Questions tagged [chess]
A puzzle related to chess. Questions about chess which aren't puzzles are off-topic and should be asked on Chess Stack Exchange.
425
questions
8
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4answers
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Chess-related puzzle
I'm working on a problem for this cyber security camp, and we're doing a CTF right now. I have one problem left, and I'm almost certain it relates to chess, so I've come here for advice!
Having ...
4
votes
2answers
189 views
Can you find the key move?
I've created this chess problem for today. it's White to move and their pawns move upward. Can you find the key move? Have fun, and no computers are allowed!
Checkmate In 5 Moves
9
votes
1answer
352 views
Mini 8 queens puzzle
On a 5x5 chessboard, place 5 black queens and 3 whites queens so that no queens are attacking those who are of different color. Furthermore, the numbers indicate how many queens are attacking the ...
6
votes
1answer
187 views
An Enigmatic Game
I have a fun-ky puzzle for everyone today.
Here is the position.
FEN-rnbq1rkb/ppp1pp2/5p2/8/8/4K3/PPPPNP1P/RNBQ1R2
It can be reached in one way in exactly 9.5 moves, or 10 White and 9 Black moves. ...
23
votes
1answer
913 views
7
votes
3answers
263 views
Knight Battle: The Face-off
Knight Puzzle
Imagine a chessboard like this:
You are the white knight and can move as a knight does in chess.
Example:
Your goal is to visit every square on the board using legal chess knight moves ...
1
vote
3answers
308 views
Class Chess Tournament
A class of 36 students are expecting to play in the chess tournament held by Math Department. When the schoolmaster arrived he said "Lets start the games but first we must setup all the chess ...
5
votes
1answer
307 views
The Fastest Clean Draw
Playing with regular moves, the position above should result in a draw without repeating
an exact position three times. By Helpmate or in this case a Helpdraw, players cooperate to end this game in a ...
4
votes
1answer
123 views
Kings on a chessboard
Let $n$ be a positive integer. You are given $4n^2$ kings and a $4n\times4n$ chessboard. You have to place the kings on the chessboard such that each row and column contains exactly $n$ kings, and no ...
8
votes
2answers
203 views
A knight chased by four knights
This is a follow up to A knight chased by three knights
Two players are playing a variant of chess on a 11x11 grid. The first player controls a white knight that starts in the centre square. The ...
10
votes
3answers
695 views
A knight chased by three knights
Two players are playing a variant of chess on a 8x8 grid. The first player controls a white knight that starts in the top-left corner. The second player controls three black knights that start in the ...
3
votes
1answer
127 views
Twice Up On Top
Here is a chess problem I've made that has an illegal position. White moves upward and the d1 moves like a normal pawn. Have fun!
FEN: F5brb/4p1p1/3pPpPp/3p3P/7p/5PpP/PP4Pp/3P1K1k w - - 0 1
(I can'...
3
votes
2answers
155 views
Black War Heroes or Whites Save the Queens?
After Black Cavalry successfully captured White princesses,
White empire learns their Black opponent is hungry for more and wants White Twin Queens dead!
White will never let such a disaster happen ...
8
votes
2answers
195 views
Black Cavalry Fork Attack
On this chess optimization puzzle, there are only black knights and white queens. Your aim is that no black knight is threatened and to maximize the total number of queens the knights could capture. ...
5
votes
2answers
142 views
Who shall be the winner?
There are two questions to answer here:
Who will win this game of chess?
What were the last 96 individual moves (ply) by both sides? The solution is unique.
Gyula Breyer The Chess Amateur 1922, ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
What was the last move made in this game?
What was white's last move in the game shown below?
Note: This is a screenshot taken from an actual game and all moves made were legal.
ETA: The last move played by white was the last move of the ...
-10
votes
1answer
117 views
N-1 queen on the chessboard
You are trying to solve the famous N queens problem. You broke one of the queens from your chess pieces collections. Now, you have created the following puzzle:
You are given an N*N chessboard. Is ...
