Author: Bruce Moreland
Date: 19:01:41 11/09/99
Go up one level in this thread
On November 09, 1999 at 18:17:53, Scott Schneider wrote:
>Hi All,
>
>Scott Schneider here. You may remember me from years back when I contributed an
>"Op/Ed" Piece to Computer Chess Reports, when it still existed as conventional
>hardcopy publication.
>
>I remember reading some years back that Computer simulations have proved that 2
>Knights + King can always mate a Lone King, vaguely remember that <=266 moves
>may be required.
>
>I also understood that this was not known until ChessMasters and Programmers
>proved this on Computers very recently.
>
>First, is this info. basically this correct?
No, it is not correct. Nor was it correct the last time you posted it, and if I
am not mistaken, this was pointed out very clearly. It is possible to construct
a mate, but it cannot be forced.
>Secondly, what detailed methods or analyses were used to accomplish this result?
>Are any of these Programs/Simulations with explanations and documentation
>available for purchase or as shareware/freeware to the ordinary end-Consumer or
>chess enthusiast?
It is a simple 4-man ending that's been solved repeatedly via retrograde
analysis.
It has been known to be a draw for centuries. The proof is simple. For every
possible constructed mate, you figure out what the mating move must have been.
This move must of necessity involve a knight, and there are only so many squares
the knight could have come from. For each of them, you figure out where the
black king had to have moved previously. There are no cases where the black
king is forced to
>When I started really getting into chess decades ago, one of the Qualifying
>Scenarios for a draw was 50 moves without a piece being captured or a pawn
>moved. If the King + 2 Knights Mate can require more than 250 moves, has this
>changed any Official Tournament Rules of Chess?
King and two knights is a draw so it has not changed any chess rules.
bruce
>Best Regards and Thanks very much in advance for your replies,
>
>
>
>Scott Schneider, President
>Imaginative Technology, Inc. ("Imatech")
>813.926.4447
>http://www.imatech.com
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