Reverse Puzzling - Curious Chess












3












$begingroup$


George rubbed his hands together. "What have you got for me today?" he asked.



I showed him the pieces set up on the chess board and told him the stipulation.



"That's a very strange one." He said. "Where did it come from?"



I told him it was written in 1874 and the name of the author.



"Interesting, interesting. So you can't move the pawns, eh? Mmm. Well, Dijkstra should do it no problem."



My eyes widened at the thought but George was nothing if not thorough.



Half an hour later, I returned and George proudly announced the answer gesturing grandly at the whiteboard: "Twenty-seven! And there are two ways to do it."



I looked in awe at the whiteboard.



reverse puzzle




What was the puzzle that I gave George?











share|improve this question









$endgroup$

















    3












    $begingroup$


    George rubbed his hands together. "What have you got for me today?" he asked.



    I showed him the pieces set up on the chess board and told him the stipulation.



    "That's a very strange one." He said. "Where did it come from?"



    I told him it was written in 1874 and the name of the author.



    "Interesting, interesting. So you can't move the pawns, eh? Mmm. Well, Dijkstra should do it no problem."



    My eyes widened at the thought but George was nothing if not thorough.



    Half an hour later, I returned and George proudly announced the answer gesturing grandly at the whiteboard: "Twenty-seven! And there are two ways to do it."



    I looked in awe at the whiteboard.



    reverse puzzle




    What was the puzzle that I gave George?











    share|improve this question









    $endgroup$















      3












      3








      3





      $begingroup$


      George rubbed his hands together. "What have you got for me today?" he asked.



      I showed him the pieces set up on the chess board and told him the stipulation.



      "That's a very strange one." He said. "Where did it come from?"



      I told him it was written in 1874 and the name of the author.



      "Interesting, interesting. So you can't move the pawns, eh? Mmm. Well, Dijkstra should do it no problem."



      My eyes widened at the thought but George was nothing if not thorough.



      Half an hour later, I returned and George proudly announced the answer gesturing grandly at the whiteboard: "Twenty-seven! And there are two ways to do it."



      I looked in awe at the whiteboard.



      reverse puzzle




      What was the puzzle that I gave George?











      share|improve this question









      $endgroup$




      George rubbed his hands together. "What have you got for me today?" he asked.



      I showed him the pieces set up on the chess board and told him the stipulation.



      "That's a very strange one." He said. "Where did it come from?"



      I told him it was written in 1874 and the name of the author.



      "Interesting, interesting. So you can't move the pawns, eh? Mmm. Well, Dijkstra should do it no problem."



      My eyes widened at the thought but George was nothing if not thorough.



      Half an hour later, I returned and George proudly announced the answer gesturing grandly at the whiteboard: "Twenty-seven! And there are two ways to do it."



      I looked in awe at the whiteboard.



      reverse puzzle




      What was the puzzle that I gave George?








      chess reverse-puzzling






      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question











      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question










      asked 3 hours ago









      Dr XorileDr Xorile

      11.9k22566




      11.9k22566






















          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          1












          $begingroup$

          Well, this is frustrating. The puzzle is clearly




          the one described under the heading "logjam" here but the actual problem is given as a 4x4 table of images, and the images no longer exist, and my attempts to find the problem elsewhere on the internet have failed. But I think the position is


          . P P P
          . P R P
          P P B K
          n . B R



          and the stipulation is that only W is to move, and that he is to capture the BN on what I would call a1 but I suppose we should in fact regard as e1 (so that this is the "southeast" quadrant of an ordinary 8x8 board), without moving any of the pawns.


          The name of the author is




          W A Shinkman, who I think was quite a prolific composer of ingenious chess problems. The citation on the page I linked above says that this problem is from the Deutsche Schachzeitung in June 1874.




          Incidentally, my response to the problem would be pretty much the same as George's, though I'd be more inclined to get a computer to solve it rather than trying to do it on a whiteboard.






          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Great job. Am I right in saying that @boboquack got there first? Nice job finding Shinkman.
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            1 hour ago










          • $begingroup$
            @DrXorile Look at the timestamps. This answer was posted 23 minutes earlier than the other.
            $endgroup$
            – Daniel Mathias
            38 mins ago










          • $begingroup$
            I thought I had. Perhaps I misread them. Apologies if so
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            18 mins ago



















          1












          $begingroup$

          I believe that this is a:




          Move tree map of a chess maze (I couldn't find it online but here is a rendition, click to take to a board on lichess):
          Chess maze




          with the rules that:




          No pawn may be moved and the objective is for the white king to take the black knight.




