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So yesterday I found this in the mail. A chessboard. But on the squares, things were written. Plaintext version:

LONGLIVE
HAPOTTER
DADDYJAM
ESLIKEST
HEMARAUD
ERSMAPAN
DWOULDLI
KETOSEND

On the back, well:

KR6 KR1 KN7 QB8 QB4 QN5 KB4 QB1; 5C877471, -166128936; KR7 KN3 Q6 Q2 KR6 QB5 Q7 K5 K3

What did they say?

UPDATE: I found another piece of paper in my mailbox today. It had this:

KN1 QN1 K7 QR2 KR2 KR6 Q8 KB1 K1 K5 K3 QB1 QR2 Q2 Q3

UPDATE: Yet ANOTHER piece of paper! Only this time it's plain text:

Lav-Lav + _______ -> "Send him off! Red card!"

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  • $\begingroup$ That's... strange. They look like they should be chess notations and directions but they're not. I wonder... $\endgroup$
    – Prince North Læraðr
    Mar 3, 2019 at 22:18
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    $\begingroup$ @North with the exception of the numbers in the middle, they are in fact old-school chess notation - King's Rook file, 6th row; King's Rook file, 1st row; King's kNight file, 7th row.... $\endgroup$
    – Brandon_J
    Mar 3, 2019 at 23:24
  • $\begingroup$ Each notation describes a square (not a piece movement), to elaborate. $\endgroup$
    – Brandon_J
    Mar 3, 2019 at 23:33
  • $\begingroup$ Has a correct answer been given? If so, please don't forget to $\color{green}{\checkmark \small\text{Accept}}$ it. If not, some responses to the answerers to help steer them in the right direction would be helpful. $\endgroup$
    – Rubio ♦
    Mar 7, 2019 at 4:44
  • $\begingroup$ no, we need a hint. $\endgroup$
    – Tzu Li
    Mar 8, 2019 at 2:35

3 Answers 3

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if you

remember old notation referred to KB4 as f4 from the white point of view and f5 from the black point of view,

then

alternating points of view gives the message:
meet me at 5C877471, -166128936 (then starting with black) i am unluky

which means

he can't spell, but perhaps those are coordinates on Harry's map?

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    $\begingroup$ Could the numbers be GPS coordinates in hexadecimal? Apparently some devices use that, see stackoverflow.com/questions/7151896/… $\endgroup$
    – JollyJoker
    Mar 4, 2019 at 11:54
  • $\begingroup$ There's no C on the chessboard - probably explains the poor spelling. The question is, why not come up with something where they are all present - leads me to suspect the answer is something to do with H. Potter ? .. $\endgroup$
    – Smock
    Mar 4, 2019 at 15:03
  • $\begingroup$ Hint: What is unlucky? $\endgroup$
    – Tzu Li
    Mar 8, 2019 at 2:35
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Partial answer:

Well, the plaintext on the chessboard says,

LONG LIVE HA[rry] POTTER DADDY JAMES LIKES THE MARAUDERS MAP AND WOULD LIKE TO SEND

I'm guessing the text on the back is supposed to be like a cipher using chess notations? They're not exactly any ciphers I recognize though... maybe like Kxr6?

Also this quote from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban might help.

"Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business.
Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.
Mr Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor.
Mr Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slime-ball."

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Using the text on the board as a map of sorts, and assuming that it's from white's point of view,

KR6--> M; KR1--> D; KN7-->E; QB8--> N; QB4--> M; QN5--> S; KB4--> A; QB1--> T

Resulting in text

"MDENMSAT" for the first part. I'm guessing the letters in the middle are a key of some sort.

Second list:

"RADUMLOKA"

Neither of these are words, but there's a start.

[EDIT]

As @SteveV points out,

You need to alternate between white and black's point of view, yielding "meet me at 5C877471, -166128936 (then starting with black) i am unluky"

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