17
votes
4answers
807 views
Knights in a Complete Sudoku Board
In a complete Sudoku board, at most how many chess knights would it be possible to place on its cells with a 1 inside, so that each knight can walk in order (1, 2, 3, ..., 9) through cells numbered up ...
6
votes
1answer
309 views
Whites capture whites and Blacks capture blacks
This is my first Chess Puzzle!
Let suppose you start a Chess game.
Whites' aim will be to place all their alive pieces on white squares in a minimum of moves and black will do the same, but with ...
5
votes
1answer
635 views
100 moves for a rook in a two by two board
A rook is in a corner of a two by two board and wants to get to the opposite corner in 100 moves. In how many ways can the rook perform this?
Note: The rook may go through the opposite corner before ...
7
votes
2answers
492 views
The Russian machine has a flaw
The year is 1969.
You, Robert James Fischer, are invited in a secret Russian basement to 'play a chess game against a strong opponent'. When you finally meet your opponent, a Russian bald guy who is ...
8
votes
3answers
960 views
Uncommon underpromotion motive
Find 2 chess positions in which the only move is a promotion to a knight, or bishop (1 position for each piece).
However the goal of the underpromotion must NOT be one of the following :
Preventing ...
4
votes
1answer
106 views
Maximum number of legal moves after n moves in a chess game [closed]
Given the chess start position :
What is the maximum number of legal moves white can play after $n$ full moves?
We will assume black is helping white in this task.
I want the best answer you could ...
7
votes
1answer
162 views
What is the minimum-value piece combination necessary to checkmate in this game of Crazyhouse?
Imagine you're playing a game of crazyhouse, which operates like standard chess, except that you have a pocket of captured pieces that you can drop on the board in any legal location as your move.
...
12
votes
3answers
199 views
The Chess Moments
The chessboard was well balanced on the mid horizontal by some fulcrum. Black and white pieces were carefully placed on such board for equilibrium. Because the wooden pieces weights vary, their ...
7
votes
3answers
185 views
Placing The Black King
In this position, White’s sole aim is to castle. But in order to do so, they must promote their pawn to a queen to force a Black bishop move. The 10 black kings represent where Black’s king can safely ...
7
votes
2answers
534 views
Knights and Queen puzzle
This is not original. I just want to share this problem. If you have heard of it, please give opportunities for those who haven't to answer.
Horst and Queenie are playing a game on a $200\times200$ ...
1
vote
1answer
68 views
k-threats Chinese Cannons Chess: Part 2
Inspired from the N-Queens problem, I here propose you a puzzle from Xiangqi wich is Chinese Chess equivalent, mostly played in Asia.
The most different piece from Xiangqi is the cannon. You can ...
4
votes
1answer
80 views
k-threats Chinese Cannons Chess: Part 1
Inspired from the N-Queens problem, I here propose you a puzzle from Xiangqi wich is Chinese Chess equivalent, mostly played in Asia.
The most different piece from Xiangqi is the cannon. You can ...
4
votes
3answers
220 views
4-coloured queens attacking every opponent queen once
Can you place 6 queens from four different colours (24 in total), such that each queen attacks exactly one queen of each colour? They may attack as many queens of their own colour as these are ignored....
6
votes
1answer
96 views
Freedom of many choices
There are 40 possible move options for both White and Black players in the starting position. The 4 knights and 16 pawns all have 2 options.
If all the pieces are still on the chessboard, how would ...
7
votes
4answers
324 views
3 Colors of Chess Pieces Attacking Each Other Once Each
Yes, it's another "Chess Pieces Attacking Each Other" puzzle. This time we have 3 colors. Your goal is to place as many of the same type of chess piece (excluding pawns since you can't define the "...
6
votes
1answer
134 views
Most moves by Most number of Pieces
Using one color, White or Black, place as many chess pieces (kings, queens, bishops, knights, rooks, and pawns, or combinations thereof) as you can on a checkerboard so that when the number of pieces ...
