A chess puzzle is a
puzzle in which knowledge of the
pieces and
rules of chess is used to solve logically a chess-related problem. The history of chess puzzles reaches back to the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
and has evolved since then.
Usually the goal is to find the single best, ideally aesthetic move or a series of single best moves in a chess position, which was created by a
composer or is from a real game. But puzzles can also set different objectives. Examples include deducing the last move played, the location of a missing piece, or whether a player has lost the right to
castle. Sometimes the objective is antithetical to normal chess, such as helping (or even compelling) the opponent to
checkmate one's own king.
Chess problems
While a ''chess puzzle'' is any puzzle involving aspects of chess, a ''chess problem'' is an arranged position with a specific task to be fulfilled, such as White mates in ''n'' moves. Chess problems are also known as ''chess compositions'' because the positions are specially devised, rather than arising from actual games. Chess problems are divided into orthodox and heterodox types, both covering a variety of genres.
Orthodox chess problems employ the standard rules of chess and involve positions that can arise from actual game play (although the process of getting to that position may be unrealistic). The most common orthodox chess puzzle takes the form of checkmate in ''n'' moves. The puzzle positions are seldom similar to positions from actual play, and the challenge is not to find a winning move, but rather to find the (usually unique) move which forces checkmate as rapidly as possible.
Heterodox chess problems involve conditions that are impossible with normal play, such as multiple kings or
chess variants, while
fairy chess problems employ pieces not used in orthodox chess, such as the
amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
(a piece combining the powers of the
queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
and the
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
).
Tactical puzzles
Chess puzzles can also be regular positions from a game (with normal rules), usually meant as training positions,
tactical
Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to:
* Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks
** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield
** Chess tactics
** Political tacti ...
or positional, from all phases of the game (openings, middlegame and endings). These are known as tactical puzzles. They can range from a simple "Mate in one" combination to a complex attack on the opponent's king. Solving tactical chess puzzles is a very common chess teaching technique. Although it is unlikely that the same position will occur in a game the student plays, the recognition of certain patterns can help to find a good move or plan in another position.
Mathematical chess problems
Some chess problems, like the
Eight queens puzzle
The eight queens puzzle is the problem of placing eight chess queens on an 8×8 chessboard so that no two queens threaten each other; thus, a solution requires that no two queens share the same row, column, or diagonal. There are 92 solutions. ...
or the
knight's tour
A knight's tour is a sequence of moves of a knight on a chessboard such that the knight visits every square exactly once. If the knight ends on a square that is one knight's move from the beginning square (so that it could tour the board again im ...
problem, have connections to mathematics, especially to
graph theory
In mathematics, graph theory is the study of ''graphs'', which are mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects. A graph in this context is made up of '' vertices'' (also called ''nodes'' or ''points'') which are conn ...
and
combinatorics. Many famous mathematicians have studied such problems, including
Euler,
Legendre, and
Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...
. Besides finding a solution to a particular puzzle, mathematicians are usually interested in counting the total number of possible solutions, finding solutions with certain properties, and generalization of the problems to ''n''×''n'' or rectangular boards.
See also
*
Wheat and chessboard problem
The wheat and chessboard problem (sometimes expressed in terms of rice grains) is a mathematical problem expressed in word problem (mathematics education), textual form as:
The problem may be solved using simple addition. With 64 squares on a ...
*
Mutilated chessboard problem
*
References
External links
Lifetime updates and many chesspuzzles Chess puzzles anyone can add or editCollection of tactical chess puzzlesChess puzzles with easy, med, hard categoriesOpen-source chess puzzlesBlitz chess puzzles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chess Puzzle
Chess problems
Mathematical chess problems