Questions tagged [construction]
A puzzle that requires an example to be built that fits certain criteria.
30 questions
14
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3
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No moves at all, not even to put yourself in check
Here, white is stalemated. The king is not in check, but white has no legal moves. Not because any move white makes would put the king in check -- which is how stalemates normally happen -- but ...
- 5,348
26
votes
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answer
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Create a Word Search
Create a word search with the following conditions:
Use the eleven words below. They can be spelled up, down, left, right, or any of the 4 diagonal directions.
ZERO
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
...
- 20.2k
5
votes
1
answer
436
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Four queens on public transport
The enlightened but, sadly, fictional country of Switzerland has it all: A strong democracy that resists centralism, a reliable public transport network and its own version of chess.
Swiss chess ...
- 14.6k
1
vote
2
answers
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Four pacifist queens
Earlier, I introduced the beautiful game of Swiss chess.
These are animated gifs. You may have to click on them to make them move.
Unlike the peace-loving Swiss, we are interested in "domination&...
- 14.6k
33
votes
5
answers
6k
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How can 3 queens control the white squares?
It is well known that there is no way of arranging 4 queens on a checker board in such a way that every square is occupied or threatened.
Now consider a slight variation where we only need to cover ...
- 10.4k
13
votes
2
answers
671
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Stepladder Game, Introduction and Puzzle 1: Turning
I want to introduce a new game to PSE: the Stepladder Game!*
* You may already know this game by another name.
The rules for the Stepladder Game:
The game is played on a grid.
Our grid is ...
- 85.4k
12
votes
3
answers
669
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Fabi and Mag played chess again
Fabi and Mag love chess, and I love to watch them playing together. I am not such a strong player myself, but I am an excellent spectator! The three of us were having a nice evening around a chess ...
- 6,618
11
votes
2
answers
883
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Chain Puzzle: Tabletop Games #7 - Maze
This is the seventh Chain Puzzle in the Tabletop Games series, in which all puzzles are themed around board games, card games, tile games, and the like. The answer to this puzzle is a thematic word or ...
- 11.4k
10
votes
3
answers
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(Almost) all hands on check
Historical note (skip if you like):
In this interesting puzzle @TSLF asks for the "maximum number of black and white pieces that are involved in a checkmate position".
Originally, they left ...
- 21.7k
9
votes
5
answers
1k
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Chess Construction Challenge #6: The One Move Royale
In chess, it is possible for a piece to have only one legal move. For example, in this position, the Black king can move only to h2.
Given that:
All 32 pieces are available for use.
Construct:
A ...
- 8,458
7
votes
1
answer
616
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The square and the compass
(I don't mean $x^2$ or $N\cdot S\cdot E\cdot W$)
You have a compass and a pencil but no scale/straightedge. Your job is to mark four points on a plane paper that would form a square if joined. Your ...
- 7,254
31
votes
4
answers
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How did four chessmen disappear?
I was visiting two friends yesterday and found them sitting at a chess table.
After a glance at the board, I thought I had interrupted them when they were installing the starting position and I said: ...
- 6,618
21
votes
4
answers
2k
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Most ways to uncheck the king
Here's my attempt at a chess puzzle
Your task is to construct a legal chess position where:
It is black's turn to move
Black is in check
Black has the greatest number of different legal moves ...
- 2,596
20
votes
1
answer
1k
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Your Task Is to Create the World's Hardest Irregular Sudoku!
Ahem, let's formalize your task...
A Sudoku is a puzzle consisting of a grid to be filled with symbols, such that each constraining unit contains each symbol exactly once. The regular Sudoku is a $9 \...
- 34.6k
12
votes
4
answers
3k
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What is the least number of colours Peter could use to colour the 3x3 square?
Beginner puzzle (suitable for people who are new to puzzle solving).
Peter wants to colour the nine cells of a 3 by 3 square (see below) in such a way that each of the rows, each of the columns and ...
- 32.1k