          George is trying to:




          Find the minimum number of moves to win and find how many ways there are to do it




          and has used:




          Djikstra's algorithm to navigate the move tree with the stipulation that no position may be repeated (so that the graph isn't infinite)







          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Less than an hour! Boom! Nice! Was it too easy, or were you just that good?
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            1 hour ago











          Your Answer





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          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes








          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes









          1












          $begingroup$

          Well, this is frustrating. The puzzle is clearly




          the one described under the heading "logjam" here but the actual problem is given as a 4x4 table of images, and the images no longer exist, and my attempts to find the problem elsewhere on the internet have failed. But I think the position is


          . P P P
          . P R P
          P P B K
          n . B R



          and the stipulation is that only W is to move, and that he is to capture the BN on what I would call a1 but I suppose we should in fact regard as e1 (so that this is the "southeast" quadrant of an ordinary 8x8 board), without moving any of the pawns.


          The name of the author is




          W A Shinkman, who I think was quite a prolific composer of ingenious chess problems. The citation on the page I linked above says that this problem is from the Deutsche Schachzeitung in June 1874.




          Incidentally, my response to the problem would be pretty much the same as George's, though I'd be more inclined to get a computer to solve it rather than trying to do it on a whiteboard.






          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Great job. Am I right in saying that @boboquack got there first? Nice job finding Shinkman.
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            1 hour ago










          • $begingroup$
            @DrXorile Look at the timestamps. This answer was posted 23 minutes earlier than the other.
            $endgroup$
            – Daniel Mathias
            38 mins ago










          • $begingroup$
            I thought I had. Perhaps I misread them. Apologies if so
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            18 mins ago
















          1












          $begingroup$

          Well, this is frustrating. The puzzle is clearly




          the one described under the heading "logjam" here but the actual problem is given as a 4x4 table of images, and the images no longer exist, and my attempts to find the problem elsewhere on the internet have failed. But I think the position is


          . P P P
          . P R P
          P P B K
          n . B R



          and the stipulation is that only W is to move, and that he is to capture the BN on what I would call a1 but I suppose we should in fact regard as e1 (so that this is the "southeast" quadrant of an ordinary 8x8 board), without moving any of the pawns.


          The name of the author is




          W A Shinkman, who I think was quite a prolific composer of ingenious chess problems. The citation on the page I linked above says that this problem is from the Deutsche Schachzeitung in June 1874.




          Incidentally, my response to the problem would be pretty much the same as George's, though I'd be more inclined to get a computer to solve it rather than trying to do it on a whiteboard.






          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Great job. Am I right in saying that @boboquack got there first? Nice job finding Shinkman.
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            1 hour ago










          • $begingroup$
            @DrXorile Look at the timestamps. This answer was posted 23 minutes earlier than the other.
            $endgroup$
            – Daniel Mathias
            38 mins ago










          • $begingroup$
            I thought I had. Perhaps I misread them. Apologies if so
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            18 mins ago














          1












          1








          1





          $begingroup$

          Well, this is frustrating. The puzzle is clearly




          the one described under the heading "logjam" here but the actual problem is given as a 4x4 table of images, and the images no longer exist, and my attempts to find the problem elsewhere on the internet have failed. But I think the position is


          . P P P
          . P R P
          P P B K
          n . B R



          and the stipulation is that only W is to move, and that he is to capture the BN on what I would call a1 but I suppose we should in fact regard as e1 (so that this is the "southeast" quadrant of an ordinary 8x8 board), without moving any of the pawns.


          The name of the author is




          W A Shinkman, who I think was quite a prolific composer of ingenious chess problems. The citation on the page I linked above says that this problem is from the Deutsche Schachzeitung in June 1874.




          Incidentally, my response to the problem would be pretty much the same as George's, though I'd be more inclined to get a computer to solve it rather than trying to do it on a whiteboard.






          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$



          Well, this is frustrating. The puzzle is clearly




          the one described under the heading "logjam" here but the actual problem is given as a 4x4 table of images, and the images no longer exist, and my attempts to find the problem elsewhere on the internet have failed. But I think the position is


          . P P P
          . P R P
          P P B K
          n . B R



          and the stipulation is that only W is to move, and that he is to capture the BN on what I would call a1 but I suppose we should in fact regard as e1 (so that this is the "southeast" quadrant of an ordinary 8x8 board), without moving any of the pawns.


          The name of the author is




          W A Shinkman, who I think was quite a prolific composer of ingenious chess problems. The citation on the page I linked above says that this problem is from the Deutsche Schachzeitung in June 1874.




