation and is an incredible creation. You never know when an amazing piece of invention will permanently rivet your fascination!"

Nobody write such a kind words about any my work. To be fair I must point two flaws: 1. clearly unused black pieces in respective phases that mainly block king flights, 2. in a) Og5 doesn't play role in final illegal chain, but in b) it does.

Personal rating: A.

1.Qxh2! th. 2.Qa2#
1...Bg7 2.Sb5# (Sc4+?)
1...Bf8 2.Sc4# (Sb5+?)
1...c2 2.Qh3#

The key is horrible, I know - it captures pawn and immobilizes 3 black orphans. But on the bright side we have dual avoidance in a very unusual way: any move by bB defends by opening h7-h1, but it also allows 2 wS mates by opening h2-h7, it means the same line... And concrete moves of bishop close again one of orphan chains.

Personal rating: B.