Classification of Studies

This is my first draft to classify studies/study motifs. My goal is to find and to show the best examples for every motif. Any comments are welcome.

I. Material
II. Space
III. Time
IV. Moves
V. Positions
VI. Motifs and Themes
VII. Structure

I. Material

1. Endgame types

• Classified by material
• Pawn Endgames
• Knight Endgames
• Bishop Endgames
• Rook Endgames
• Queen Endgames
• Minor piece endgames
• Major piece endgames
• Aristocratic endgames
• Classified by number of pieces
• Miniatures
• Minimal

2. Sacrifices

• Q sacrifices
• R sacrifices
• B sacrifices
• N sacrifices
• P sacrifices
• Deflection
• Decoy
• Sacrifice of all pieces types
• Several sacrifices on the same square
• Unguarded guard
• Breakthrough

3. Harmful pieces

• Harmful Q
• Harmful R
• Harmful B
• Harmful N
• Harmful P

4. Capture refusal

II. Space

1. Corner square

• Move to a corner square
• Corner-corner manoeuvre
• Escaping from a corner square
• Pieces in all corners

2. Visiting all squares from a given territory

• Visiting a 3x3 square
• Visiting a 4x4 square
• Visiting all files and ranks
• Visiting all edges of the board

3. Platzwechsel (interchange of places)

• by two pieces
• by several pieces

4. White and black pieces placed alternately

• on a rank
• on a file
• on a diagonal
• in a territory

5. Cluster (many same-coloured pieces placed next to each other)

• 2x2 white cluster

III. Time

1. Gaining a tempo
2. Zwischenzug
3. Losing a tempo
4. Triangulation
5. Tempo move
6. 6th WCCT Theme
7. Mutual Zugzwang (ZZ)
8. ZZ with bad captures
9. Opposition
10. Corresponding Squares

• K vs K
• K vs Q
• K vs R
• K vs B
• K vs P
• Q vs R
• R vs B
• B vs N
• B vs B

11. Cyclic Zugzwang
12. Virtual stalemate
13. Hurrying piece

IV. Moves

1. Pawn promotion

• Struggle to force promotion
• Struggle against promotion
• Helping the other side to promote a pawn
• by sacrificing a piece on the promotion square
• by voluntarily leaving the promotion square undefended
• Rule of the square
• Reciprocal promotions
• Excelsior
• Minor promotions
• R promotions
• B promotions
• N promotions
• 2 different pieces
• 3 different pieces
• Allumwandlung
• Babson Task
• Double promotion
• Phoenix Theme
• Double Phoenix Theme
• Saavedra's rook promotion
• A piece from a given square gets replaced by a promoted piece of the same kind
• A promoted piece returns
• to the starting square of the promoted pawn
• to all squares visited during the solution by the promoted pawn ("Double promotion")

2. Castling

• Castling short
• Castling long
• Mutual castling
• Castling battle
• Anti castling play

3. En passant move
4. Valladao Task
5. Festina lente
6. Systematic movement
7. Systematic pawn moves
8. Switchback
9. Circuits
10. Manoeuvres

• Simple maneouvres
• King maneouvre
• Queen maneouvre
• Rook maneouvre
• Bishop maneouvre
• Knight maneouvre
• Complex manoeuvres
• Repeated manoeuvres

11. Duels
12. Long moves
13. Moving away
14. Crosses

• King's Cross
• Queens's Cross
• Bishop's Cross

15. Stars

• King's Star
• Queens's Star
• Rook's Star

V. Positions

1. Checkmates

• Mate by a Pawn
• Mate by a Knight
• Mate by a Bishop
• Mate by a Rook
• Mate by a Queen
• Smothered mate
• Epaulette mate
• Mirror mate
• Model mate
• Mate with pinned pieces
• Mate by a pinned piece
• Mate by a promoted piece
• Mate with a double check

2. Stalemates

• Simple stalemates
• Stalemates with pinned pieces
• Stalemates with blocked pieces
• Stalemates with autoblocked K
• Stalemate avoidance
• Reciprocal stalemates
• Double stalemates
• Unavoidable stalemates
• Stalemates with attack

