How Many Letters
How many letters does the correct answer to this puzzle contain?
SOLUTION
Four – the only number which has the same number of letters as the number itself.
Unknown Author
We do not know where this puzzle originated from. If you have any information, please let us know via email.
We do not know where this puzzle originated from. If you have any information, please let us know via email.
Seven Bridges
This is a map of old-time Kongsberg. The green shapes are bridges which connect the different parts of the city. Can you find a path through the city which goes through every bridge exactly once?
SOLUTION
No, you cannot. Notice that, except for the first city and the last city section you finish, the number of bridges used in every other section is even. However, there are three sections with an odd number of bridges, and therefore you cannot use all bridges exactly once.
Funky Mate
Place only 2 rooks and 1 knight on the board, so that the Black player is mated.
SOLUTION
You can place the rooks on c5 and e5, and the knight on f5.
Mountain Hike
A man decides to climb a mountain. He starts at sunrise from the bottom of the mountain and arrives on the top at sunset. He sleeps there and on the next day he goes back the same way, descending at higher speed. Prove that there is some point of his path, on which the man will be at the same time on both days.
SOLUTION
Imagine a second man who starts climbing from the bottom of the mountain on the second day and following the first hiker’s first day movements. At some point the first and the second hiker will meet each other, and this will be the point you are looking for.
Apples or Strawberries
What is heavier – 1 pound of apples or 1 pound of strawberries?
SOLUTION
They are equally heavy – 1 pound each.
Six Glasses
Six identical glasses are placed in a row on the table – first three filled with water, and then three empty ones. Can you move just one glass, so that empty and full glasses alternate?
SOLUTION
Take the second full glass, pour all of the water into the second empty glass, and then put it back in its place.
Third Business Day
What is the chance that the third business day of a month is Wednesday?
SOLUTION
Assuming there is equal chance that the given month begins with any of the seven days of the week, the answer is 3/7. That’s because Saturday and Sunday are non-working days and therefore if the month starts with any of them, the third business day will be still Wednesday.
Never Walks
What can run but never walks,
Has a mouth but never talks,
Has a head but never weeps,
Has a bed but never sleeps?
SOLUTION
The answer is RIVER.
Missing Pawns
White to play and mate in 4 moves.
Remark: The position on the diagram is one which occurs in actual play.
SOLUTION
Notice that the black queen and the black king have switched positions. However, this can happen only if some pawns have been moved. Therefore we can conclude that the bottom row on the diagram is actually the 8th row of the chessboard. All black and all white pieces have reached their respective opposite sides of the board.
Now White’s first move is Kb8-d7. The only moves black can play are with the knights. If Black plays Kb1-a3, Kb1-c3 or Kg1-h3, white mates in 2 more moves – Kd7-c5 and Kc5-d3. If Black moves Kg1-f3, then after Kd7-c5 Black can delay the mate by playing Kf3-e5. However, after the white queen takes it with Qxe5, Kc5-d3 is unavoidable.
Marathon
You are running a marathon and right at the finish line, you pass the runner in the 2nd position. In which place do you finish the marathon?
SOLUTION
You finish 2nd. Before passing the runner you were at 3rd place.