2
votes
1answer
98 views
Footmen And Friends #3: Eviction
Welcome to Episode 3, where we have a strange puzzle for today. Pawns aren't legally allowed on the first and eighth ranks, but today we make an exception for the sake of creating another long but fun ...
13
votes
1answer
831 views
The Single Digit - a chess riddle
In front of you lies a safe. Within the safe, you are aware, lie the AI-discovered secrets to solving the game of chess - indeed, every one of its complexities, all of its unknowns, implausibly ...
2
votes
1answer
122 views
Footmen And Friends #2: Leapfrog
Seeing as the pilot episode was a major success, with an outstanding and correct response from one of our viewers, it’s time for Episode 2. Remember, we show puzzles with kings and pawns only! Those ...
5
votes
1answer
170 views
Footmen And Friends #1: A Long Ways Away
Tonight premiers the first show of Footmen And Friends, a show dedicated exclusively to kings and pawns. Let's give these soul-men of chess a chance to shine instead of their big sisters and brothers!
...
7
votes
4answers
354 views
Chess pieces attacking exactly N chess pieces
In the spirit of completion and the style of:
Discrete Peaceful Encampments: 9 queens on a chessboard
Queens attacking exactly one queen
Queens attacking exactly four queens
Knights attacking exactly ...
16
votes
5answers
3k views
Knights attacking exactly three knights
Can you place 14 black and 14 white knights on a standard 8x8 chess board, such that each knight attacks exactly 3 opponent knights? Bonus question: can you do it with 15 black and 15 white knights?
...
12
votes
3answers
1k views
How many chess pieces do we have to put at least?
In a $8\times8$ chessboard, a cell is qualified if an adjacent cell (a cell which is on top, left, below, or right of the cell) excluding itself has a chess piece on it. How many chess pieces do we ...
9
votes
2answers
936 views
Queens attacking exactly four queens
Can you place 14 black and 14 white queens on a standard 8x8 chess board, such that each queen attacks exactly 4 opponent queens?
Good luck!
Here is a related question: Queens attacking exactly one ...
9
votes
3answers
328 views
Where art thou, oh native rooks?
Here’s a tough puzzle for you all today!
Given that both White and Black conspired to reach this position as briskly as possible, where standth White’s native rooks (the one from the starting ...
13
votes
5answers
2k views
Chess pieces attacking exactly once
Inspired by this question. Actually the same but in a more generic manner.
What is the maximum number of chess pieces of the same type (e.g. kings, bishops, rooks, knights) which can be placed on a ...
21
votes
8answers
5k views
Queens attacking exactly one queen
What is the most number of black and white queens that you can place on a standard 8x8 chess board, such that each queen attacks exactly one opponent queen?
7
votes
2answers
372 views
A Simple Question
May White mate in two? Good luck!
Thomas Rayner Dawson, Tidskrift för Schack, 1923
4
votes
2answers
156 views
Chess Construction Challenge #4-Excelsior!
It’s been awhile since the last one, so cheers for round four!
Given that:
It’s White to selfmate themselves in exactly 5 moves, i.e. after White’s fifth move, Black’s only legal move(s) will ...
14
votes
3answers
1k views
A King's Hamiltonian Tours
a) Place the numbers 1 to 25 in the cells of a 5 x 5 board in such a way that consecutive numbers occur in adjacent cells either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, and so do cells with numbers 1 ...
8
votes
2answers
338 views
The peasant atop the world
Mate in four, White is in glee
But all is not as you see
For it takes a certain trick
A broken rule to break you must pick
Tell me the one rule and the grand solution
And points you shall earn ...
7
votes
1answer
234 views
Catching up to my foe
I had once made a piece of wonderful art
Until then it had been a century's vain of work
Spent inside those Russian winter days
At last made in the early eighties
But a friend of mine had recently ...
8
votes
1answer
636 views
One piece of a destroyed chess board
Once I met a friend and he told me the following story:
I recently cut my wooden 8x8 chess board into different rectangular pieces along the edges.
Each square of the chess board has a length of one ...
