[Guest]

Ahh! You awake to find yourself transformed into a chess piece and placed one of the center four squares of the chess board. You are surrounded by knights - one on each corner of the chess board.

Now seeing as how you don't want to die, you attempt to defeat the four knights. You notice that they just so happen to play by the following rules:

1) You move first in standard knight format, followed by top left, top right, bottom right, and bottom left knights who also move in standard knight format.

2) The knights actually aren't that bright, if two land on the same square they will end up killing each other.

3) The knights will always move as close as possible towards you with in the way a standard knight does. This is calculated (distance away = X + Y).

4) You notice that given two moves that will result in equal distance, the knight will favor the top, then right, then bottom, then left squares adjacent to you.

5) If an attacking knight is already in his optimum position he will skip his turn.

What path do you take to default the knights? What is the optimum center square to start in?

Bonus: The knights have smartened up. The realize that if they both land on one square only ONE of them has to die. Given this new revelation, is it possible to default all four knights? If so what is your path? How many turns does it take?

Edit: Grammar

Edited August 5, 2010 by littlej

[Guest]

Optimum center square is irrelevant

The board is symmetrical

Edited August 5, 2010 by pokeman3

[Guest]

Optimum center square is irrelevant

The board is symmetrical

the move order of the enemy pieces may create an opportunity for asymmetry.

[superprismatic]

What did you mean by the word "default" in the sentence

"What path do you take to default the knights?"?

Can you capture white knights?

[Guest]

What did you mean by the word "default" in the sentence

"What path do you take to default the knights?"?

Can you capture white knights?

Typo - I meant defeat.

Yes - you can capture the white knights

Edited August 5, 2010 by littlej

[Guest]

       1    2    3    4    5

(d5) - b4 - c6 - b8 - d7 - c5

(a8) - b6 | b6 - c8(eliminated by other knight) 

(h8) - f7 - d6 - c8(eliminated by other knight)

(h1) - g3 - f5 - e7 | e7 - c6(eliminated by other knight)

(a1) - b3 - c5 - b7 - d8 - c6(eliminated by other knight)

I do not believe you can defeat all four knights. Once a single opposing knight exists he should be adjacent to you, and afterwards will always move adjacent to you, thus never in position of capture. That is, with the exception where you can move into a corner, which forces the opposing Knight to skip his turn, but then you still have not improved your position.

Quips are from the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.