MathDB
moving in the solitaire board

Source: Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad 1984 P6

July 27, 2018
combinatoricsgame

Problem Statement

There is a piece on each square of the solitaire board shown except for the central square. A move can be made when there are three adjacent squares in a horizontal or vertical line with two adjacent squares occupied and the third square vacant. The move is to remove the two pieces from the occupied squares and to place a piece on the third square. (One can regard one of the pieces as hopping over the other and taking it.) Is it possible to end up with a single piece on the board, on the square marked XX?