The borders between orthodox chess and fairy chess are not sharply drawn: between them lies a territory that only a few connoisseurs enter, while many problem enthusiasts avoid it. One-movers and multi-movers, castling and retro problems, as well as mathematical questions and humor in a witty form hardly find their way into the normal chess columns of daily newspapers and the problem sections of chess magazines, and are therefore little cultivated. "The world of neglected dimensions" — I would like to call this border area or no-man's land, in keeping with the title of a well-known book on colloid chemistry. T.R. Dawson is probably the only one who regularly gives space to such problems and questions in his fairy chess columns. In the present booklet they form the main content. But so as not to frighten anyone, it should be said at once: with regard to mathematics the utmost restraint is observed. The few derivations and formulas are elementary and understandable to everyone. To a lesser extent the collection also reaches into neighboring fields: here, too, themes and problems are preferred that somehow deviate from the norm, perhaps even appear bizarre. Nevertheless, I hope that both friends of orthodox mate problems and supporters of fairy chess will find some samples of interest. The unfortunate war brought about the loss of my chess library and numerous records. From the meagre remains I compiled the selection. It contains much of my own work, partly because it was at hand, and partly because I, as a problem composer, particularly favour the "unusual things at the edge of the chessboard". Dr. Karl Fabel
