Samuel Loyd (January 30, 1841 – April 10, 1911), was an American

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

player,

chess composer A chess composer is a person who creates endgame studies or chess problems. Chess composers usually specialize in a particular genre, e.g. endgame studies, twomovers, threemovers, moremovers, helpmates, selfmates, fairy problems, or retrogr ...

puzzle A puzzle is a game, Problem solving, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (Disentanglement puzzle, or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at th ...

author, and

recreational mathematician Recreational mathematics is mathematics carried out for recreation (entertainment) rather than as a strictly research and application-based professional activity or as a part of a student's formal education. Although it is not necessarily limited ...

. Loyd was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

but raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. As a chess composer, he authored a number of

chess problem A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by the composer using chess pieces on a chess board, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is to ...

s, often with interesting themes. At his peak, Loyd was one of the best chess players in the US, and was ranked 15th in the world, according to

chessmetrics Chessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. It is intended as an improvement over the Elo rating system. Implementation Chessmetrics is a weighted average of past performance. The score considers a player's win percen ...

.com. He played in the strong

Paris 1867 chess tournament World exhibitions became a new phenomenon in the West in the nineteenth century. Scientific and technical progress were shown. About a dozen World Fairs were organised during the second half of the nineteenth century. Seven times an international i ...

(won by

Ignatz von Kolisch Baron Ignatz von Kolisch (6 April 1837 – 30 April 1889), also Baron Ignaz von Kolisch (German) or báró Kolisch Ignác ( Hungarian), was a merchant, journalist and chess master with Jewish roots. Kolisch was born into a Jewish family in Pr ...

) with little success, placing near the bottom of the field. Following his death, his book ''Cyclopedia of 5000 Puzzles'' was published (1914) by his son. His son, named after his father, dropped the "Jr" from his name and started publishing reprints of his father's puzzles. Loyd (senior) was inducted into the

US Chess Hall of Fame The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) is a nonprofit, collecting institution situated in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It features chess exhibits, engages in educational outreach, and maintains a list of ...

in 1987.

Reputation

Loyd is widely acknowledged as one of America's great puzzle writers and popularizers, often mentioned as ''the greatest.''

Martin Gardner Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914May 22, 2010) was an American popular mathematics and popular science writer with interests also encompassing scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literatureespecially the writings of Lewis ...

featured Loyd in his August 1957

Mathematical Games column Over a period of 24 years (January 1957 – December 1980), Martin Gardner wrote 288 consecutive monthly "Mathematical Games" columns for ''Scientific American'' magazine. During the next years, through June 1986, Gardner wrote 9 more columns, ...

in ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

'' and called him "America's greatest puzzler". In 1898, '' The Strand'' dubbed him "the prince of puzzlers". As a chess problemist, his composing style is distinguished by wit and humour. He is also known for lies and self-promotion, however, and criticized on these grounds—Martin Gardner's assessment continues "but also obviously a hustler". Canadian puzzler Mel Stover called Loyd "an old reprobate", and Matthew Costello called him "puzzledom's greatest celebrity... popularizer, genius", but also a "huckster" and "fast-talking

snake oil Snake oil is a term used to describe deceptive marketing, health care fraud, or a scam. Similarly, "snake oil salesman" is a common expression used to describe someone who sells, promotes, or is a general proponent of some valueless or fraudu ...

salesman". He collaborated with puzzler

Henry Dudeney Henry Ernest Dudeney (10 April 1857 – 23 April 1930) was an English author and mathematician who specialised in logic puzzles and mathematical games. He is known as one of the country's foremost creators of mathematical puzzles. Early life ...

for a while, but Dudeney broke off the correspondence and accused Loyd of stealing his puzzles and publishing them under his own name. Dudeney despised Loyd so intensely that he equated him with the Devil. Loyd claimed from 1891 until his death in 1911 that he invented the

15 puzzle The 15 puzzle (also called Gem Puzzle, Boss Puzzle, Game of Fifteen, Mystic Square and many others) is a sliding puzzle having 15 square tiles numbered 1–15 in a frame that is 4 tiles high and 4 tiles wide, leaving one unoccupied tile position ...

. This is false, as Loyd had nothing to do with the invention or popularity of the puzzle, and the craze was in the early 1880s, not the early 1870s.''The 15 Puzzle'' (): by Jerry Slocum and Dic Sonneveld The craze had ended by July 1880 and Loyd's first article on the subject was not published until 1896. Loyd first claimed in 1891 that he had invented the puzzle, and he continued to do so until his death. The actual inventor was Noyes Chapman, who applied for a patent in March 1880. An enthusiast of

Tangram The tangram () is a dissection puzzle consisting of seven flat polygons, called ''tans'', which are put together to form shapes. The objective is to replicate a pattern (given only an outline) generally found in a puzzle book using all seven pie ...

puzzles, Loyd popularized them with ''The Eighth Book Of Tan'', a book of seven hundred unique Tangram designs and a fanciful history of the origin of the Tangram, claiming that the puzzle was invented 4,000 years ago by a god named Tan. This was presented as true and has been described as "Sam Loyd's Most Successful

Hoax A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...

