Related papers: When Rooks Miss: Probability through Chess
The peaceable queens problem asks to determine the maximum number $a(n)$ such that there is a placement of $a(n)$ white queens and $a(n)$ black queens on an $n \times n$ chessboard so that no queen can capture any queen of the opposite…
Assume that $2n$ balls are thrown independently and uniformly at random into $n$ bins. We consider the unlikely event $E$ that every bin receives at least one ball, showing that $\Pr[E] = \Theta(b^n)$ where $b \approx 0.836$. Note that, due…
We study the escape probability problem in random walks over graphs. Given vertices, $s,t,$ and $p$, the problem asks for the probability that a random walk starting at $s$ will hit $t$ before hitting $p$. Such probabilities can be…
Dice odds in the board game RISK were first investigated by Tan, fixed by Osbourne, and extended by Blatt. We generalized dice odds further, varying the number of sides and the number of dice used in a single battle. We show that the…
How many chess rooks or queens does it take to guard all the squares of a given polyomino, the union of square tiles from a square grid? This question is a version of the art gallery problem in which the guards can "see" whichever squares…
In the well-studied Stable Roommates problem, we seek a stable matching of agents into pairs, where no two agents prefer each other over their assigned partners. However, some instances of this problem are unsolvable, lacking any stable…
In the "Game about Squares" the task is to push unit squares on an integer lattice onto corresponding dots. A square can only be moved into one given direction. When a square is pushed onto a lattice point with an arrow the direction of the…
This note considers a variation of the full-information secretary problem where the random variables to be observed are independent and identically distributed. Consider $X_1,\dots,X_n$ to be an independent sequence of random variables, let…
In the best choice problem with random arrivals, an unknown number $n$ of rankable items arrive at times sampled from the uniform distribution. As is well known, a real-time player can ensure stopping at the overall best item with…
We use the Chebyshev knot diagram model of Koseleff and Pecker in order to introduce a random knot diagram model by assigning the crossings to be positive or negative uniformly at random. We give a formula for the probability of choosing a…
We give elementary examples within a framework for studying decisions under uncertainty where probabilities are only roughly known. The framework, in gambling terms, is that the size of a bet is proportional to the gambler's perceived…
Two possibly unfair $n$-sided dice, both labelled $1, 2, \ldots, n$, are rolled, and the sum is recorded. How should the dice's sides be weighted so that the resulting sum is closest to the uniform distribution on $2, 3, \ldots, 2n$? We…
Tournaments can be used to model a variety of practical scenarios including sports competitions and elections. A natural notion of strength of alternatives in a tournament is a generalized king: an alternative is said to be a $k$-king if it…
We provide guessed recurrence equations for the counting sequences of rook paths on d-dimensional chess boards starting at (0..0) and ending at (n..n), where d=2,3,...,12. Our recurrences suggest refined asymptotic formulas of these…
We study the generalization of the game Lights Out in which the standard square grid board is replaced by a graph. We examine the probability that, when a graph is chosen uniformly at random from the set of graphs with $n$ vertices and $e$…
We apply our geometrical theory for counting placements of $q$ nonattacking on an $n\times n$ chessboard, from Parts~I and II, to partial queens: that is, chess pieces with any combination of horizontal, vertical, and $45^\circ$-diagonal…
We provide completely effective error estimates for Stirling numbers of the first and second kind, denoted by $s(n,m)$ and $S(n,m)$, respectively. These bounds are useful for values of $m \geq n - O(\sqrt{n})$. An application of our Theorem…
When a thick cylindrical coin is tossed in the air and lands without bouncing on an inelastic substrate, it ends up on its face or its side. We account for the rigid body dynamics of spin and precession and calculate the probability…
We consider a card guessing game with complete feedback. An ordered deck of $n$ cards labeled $1$ up to $n$ is riffle-shuffled exactly one time. Given a value $p\in(0{,}1)\setminus\{\frac12\}$, the riffle shuffle is assumed to be…
A question in geometric probability about the location of the balls in a game of bocce leads to related questions about the probability that a system of linear equations has a positive solution and the probability that a random zero-sum…