Re: Maximum possible chess moves


Carlos Moreno wrote:
> Jose Capco wrote:
> > Dear NG,
> >
> > I dont know if this has already been discussed before, but I'll just
> > write the problem here. It could be placed in a more suitable
> > newsgroup, but I only frequently post here and this is still a
> > combinatoric problem.
> >
> > We were discussing with a few fellow chessmates in the the chess-server
> > (FICS) about the longest possible chess moves that can be done
> > deliberately by two chess player while still following the rules of
> > chess.
>
> Isn't that obviously unbounded (i.e., infinite) ???

Not if you comply with the 50-move rule.

--- Christopher Heckman

> I mean, if we're talking *deliberately*, then just move a couple
> pawns away, and then start moving the Queen, or King, or a Knight,
> or a Bishop, back and forth, each move alternating from position
> A to B then to A then to B ... Endlessly.
>
> Did I misunderstand your question?
>
> If you mean "putting aside this trivial cases", I really don't see
> how you could -- how can you "mathematically" distinguish what is
> and what is not a "trivial case"? A tree of movements where no
> brach repeats? Perhaps prohibiting board configurations from being
> repeated?
>
> Still, I don't see it as a combinatorics problem -- more like a
> "programming" problem; a computer simulation testing all possible
> branches, prohibiting loops, could be a better solution -- and a
> preliminary, *possibly* naive, analysis suggests that it should
> be feasable with standard computing power; i.e., with a regular
> home PC.
>
> HTH,
>
> Carlos
> --

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