A Chess Puzzle

For the second puzzle, we have a chess puzzle!

The Problem

You are trying to place as many white pieces on the board as possible such that no piece attacks any other piece. For the sake of this problem, assume that pieces can attack other pieces of the same colour.

Here are 7 variants of this problem:

1

What is the maximum number of rooks you can place on a \(8\times 8\) chessboard such that no two rooks attack each other?

2

What is the maximum number of knights you can place on an \(8 \times 8\) chessboard such that no two knights attack each other?

3

What is the maximum number of bishops you can place on an \(8\times 8\) chessboard such that no two bishops attack each other?

4

What is the maximum number of kings you can place on an \(8\times 8\) chessboard such that no two kings attack each other?

5

What is the maximum number of pawns you can place on an \(8 \times 8\) chessboard such that no pawn attacks any other pawn?

6

What is the maximum number of queens you can place on an \(8 \times 8\) chessboard such that no two queens attack each other?

7

What is the maximum number of chess pieces you can place on an \(8\times 8\) chessboard such that no piece attacks any other piece? You are free to use kings, queens, rooks, bishops, knights, and pawns.

Good luck, have fun!

Share your attempts with me!

• If you solved the problem, how did you solve it? Share your solutions, and the best ones will be featured with the next puzzle.

• If you are stuck, share your progress. What have you tried so far? I will give you a hint.

• Let me know if there’s an error or something’s not clear in the puzzle.

• I would love your feedback. Did you find the puzzle interesting? Or was it too easy / too difficult?

• If you have any puzzles that you would like featured in this series, share those with me too!

Chess pieces by Cburnett are licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.