Chess problems

Excelsior problem

One of his best-known

s is the following, called "

Excelsior Excelsior, a Latin comparative word often translated as "ever upward" or "even higher", may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * ''Excelsior'' (Macedo ...

" by Loyd after the poem by

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

. White is to move and

checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

Black in five moves against any defense: Loyd bet a friend that he could not pick a piece that ''didn't'' give mate in the main line, and when it was published in 1861 it was with the stipulation that White mates with "the least likely piece or pawn".

Steinitz Gambit problem

One of the most famous chess problems by Loyd. He wrote on this problem: "The originality of the problem is due to the White King being placed in absolute safety, and yet coming out on a reckless career, with no immediate threat and in the face of innumerable checks."

Charles XII problem

This problem was originally published in 1859. The story involves an incident during the siege of

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

by the Turks at Bender in 1713. "Charles beguiled this period by means of drills and chess, and used frequently to play with his minister, Christian Albert Grosthusen, some of the contests being mentioned by Voltaire. One day while so engaged, the game had advanced to this stage, and Charles (White) had just announced mate in three." :1. Rxg3 Bxg3 :2. Nf3 Bxh2 :3. g4 "Scarcely had he uttered the words, when a Turkish bullet, shattering the window, dashed the White knight off of the board in fragments. Grothusen started violently, but Charles, with utmost coolness, begged him to put back the other knight and work out the mate, observing that it was pretty enough. But another glance at the board made Charles smile. We do not need the knight. I can give it to you and still mate in four!" :1. hxg3 Be3 :2. Rg4 Bg5 :3. Rh4+ Bxh4 :4. g4# Who would believe it, he had scarcely spoken when another bullet flew across the room, and the pawn at h2 shared the fate of the knight. Grothusen turned pale. "You have our good friends the Turks with you," said the king unconcerned, "it can scarcely be expected that I should contend against such odds; but let me see if I can dispense with that unlucky pawn. I have it!" he shouted with a tremendous laugh, "I have great pleasure in informing you that there is undoubtedly a mate in 5." :1. Rb7 Be3 :2. Rb1 Bg5 :3. Rh1+ Bh4 :4. Rh2 gxh2 :5. g4# In 1900, Friedrich Amelung pointed out that in the original position, if the first bullet had struck the rook instead of the knight, Charles would still have a mate in six. :1. Nf3 Be1 :2. Nxe1 Kh4 :3. h3 Kh5 :4. Nd3 Kh4 :5. Nf4 h5 :6. Ng6# In 2003, ChessBase posted a fifth variation, attributed to Brian Stewart. After the first bullet took out the knight, if the second had removed the g-pawn rather than the h-pawn, Charles would be able to mate in ten. :1. hxg3 Be1 :2. Rg4 Bxg3 :3. Rxg3 Kh4 :4. Kf4 h5 :5. Rg2 Kh3 :6. Kf3 h4 :7. Rg4 Kh2 :8. Rxh4+ Kg1 :9. Rh3 Kf1 :10. Rh1#

Puzzles

Trick Donkeys problem

One of Loyd's notable puzzles was the "Trick Donkeys". It was based on a similar puzzle involving dogs published in 1857. In the problem, the solver must cut the drawing along the dotted lines and rearrange the three pieces so that the riders appear to be riding the donkeys.

Vanishing puzzles

the_disappearing_bicyclist_vanishing_puzzle

vanishing puzzle A vanishing puzzle is a mechanical optical illusion comprising multiple pieces which can be rearranged to show different versions of a picture depicting several objects, the number of which depending on the arrangement of the pieces. History W ...

is a mechanical optical illusion showing different numbers of a certain object when parts of the puzzle are moved around. Loyd patented rotary vanishing puzzles in 1896 and published versions named ''Get Off the Earth'', ''Teddy and the Lion'' and ''The Disappearing Bicyclist'' (pictured). Each had a circular card connected to a cardboard backdrop with a pin, letting it rotate. In ''The Disappearing Bicyclist'', when the disc is rotated such that the arrow points to A, 13 boys can be counted, but when it points to B, there are only 12 boys.

Vanishing area puzzle

A square with a side length of 8 units ("chessboard") is dissected into four pieces, which can be assembled into a 5x13 rectangle. Since the area of the square is 64 units but the area of the rectangle is 65 units, this seems paradoxical at first. However it is just an optical illusion as the pieces don't fit exactly to form a rectangle, but leave small barely visible gap along the diagonal. This puzzle is also known as the

Chessboard paradox The chessboard paradoxGreg N. Frederickson: ''Dissections: Plane and Fancy''. Cambridge University Press, 2003, , chapter 23, pp. 268–277 in particular pp. 271–274 Colin Foster: "Slippery Slopes". In: ''Mathematics in School'', vol. 34, no. 3 ...

or paradox of Loyd and Schlömilch.

