Allumwandlung (, German for "complete promotion", sometimes abbreviated AUW) is a

chess problem A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle created by the composer using chess pieces on a chessboard, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is t ...

theme where, at some stage in the solution, a

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous chess piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn or The Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pa ...

(or sometimes pawns) is promoted variously to a

queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

rook Rook or rooks may refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess that moves horizontally and vertically * Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game People, characters, individuals *a rookie, a rook * Russell Rook, Baron Rook (The Lord Rook; 21 ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, and

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. Allumwandlung's main requirement is promotion, either a white pawn or a black pawn. A

Babson task A Babson task (or simply Babson) is a chess problem with the following properties: #White has only one , or first move, that forces checkmate in the stipulated number of moves. #Black's defences include the promotion of a certain pawn to a quee ...

may appear if both pawns are spotted in an individual problem, corresponding one another.

Examples

The diagram shows a chess problem with Allumwandlung composed by Niels Høeg and first published in 1905. White to move and ''mate in three''. The key move (White's first move) is 1.f7, and depending on how Black defends, White promotes to either a queen, a rook, a bishop or a knight on move two. The lines are: * 1... e4 2. f8=Q any 3. Qe7/Qf6# * 1... Kd6 2. f8=Q+ Kc6 3. Qc5# * 1... exf4 2. f8=R Kd6 3. Rf6# * 1... exd4 2. f8=B Kf6 3. Ra6# * 1... Kf6 2. f8=N exd4 3. Rf7# The importance of White's

underpromotion In chess, promotion is the replacement of a pawn with a new piece when the pawn is moved to its . The player replaces the pawn immediately with a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same . The new piece does not have to be a previously captu ...

s can be understood by considering what happens if White promotes incorrectly: * After 1...exf4 or 1...exd4 2.f8=Q?? is

stalemate Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check and has no legal move. Stalemate results in a draw. During the endgame, stalemate is a resource that can enable the player with the inferior position ...

, as black no longer has a legal move to play. * After 1... exf4, 2. f8=B?? is stalemate. * Any other promotions will not allow mate on the third move. For example, 1... Kf6 2. f8=Q+ Kxg6: there is no knight to defend the g6 pawn. Or, 1... Kd6 2. f8=R Kc6 and there is an escape on b5. Another example is at right. Here, four different pawns are promoted to the four possible pieces. 1...d1=Q threatens checks on d5, g1 and g4. White's only defence is 2. e8=N+. Black can continue the pressure with 2...Kg6. Now, Qd5+ is still a threat, but 3. a8=Q?? Qd5+ 4. Qxd5 is stalemate. Instead, White defends with 3. a8=B! There are no checks available, so Black plays 3...Qd3 and now 4. c8=Q?? Qd5+ 4. Bxd5 is also stalemate. White plays 4. c8=R and has a decisive lead (

Stockfish Stockfish is unsalted fish, especially cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks (which are called "hjell" in Norway) on the foreshore. The drying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage li ...

evaluation +6.7).

References

Bibliography * Chess problems {{chess-stub