Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would someone like to post a ROT13 of the solution to that, if they have it?
zbir gur gbjre
Qbrfa'g gung serr gur ovfubc gb zngr gur xvat? Gur bayl zbirf V pna frr gung jbhyqa'g qb vg ner gb zbir gur juvgr xvat.
The Hardest chess problem in the world?
51–60 of 137 posts
Re: The Hardest chess problem in the world?
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm a total newbie at chess... but what's the problem with promoting to a queen?
If white promotes to Queen there are no legal moves for any of blacks' pieces because all the pawns are blocked and the King cannot move into check. It's a stalemate at that point and a draw.
Actually, wouldn't it be that the black King would just capture the Queen?
Re: The Hardest chess problem in the world?
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did you actually read right to the end? "But in fact, at the time this game was played there was no specific rule stating that a pawn had to be promoted to a piece of the same colour!
So, promoting a pawn in chess is undefined behavior?
No, its defined (both then and now), its just the spec has had breaking changes from earlier versions.
Re: The Hardest chess problem in the world?
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did you actually read right to the end? "But in fact, at the time this game was played there was no specific rule stating that a pawn had to be promoted to a piece of the same colour!
So, promoting a pawn in chess is undefined behavior?
No. It was unclear whether you could promote to a piece of the other colour, but a conforming implementation of chess will not make demons fly out of your nose.
Re: The Hardest chess problem in the world?
#55"no longer strictly within the bounds of the rules of the game" I take exception to _strictly_... it's just flat out illegal now, no "strictly" about it. I would have been less ticked off if the article had simply written "no longer within the bounds of the rules of the game." It is fascinating that the move was formerly legal though.
I guess the word might've been used in a facetious way, so to speak, the way Mr. Cobb in Inception tells Ariadne (can also be seen in the trailer), "Well, it's not strictly speaking legal" when it's clearly illegal.
But I agree, the word is very misleading in the article's context.
Re: The Hardest chess problem in the world?
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sarratt in his Treatise on the Game of Chess (1808) says: "When a player has pushed a Pawn to Queen, he is at liberty to make a second Queen, a third Rook, or any other piece which he may deem more useful for his attack or defense". While this doesn't explicitly say that he must promote to a piece of the same color, it implies it. After all if the piece could be promoted to either color it would make sense to say a t…
That doesn't really imply much. Having a fifth rook does not correlate at all to having a piece of the same or opposite colour. Regardless, based off that rule, a piece of the opposing colour would be defined by "any other peice [sic] which he may deem more useful for his attack" in that play, so it sounds perfectly legal to me.
If you arrange your game just right, you can legally have up to ten rooks (or bishops or knights, or nine queens) of the same color on the board at once. (This will probably not be possible without the cooperation of the other player.)
Re: The Hardest chess problem in the world?
#57A poorly phrased question that lacks context != cleverness The "puzzle" relies on an obscure situation which isn't even a rule. You might as well claim that the kings can checkmate each other, or that the rook can spontaneously transform into a queen. HEY GUYS CHECK OUT THIS FAKE PUZZLE THAT REQUIRES YOU TO IGNORE EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT CHESS RULES FOR IT TO WORK
I think you're just disappointed because you wanted to solve a chess problem. I liked the article because I read it as a story to be enjoyed rather than a problem to be solved.
Yeah I would be disappointed too if, for example, I'm asked to find out how to avoid a clear checkmate and I spend a lot of time thinking and fail, and then I'm told "you flip the board over and run away".
Re: The Hardest chess problem in the world?
#58Re: The Hardest chess problem in the world?
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you're just disappointed because you wanted to solve a chess problem. I liked the article because I read it as a story to be enjoyed rather than a problem to be solved.
Yeah I would be disappointed too if, for example, I'm asked to find out how to avoid a clear checkmate and I spend a lot of time thinking and fail, and then I'm told "you flip the board over and run away".
It doesn't take long to go through all of the permutations in your head and figure out that it's something really odd, but this line in the second paragraph should have let every reader know that the solution was gimmicky: "If I told you that the solution is a VERY unusual move that is no longer strictly within the bounds of the rules of the game then that might help you a little bit." From then on, I read the story instead of trying to solve the problem.
Re: The Hardest chess problem in the world?
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
zbir gur gbjre
Qbrfa'g gung serr gur ovfubc gb zngr gur xvat? Gur bayl zbirf V pna frr gung jbhyqa'g qb vg ner gb zbir gur juvgr xvat.
Juvgr xvat pna'g zbir, oybpxrq ol oynpx ebbx naq ovfubc
Vs lbh zbir juvgr ebbx gb p6, gur oynpx xvat vf gura va purpx.
Ubjrire, oynpx pna pncgher gur ovfubc gb ab ybatre or va purpx.