A standard 8 x 8 wooden chessboard has a straight line scratch in its surface, and is taken in for repair. The artisan who it is brought to decides to cover each affected square with a thin wooden veneer of the appropriate color.

Assuming that a different veneer is needed for each square of the board, what is the maximum number of such veneers that the artisan will require to do the job?

You are all assuming that the repairer is an expert and makes no mistakes. Even if it were just one square needing to be replaced from a nick, it could take the repairer 10 tries to get the right fit and match. There is no definable solution.

Posted by Mike on 2002-05-10 16:20:16