![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-12.png\")
Image generated by ChatGPT for CNAI.<\/p>\nEmo Philips says one of his favorite things to do is go to the park and play chess with the old men there. Unfortunately, he says it\u2019s difficult to find thirty-two of them\u2026 \u00a0<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s Micro Softy is about chess and is short and sweet. It\u2019s a chess problem presented to fledgling programmers to illustrate search optimization.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s called the Queens Problem: Place 8 queens on a standard 8\u00d78 chessboard so that no queen can capture another.\u00a0 My fourteen-year-old grandson Tristan did it, but it took some time.<\/p>\n
Image generated by ChatGPT for CNAI.<\/p>\n
The illustration above shows eight queens on an 8\u00d78 chess board. (This picture is not a solution to the Queens problem.)\u00a0The more general problem given to beginner programmers is to place N queens on an N\u00d7N chessboard so that no two queens attack each other. We can solve the N=8 problem simply by looking at a chessboard and using common sense and some trial and error. No computer is needed. But for chessboards larger than 8\u00d78, a computer program is more helpful.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s an interesting generalization: \u00a0Place N queens on an N\u00d7N chessboard so that no two queens attack each other. \u00a0It\u2019s easy to show that there are no solutions if N is equal to 2 or 3.<\/p>\n
Note: Solutions to the Queens problem have been known for quite some time. Some colleagues and I showed that a simple neural network could solve the Queens problem in 1988. See J.G. McDonnell, R.J. Marks II and L.E. Atlas, \u201cNeural networks for solving combinatorial search problems: a tutorial,<\/a>\u201d Northern\/88 Conference Record, vol. II, pp. 876\u2013886, (Western Periodicals Co., North Hollywood, CA), Seattle, WA, October 1988.<\/p>\n Solution to Micro Softy 95: By Any Other Name<\/p>\n Last week, we started the Micro Softy with the phrase \u201cThere\u2019s a woman with an unusual name.\u201d\u00a0 The rest of the information given was pure obfuscation. \u00a0The Micro Softy then ended with \u201cI have just told you her unusual name. What is it?\u201d<\/p>\n Removing the distracting facts, the answer emerges.<\/p>\n The woman\u2019s unusual first name is \u201cThere\u201d.<\/p>\n The Monday Microsofty is a weekly feature of\u00a0Mind Matters News.\u00a0Here are the links to all the puzzles and answers to date:<\/p>\n Monday Microsofty 95: I told you her name<\/a> but \u2026You weren\u2019t listening. Getting to the core of a problem doesn\u2019t need to involve math. Here\u2019s one that doesn\u2019t. To answer last Monday\u2019s tree planting dilemma, look for shapes other than squares.<\/p>\n Monday Microsofty 94:\u00a0 A Tree Planting Dilemma<\/a> This week\u2019s puzzle sounds simple but it involves thinking in terms other than squares. The answer to last week\u2019s \u201ccount the squares\u201d puzzle can be turned into a formula that can be applied to any number of dimensions.<\/p>\n Monday Microsofty 93: Square dance<\/a> with the mathematicians! How do we determine how many squares there are in squares of squares? Or cubes of cubes? Hint for the handshake problem in Microsofty 92: Friedrich Gauss (1777\u20131855) provided a formula for this.<\/p>\n Monday Microsofty 92: When the nerd enters a room\u2026<\/a> Shaking hands is expected. Here\u2019s a math question about the custom, to delight the true nerds among us. A hint for Microsofty 91: Where might Jimmy the Mooch have found some spare energy? You can find links and answers to Microsofties 91 through 87 here as well.<\/p>\n Monday Microsofty 87: Are you as good a detective as you think?<\/a> Here\u2019s a test from the world of codebreaking To solve last week\u2019s puzzle, look up the definition of \u201ccalorie.\u201d Are we using the word to mean the same thing? You can find links and answers to Microsofties 77 through 86 here as well.<\/p>\n Monday Microsofty 76: The Smoking Gun<\/a> explains a computer scientist or engineer, a\u00a0law enforcement officer\u00a0often relies\u00a0on abductive reasoning to crack a case, so with this in mind, you will have to crack last week\u2019s puzzle. You can find links and answers to Microsofties 55 through 75 here as well.<\/p>\n Monday Microsofty 55: \u201cIt happens\u00a0every spring.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Baseball, that is. Here\u2019s a puzzle that takes in baseball\u2019s summer. To solve last week\u2019s puzzle, you don\u2019t need to know the distance. Check the problem again for the number you do need to know. You can find links and answers here to Microsofties 51 through 54 as well.<\/p>\n Monday Microsofty 50:\u00a0Cutting through<\/a>\u00a0the cornbread. How did Yuri Senior cut the cornbread into eight identical portions using only three straight cuts? You can guess the answer to Microsofty 49 if you try the test question yourself at home, using a small mirror. You can find links and answers here to Microsofties 46 through 49 as well.<\/p>\n Monday Microsofty 45: Can Tony beat the\u00a0fast-food curfew?<\/a>\u00a0An early curfew on fast food service motivated a boy to exercise more vigorously. But how fast was he pedalling? To solve Micro Softy 44, recall that Tony doesn\u2019t need to take the individual pills each day, only the prescribed amount of each. You can find links and answers here to Micros Softies 41 through 44 as well.<\/p>\n Monday Microsofty 40: The fate of\u00a0a false prophet.<\/a>\u00a0He wasn\u2019t actually fired for being a false prophet but for something that his prophecy unintentionally revealed. The solution to Micro Softy 39 lies in considering an alternative possible meaning of a word commonly used in sports. You can find links and answers here to Micro Softies 30 through 39 as well.<\/p>\n Monday Microsofty 29: A funeral lament\u00a0in four lines.<\/a>\u00a0The funeral director was puzzled by Dan\u2019s description of his relationship to the deceased but there was no question that his grief was sincere.\u00a0You can find links and answers here to Microsofties 22 through 29 as well.<\/p>\n Monday Microsofty 21:\u00a0Finding More<\/a>\u00a0of the Deadly Fentanyl Pills.\u00a0You can find links and answers here to Microsofties 11 through 20 as well.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-13.png\")
Image generated by ChatGPT for CNAI.<\/p>\n![\"reforestation](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/reforestation-set-of-young-trees-trunks-in-pots-330816618-stockpack-adobestock-1597x1065.jpg\")
Image Credit: goami – Adobe Stock<\/p>\n![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/man-choosing-which-hamburger-to-eat-from-fast-food-restauran-316623591-stockpack-adobe_stock-1597x10.jpeg\")
Image Credit: BUDDHA – Adobe Stock<\/p>\n