Murder Mate: Persia
Isfahan, 1611. The Shah is away at war, and his palace on the great square is full of envoys, merchants and relatives who must wait out the winter until he returns. Night after night, one of them dies. Darugha Farhad, chief of the city watch, has been left to keep order. This time, the killer may not have worked alone.
One piece moved. Another one killed.
Same rules as every Murder Mate: one white piece gives mate, the witnesses tell you which. In Isfahan, the killer may have had help.
The killer gives mate
On the last move, the piece that moves is the piece that gives check. That piece is the killer.
The accomplice opens the door
Sometimes another guest moved first: one move, any legal move, then never again. Black answers, and the killer finishes alone. In a mate in one, the accomplice simply steps out of the line, and the killer mates without moving.
Name them both
15 of the 40 cases have an accomplice. The others were done alone, but every pair is a possible plan, and the witnesses must rule them all out.
Case 01: The Mirror Maker.
The crime and the board on the left, the suspects, the witnesses and your verdict on the right. Messer Alvise came from Venice with forty crates of mirror glass. Nine of them went missing, and he knew where.
Eight rooms around a long pool. Eight guests waiting for the Shah.
Every square of the board belongs to a room of the palace. Every white piece is a guest, always the same piece from one case to the next. You are the white king, and you never move.
Princess Shirin
Khanum Golnar
General Kaveh Beg
Captain Thomas Ashby
Mirza Kamal
Father Bartolomeo
Khoja Grigor
Nasir
Start easy. End at 1800.
You only need to know how the pieces move. Each book stands alone: you can start the series here.
Rookie
Mate in one. Sometimes the killer never moves: someone steps out of his way.
Cases 01-08 · 5-10 minDetective
Mate in two. One suspect alone, or an accomplice and a killer.
Cases 09-20 · 15-25 minChief Inspector
More pairs to rule out, and one witness is lying.
Cases 21-33 · 25-30 minCommissioner
Mate in three. One liar. Any two guests could have held the door.
Cases 34-40 · 30-45 minOne chess country per book. One chess rule per crime.
