Related papers: On the existence of reflecting $n$-queens configur…
We show the chess billiard map, which was introduced in [HM] in order to study a generalization of the $n$-Queens problem in chess, is a circle homeomorphism. We give a survey of some of the known results on circle homeomorphisms, and apply…
Given a word $w$, what is the maximum possible number of appearances of $w$ reading contiguously along any of the directions in $\{-1, 0, 1\}^d \setminus \{\mathbf{0}\}$ in a large $d$-dimensional grid (as in a word search)? Patchell and…
The $m \times n$ king graph consists of all locations on an $m \times n$ chessboard, where edges are legal moves of a chess king. %where each vertex represents a square on a chessboard and each edge is a legal move. Let $P_{m \times n}(z)$…
On a convex polygonal chessboard, the number of combinatorial types of nonattacking configuration of three identical chess riders with $r$ moves, such as queens, bishops, or nightriders, equals $r(r^2+3r-1)/3$, as conjectured by Chaiken,…
Define a queen on $\mathbb{Z}_n^d$ with admissible moves parallel to $\mathbf{x}\in\{-1,0,1\}^d$ at arbitrary length. How many queens can be placed on $\mathbb{Z}_n^d$ without any two in conflict? In two dimensions, this problem was…
1. We first show a lower bound of 2N/3-1 for the connected minimum queen domination (or cover) problem on the NXN chessboard - the upper bound is only 2 higher at most and is easy to show. 2. We then define the k-colored connected minimum…
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…
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…
This paper presents a solution to the Knights and Spies Problem: In a room there are n people, each labelled with a unique number between 1 and n. A person may either be a knight or a spy. Knights always tell the truth, while spies may…
The billiard table is modeled as an $n$-dimensional box $[0,a_1]\times [0,a_2]\times \ldots \times [0,a_n] \subset \mathbb{R}^n$, with each side having real-valued lengths $a_i$ that are pairwise commensurable. A ball is launched from the…
We demonstrate the existence of $K$-multimagic squares of order $N$ consisting of distinct integers whenever $N>2 K(K+1)$. This improves upon our earlier result in which we only required $N+1$ distinct integers. Additionally, we present a…
A placement of chess pieces on a chessboard is called dominating, if each free square of the chessboard is under attack by at least one piece. In this contribution we compute the number of dominating arrangements of $k$ rooks on an $n\times…
A special class of Jordan algebras over a field $F$ of characteristic zero is considered. Such an algebra consists of an $r$-dimensional subspace of the vector space of all square matrices of a fixed order $n$ over $F$. It contains the…
We prove a reflection theorem, conjectured by Nakagawa and Ohno, for the number of quartic rings, or pairs of ternary quadratic forms, with a given cubic resolvent. Over $\mathbb{Z}$, our results are unconditional; we also allow the base to…
In the chapter "Magic with a Matrix" in \emph{Hexaflexagons and Other Mathematical Diversions} (1988), Martin Gardner describes a delightful "party trick" to fill the squares of a $d$-by-$d$ chessboard with nonnegative integers such that…
We derive recurrences and closed-form expressions for counting nonattacking placements of two types of chess pieces with unbounded straight-line moves, namely the bishop (two diagonal moves) and the anassa (one horizontal or vertical move…
In this paper, we derive simple closed-form expressions for the $n$-queens problem and three related problems in terms of permanents of $(0,1)$ matrices. These formulas are the first of their kind. Moreover, they provide the first method…
We consider the chessboard pebbling problem analyzed by Chung, Graham, Morrison and Odlyzko [3]. We study the number of reachable configurations $G(k)$ and a related double sequence $G(k,m)$. Exact expressions for these are derived, and we…
In this paper we study the number $M_{m,n}$ of ways to place nonattacking pawns on an $m\times n$ chessboard. We find an upper bound for $M_{m,n}$ and analyse its asymptotic behavior. It turns out that $\lim_{m,n\to\infty}(M_{m,n})^{1/mn}$…
For any partition of a positive integer we consider the chess (or draughts) colouring of its associated Ferrers graph. Let b denote the total number of black unit squares, and w the number of white squares. In this note we characterize all…