Back from the Klondike

This is one of Sam Loyd's most famous puzzles, first printed in the ''New York Journal and Advertiser'', April 24, 1898 (as far as available evidence indicates). Loyd's original instructions were to:

Start from that heart in the center and go three steps in a straight line in any one of the eight directions, north, south, east or west, or on the
bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, ...
, as the ladies say, northeast, northwest, southeast or southwest. When you have gone three steps in a straight line, you will reach a square with a number on it, which indicates the second day's journey, as many steps as it tells, in a straight line in any of the eight directions. From this new point when reached, march on again according to the number indicated, and continue on, following the requirements of the numbers reached, until you come upon a square with a number which will carry you just one step beyond the border, when you are supposed to be out of the woods and can holler all you want, as you will have solved the puzzle.

Works by Sam Loyd

* ''Sam Loyd's Book of Tangram Puzzles'' () * ''Mathematical Puzzles of Sam Loyd'' (): selected and edited by

* ''More Mathematical Puzzles of Sam Loyd'' (): selected and edited by Martin Gardner * ''The Puzzle King: Sam Loyd's Chess Problems and Selected Mathematical Puzzles'' (): edited by Sid Pickard *
Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of 5000 Puzzles, Tricks and Conundrums with Answers
' – Complete 1914 book (public domain) scanned
''The 8th Book of Tan''
(1903).

Works about Sam Loyd

* ''The 15 Puzzle'' (): by Jerry Slocum and Dic Sonneveld * ''Sam Loyd and his Chess Problems'' by Alain C. White * ''Sam Loyd: His Story and Best Problems'', by

Andrew Soltis Andrew Eden Soltis (born May 28, 1947) is an American chess grandmaster, author and columnist. He was inducted into the United States Chess Hall of Fame in September 2011. Chess career Soltis learned how the chess pieces moved at age 10 when he ...

, Chess Digest, 1995,
Index of Sam Loyd Math Puzzles
by Don Knuth

Sam Loyd Award

The ''Association for Games & Puzzles International'' (previously the ''Association of Game & Puzzle Collectors'', and prior to 1999, the ''American Game Collectors Association'', AGCA), gives the ''Sam Loyd Award'' for promoting interest in

mechanical puzzles A mechanical puzzle is a puzzle presented as a set of mechanically interlinked pieces in which the solution is to manipulate the whole object or parts of it. While puzzles of this type have been in use by humanity as early as the 3rd century BC ...

through design, development, or manufacture. The following individuals have won it: * (1998) Bill Ritchie * (2000)

Stewart Coffin Stewart Coffin is an American puzzle maker. According to Ars Technica, he is considered to be one of the "best designers of polyhedral interlocking puzzles in the world." Biography Coffin majored in electrical engineering in college at the U ...

* (2003)

Nob Yoshigahara Nobuyuki Yoshigahara ( ''Yoshigahara Nobuyuki'', commonly known as "Nob"; May 27, 1936 – June 19, 2004) was perhaps Japan's most celebrated inventor, collector, solver, and communicator of puzzles. Nob graduated from the Tokyo Institute of ...

* (2006)

Jerry Slocum Jerry Slocum is an American historian, collector and author specializing on the field of mechanical puzzles. He worked as an engineer at Hughes Aircraft prior to retiring and dedicating his life to puzzles. His personal puzzle collection, numb ...

* (2009) Kagen Schaefer * (2012)

Will Shortz William F. Shortz (born August 26, 1952) is an American puzzle creator and editor and crossword puzzle editor for ''The New York Times''. Early life and education Will Shortz was born and raised on an Arabian horse farm in Crawfordsville, Indi ...

* (2015)

Gary Foshee Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

References

External links

Sam Loyd Company Site
– includes biography and his puzzles

from the School of Mathematics and Statistics website at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

Chess *
Chessmetrics entry for LoydLoyd problems
on

PDB Server This article covers computer software designed to solve, or assist people in creating or solving, chess problems – puzzles in which pieces are laid out as in a game of chess, and may at times be based upon real games of chess that have been p ...

Interactive puzzle
Farmer and Wife to Catch Rooster and Hen
– interactive Sam Loyd's puzzle
Solve Loyd's 16 squares puzzle interactively
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loyd, Sam 1841 births 1911 deaths Puzzle designers Recreational mathematicians Mathematics popularizers American chess players American chess writers American male non-fiction writers Chess composers Sportspeople from Philadelphia American people of Welsh descent Writers from Philadelphia People involved in plagiarism controversies 19th-century chess players