          Incidentally, my response to the problem would be pretty much the same as George's, though I'd be more inclined to get a computer to solve it rather than trying to do it on a whiteboard.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 3 hours ago









          Gareth McCaughanGareth McCaughan

          61.2k3152236




          61.2k3152236












          • $begingroup$
            Great job. Am I right in saying that @boboquack got there first? Nice job finding Shinkman.
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            1 hour ago










          • $begingroup$
            @DrXorile Look at the timestamps. This answer was posted 23 minutes earlier than the other.
            $endgroup$
            – Daniel Mathias
            38 mins ago










          • $begingroup$
            I thought I had. Perhaps I misread them. Apologies if so
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            18 mins ago


















          • $begingroup$
            Great job. Am I right in saying that @boboquack got there first? Nice job finding Shinkman.
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            1 hour ago










          • $begingroup$
            @DrXorile Look at the timestamps. This answer was posted 23 minutes earlier than the other.
            $endgroup$
            – Daniel Mathias
            38 mins ago










          • $begingroup$
            I thought I had. Perhaps I misread them. Apologies if so
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            18 mins ago
















          $begingroup$
          Great job. Am I right in saying that @boboquack got there first? Nice job finding Shinkman.
          $endgroup$
          – Dr Xorile
          1 hour ago




          $begingroup$
          Great job. Am I right in saying that @boboquack got there first? Nice job finding Shinkman.
          $endgroup$
          – Dr Xorile
          1 hour ago












          $begingroup$
          @DrXorile Look at the timestamps. This answer was posted 23 minutes earlier than the other.
          $endgroup$
          – Daniel Mathias
          38 mins ago




          $begingroup$
          @DrXorile Look at the timestamps. This answer was posted 23 minutes earlier than the other.
          $endgroup$
          – Daniel Mathias
          38 mins ago












          $begingroup$
          I thought I had. Perhaps I misread them. Apologies if so
          $endgroup$
          – Dr Xorile
          18 mins ago




          $begingroup$
          I thought I had. Perhaps I misread them. Apologies if so
          $endgroup$
          – Dr Xorile
          18 mins ago











          1












          $begingroup$

          I believe that this is a:




          Move tree map of a chess maze (I couldn't find it online but here is a rendition, click to take to a board on lichess):
          Chess maze




          with the rules that:




          No pawn may be moved and the objective is for the white king to take the black knight.




          George is trying to:




          Find the minimum number of moves to win and find how many ways there are to do it




          and has used:




          Djikstra's algorithm to navigate the move tree with the stipulation that no position may be repeated (so that the graph isn't infinite)







          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Less than an hour! Boom! Nice! Was it too easy, or were you just that good?
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            1 hour ago
















          1












          $begingroup$

          I believe that this is a:




          Move tree map of a chess maze (I couldn't find it online but here is a rendition, click to take to a board on lichess):
          Chess maze




          with the rules that:




          No pawn may be moved and the objective is for the white king to take the black knight.




          George is trying to:




          Find the minimum number of moves to win and find how many ways there are to do it




          and has used:




          Djikstra's algorithm to navigate the move tree with the stipulation that no position may be repeated (so that the graph isn't infinite)







          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Less than an hour! Boom! Nice! Was it too easy, or were you just that good?
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            1 hour ago














          1












          1








          1





          $begingroup$

          I believe that this is a:




          Move tree map of a chess maze (I couldn't find it online but here is a rendition, click to take to a board on lichess):
          Chess maze




          with the rules that:




          No pawn may be moved and the objective is for the white king to take the black knight.




          George is trying to:




          Find the minimum number of moves to win and find how many ways there are to do it




          and has used:




          Djikstra's algorithm to navigate the move tree with the stipulation that no position may be repeated (so that the graph isn't infinite)







          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$



          I believe that this is a:




          Move tree map of a chess maze (I couldn't find it online but here is a rendition, click to take to a board on lichess):
          Chess maze




          with the rules that:




          No pawn may be moved and the objective is for the white king to take the black knight.




          George is trying to:




          Find the minimum number of moves to win and find how many ways there are to do it




          and has used:




          Djikstra's algorithm to navigate the move tree with the stipulation that no position may be repeated (so that the graph isn't infinite)








          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 2 hours ago









          boboquackboboquack

          15.4k149118




          15.4k149118












          • $begingroup$
            Less than an hour! Boom! Nice! Was it too easy, or were you just that good?
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            1 hour ago


















          • $begingroup$
            Less than an hour! Boom! Nice! Was it too easy, or were you just that good?
            $endgroup$
            – Dr Xorile
            1 hour ago
















          $begingroup$
          Less than an hour! Boom! Nice! Was it too easy, or were you just that good?
          $endgroup$
          – Dr Xorile
          1 hour ago




          $begingroup$
          Less than an hour! Boom! Nice! Was it too easy, or were you just that good?
          $endgroup$
          – Dr Xorile
          1 hour ago


















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