Welcome back to our math challenges! Enjoy the Game of 8 Queens for our Week 5 Challenge.
8 Queens
The history of chess spans some 1500 years. Beginning prior to the 6th century AD in India, it spread to
Persia and subsequently spread to Southern Europe. There the game evolved into its current form in the
15th century.
The object is to figure out how to place eight queens on a chess board such that none of them
can attack each other. In chess, a queen can attack another piece if it is on the same row,
column, or diagonal. To solve this puzzle, therefore, the eight queens must be placed on the
board so that no two of them are on the same row, column, or diagonal.
A printable game board and pieces are attached.
For Primary and Junior students:
Reduce the number of Queens. Younger students can start with 3 Queens and increase from
there. In addition the board can be made smaller (just keep it square).
For Intermediate students: 8 Queens is challenging but if they solve it quickly, more queens can
be added. Or the game can be reworked to see how many Knights can be placed on the board
so that all are safe (Knights move in an L-pattern).
Eight Queens
Cut out the Queens below. Place each queen on the chess board above such that all of them are safe
and none can be eaten by another Queen. Good Luck