I would've thought the 110-odd move monster (can't remember who it's by, but in the puzzle, which is White to play and win, Black is initially up by more than two rooks) would've surely been a contender for the hardest puzzle ever composed...
The Hardest Puzzle Ever Composed
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tbh any sufficiently long computer-discovered mate is probably harder than every problem composed without computer assistance. But this puzzle is indeed very difficult.
Crosspinner, that puzzle is just ridiculous, almost like a joke. I don't even know how to approach it. I'm sure if I studied it for long enough I could understand how white forces various patterns of movement of the knight, but it would still be insanely hard. Unsurprisingly, the 50-moves rule must be ignored for that puzzle.
Nov 2, 2010
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#24
Eebster wrote:
tbh any sufficiently long computer-discovered mate is probably harder than every problem composed without computer assistance. But this puzzle is indeed very difficult.
Crosspinner, that puzzle is just ridiculous, almost like a joke. I don't even know how to approach it. I'm sure if I studied it for long enough I could understand how white forces various patterns of movement of the knight, but it would still be insanely hard. Unsurprisingly, the 50-moves rule must be ignored for that puzzle.
I solved the Knight's tour three different ways years ago, but I wouldn't take the time to attempt this one. Unless I was snowbound without any books or a computer and all alone. I wonder how long it took to compose it? Maybe the composer was snowbound.
Crosspinner - Rf8# is a mate in 1. Do you mean te challenge is to FIRST make the knight do 3 knight tours THEN mate?
Nov 6, 2010
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#26
bhz wrote:
Crosspinner - Rf8# is a mate in 1. Do you mean te challenge is to FIRST make the knight do 3 knight tours THEN mate?
The book said: Mate on the 1220th move, after compelling Black to make three successive and complete Knight's tours!
I didn't think anyone would attempt to solve it. Go for it!
i've seen that so many times
The Rubix cube.
Nov 7, 2010
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#29
knight_of_dawn999 wrote:
i've seen that so many times
You've seen what so many times?
why not 7 Bd3
Nov 8, 2010
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#32
Akuni wrote:
Hey, I got it....
Of course, I posted it in another thread after being driven to the edge by its difficulty, which I wished t spread among the people...
I'm glad you did, because there are so many thread I may have never seen it.
hard
it's easy . why did it take you hours to solve ? :)
It's really hard to me. =.= I gave up and after 5 minustes and when think about the Gms who couldn't sovle it 
(houdini gave the result after 7'34s). When discovered the brilliant idea of the puzzle, the answer may be much more easier (traping black King @@!, after that it's just a medium-level tatic problem). That's a problem, when statring try to play chess well, we try to think like computers, never want to miss caculating any moves. But If you just do it that way, you are just nothing than a weak computer chess programs. I think the reason for why some GMs couldn't sovle it quickly because they think it as a normal puzzle and just try to caculate. (Not in real matches, they always have a plan).
Tal sovled it quickly, there two explaination for that.
1/He can caculated as fast as my main analysis engine, Houdini (
)
2/He walking and not caculated anything much , but when imagining the position in his mind, he said to himself (in his mind). "Hey, i had an idea(traping king?), i wanted to try it now". He came back (this time orthers GMs maybe still put hard core caculating?), did some caculating base on the idea, and AMAZING: "it's work!
I'm awesome" (tal told to himself)
Feb 12, 2011
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#36
Eebster wrote:
tbh any sufficiently long computer-discovered mate is probably harder than every problem composed without computer assistance. But this puzzle is indeed very difficult.
Crosspinner, that puzzle is just ridiculous, almost like a joke. I don't even know how to approach it. I'm sure if I studied it for long enough I could understand how white forces various patterns of movement of the knight, but it would still be insanely hard. Unsurprisingly, the 50-moves rule must be ignored for that puzzle.
When I first saw it I thought it was a joke. But apparently it is not. Anyway, I only posted it because of its uniqueness, not that I expected anyone to solve it.
i thought the hardest puzzle was suli's diamond - unsolved for a thousand years...
rooky_rookardo wrote:
i thought the hardest puzzle was suli's diamond - unsolved for a thousand years...
That was probably the hardest puzzle at the time, and possibly the hardest human-solved puzzle, but many modern computer-composed puzzles are far harder.
Also, that was a shatranj puzzle, not a chess puzzle.
To me this is the hardest puzzle ever composed. Composed by J.N. Babson for Bretano's Chess Monthly in 1882. Mate on the 1220th move, after compelling Black to make three successive and complete Knight's tours! This is from The Fireside Book of Chess. Page88.