Turmoil reigns at the Court of the White King; all pieces oppose one another.

The King and his entourage (The queen, king, and the 3 pieces to his right) can be spread inside the 5 x 5 domain from [Q1 - KR5] with only the King on the first rank, where he is at home.

During this state of upheaval no piece threatens another.

Within a smaller domain than the given 5x5 space, place the pieces such that the Queen can force "mate" in just one move while remaining free from aggression herself, though possibly threatening others. (I note two different arrangements)

Note:
1. Other than the "domestic aggression" all chess rules still apply.
2. No dimension of the smaller domain is greater than 5.

Bonus:
1. How many cases of the White Court's disarray can you find? I have slightly over 30.

2. Offer one where Q and KB files are vacant.

I was coming back to check on Dej Mar's contention that there was something not right with Charlie's program.

Both were here before me.

Now, I felt that I had some 'solutions' for Bonus 1 that Dej Mar hadn't found which would have taken the score to about 55.  Charlie suggests that his program actually offers 48!

While the essential problem has solved I'm going to check where Dej Mar and I differed with regard to Charlie; I am not contesting Charlie's claim, I just want to satisfy myself as to how I revise my solution text.

Posted by brianjn on 2007-10-21 22:49:15