3. Echo positions

• Echo mates
• Echo stalemates
• Other echo positions

4. Chameleon-echo positions

• Chameleon-echo mates
• Chameleon-echo stalemates
• Other chameleon-echo positions

VI. Motifs and themes

1. Simple motifs

• Winning material
• by capture
• by pinning
• by catching a piece
• catching the Q
• catching the R
• catching the B
• catching the N
• by domination
• simple domination (the piece is attacked)
• domination by zugzwang (the piece is not attacked)
• Check
• Counter-check
• Many checks
• Pin
• Cross-pin
• Counter pin
• Repeated counter pin
• Half-pin
• Unpinning
• K moves along the pinning line
• Pinned piece moves along the pin line (Pelle move)
• Fork
• Simple fork (one piece attacks two pieces)
• Complex fork (one piece attacks several pieces)
• Doubled fork (two simultaneous forks on the same two pieces)
• Self-fork
• Superfork (two adjacent pawns attacks two pieces)
• Battery
• Half-battery
• Double battery
• Discovered check
• Attacking K moves along the battery line
• Defending K moves along the battery line
• X-ray attack (Skewer)
• X-ray defence
• Obstruction
• Interference

2. Complex motifs

• Windmill
• Repeated captures (Checkers Theme)
• Sliding battery
• Saavedra’s double threat
• Réti manoeuvre
• Chase
• Funktionwechsel (exchange of role)
• Grip Theme
• Sandwich Theme
• Transformation of pinning
• Mutual obstructions
• Paradoxical capture (the capture of the least valued piece)
• Domino Theme
• Paralysis
• Overloading
• Dual avoidance
• Shutting in an own piece
• Winning fortress
• Eilazyan Theme

3. Problem themes

• Nowotny
• Grimshaw
• Bristol
• Herlin
• Turton
• Loyd-Turton
• Brunner-Turton
• Plachutta
• Würzburg-Plachutta
• Seeberger
• Kling
• Roman
• Indian
• Albino
• Pickaninny
• Banny
• Umnov
• Magnet Theme
• Critical move
• Focal position
• Zabunov Theme

4. Foresight theme

• WCCT-7 Theme
• WCCT-10 Theme

5. Positional draws

• Perpetual check
• Perpetual check by one piece
• Perpetual check by two pieces
• Perpetual check by many pieces
• Forced perpetual check
• Perpetual check/stalemate
• Perpetual check avoidance
• Desperado
• Perpetual attack
• One piece against one piece
• One piece against two pieces
• Two pieces against one piece
• Two pieces against two pieces
• Perpetual fork
• Perpetual threat of mate
• Perpetual stalemate
• Perpetual pinning
• Perpetual self-pinning
• Perpetual transformation of pinning
• Perpetual prevention from pawn promotion
• Perpetual mate avoidance
• Fortress
• Blockade
• Perpetual threat of perpetual attack
• Perpetual threat of perpetual check
• Perpetual threat of pawn promotion
• Perpetual threat of stalemate
• Perpetual threat of fortress
• Perpetual threat of blockade
• Perpetual threat of fork
• Perpetual threat of theoretical draw
• Perpetual threat of winning material
• Perpetual prevention of losing material
• Perpetual threat of catching a piece
• Perpetual threat of a battery
• Perpetual threat to castle
• Perpetual battery
• Perpetual switch of places
• Perpetual Nowotny
• Perpetual Plachutta
• Perpetual Grimshaw
• Perpetual fastening
• Passive domination
• Reciprocal perpetual check

VII. Structure

1. Study types

• Romantic
• Logical
• EGTB
• Multiphase
• Black-White synthesis
• Twins
• >Duplex
• Retrograde analysis
• Symmetry
• Asymmetry
• Antisymmetry

2. Correctness

• Cooked
• Computer checked (C+)
• Illegal initial positions
• Initial position with promoted pieces
• Three knights of the same colour
• Blind bishops
• Initial position with obtrusive pieces