The Chess Puzzle
Solution

Solution to "Freeze!"

At first, the board looked almost unchanged to Norm and Ray. The most important change was that Sally had reversed the board itself; this kept Norm and Ray from noticing that the White pieces had advanced to the Black side, and vice versa. With the pawns "behind" the other pieces, and only able to move forward, things are starting to look grim. Perhaps the Knights can hop out of the jam? No, because two pawns have deftly sidestepped to block that escape route. There's no way out. 

           Black

       N R B Q K B R N
       . p p p p p p .     <-- White's pieces.  The pawns only go "North".
       . p . . . . p .
       . . . . . . . .
       . . . . . . . .
       . p . . . . p .
       . p p p p p p .     <-- Black's pieces.  These pawns only go "South".
       N R B Q K B R N

           White

Can you think of another such setup of pieces, that is substantially different from this one, and in which neither player can move or capture?

"Intellectual Genealogy Note": I really did think up this problem and its solution all by myself. However, I'm not expecting much in the way of royalties!

When I asked my brother how to position all the chess pieces so neither side could move, he responded "Use super glue!" I class this as the "Alexander the Great Solution". Some movie goers might instead call it the "Indiana Jones Solution".

Solution to "Play Nice!"

Here is a configuration that works: 

         R B Q B R
         N - K - N
         - - - - -
         n - k - n
         r b q b r

Solution to "Play Nicer!" 

         N b r n q
         - - - r k
         R K - - b
         B N - - n
         Q R - - B
Notice that this solution is NOT symmetric between the two sets of pieces. Also remarkable is the fact that the pieces are not separated into two disjoint, connected sets.

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Last revised on 20 February 2026.