22
The phrase is
17
1 (got this and then saw Stiv's comment to that effect)
2
3
4 (per PilsNot3's answer)
5 (per PilsNot3's answer / Stiv's comment)
6
7
8
Bonus
13
Given the first 11 primes:
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31
We can observe that:
We'll always get 2, 3 and 7 for "free" (via other numbers, such as 23 and 17, etc), so they can be ignored leaving only 5 to be explicitly included
Of the double digit numbers it is possible to get either 13 and 31 for free (using 11 + 31 or [1/2]3 + 1[1/7/9]), but ...
7
This place is
OP EDIT:
This is a close up image of the place:
6
Partial Answer - finished Task 1
6
So first of all,
From the top right,
And now it's time for the main break-in to the puzzle: there's an interesting question hiding in this clue layout.
There's another question in there, with a similar method.
So, armed with this new constraint, we can make some more deductions:
More connectivity constraints give more deductions, leading to the solution....
5
4 intermediate steps (thanks @ace)
6 intermediate steps
4
4
My first guess would be
because
Of course, this assumes
I don't think
4
For promotion to queen, a solution with four pieces:
Best play is
For promotion to knight, one with nine pieces:
The solution here is
4
The place you are looking for is
aka
Wikipedia Page
3
Computer-assisted solutions based on /usr/share/dict/words as provided by the Ubuntu wamerican package, version 7.1-1. There are 45 solutions I found, posted below are the shortest and longest ones. For the full list click here or run the code yourself.
Least steps (12 swaps):
Solution 1:
Solution 2:
Most steps (36 swaps):
Python code (apologies in ...
3
Admittedly, I've already spoiled myself by looking at Omega Krypton's "solution", but here's one plausible method to find it legitimately:
OP also indicated that there was a second meaning to the title. Well, even after finding the solution (sorta) legitimately, I still don't have any idea what else it could mean. Some thoughts:
3
I vaguely remember seeing this a few years ago so I had a head start on working it out again. Someone with better searching skills will have to see if it's a duplicate. It's a very clever puzzle.
So, here's the solution (it's 22 moves, so maybe I have something slightly wrong):
Here's a gif (generated from https://www.chess.com/gifs):
Bonus question:
3
Promotions to knights, 8 pieces
White to play and mate in 3.
Solution:
2
Like @Omega Krypton I have solved one part, Task 2:
2
2
Nobody has a offered a bishop construction yet. Here is one, though imperfect:
White to move and mate in 3
Solution:
It is not great because
The difficulty to build a problem with BB or RR promotions is that
1
I believe this qualifies:
1
Promotion to rook, 5 pieces (note this may not qualify)
1
Well, while @DrXorile found the answer, I'd figured out the key idea and the first couple of moves of the actual answer, but then my attempt is quite different. In the end, I understood why it doesn't quite work, but it still involves a really beautiful sequence and requires sharp play by Black. So here it is.
The only answer by Black
Now Black has ...
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