THE FORTY-NINE STARS.
(
The Guarded Chessboard)
The puzzle in this case is simply to take your pencil and, starting from
one black star, strike out all the stars in twelve straight strokes,
ending at the other black star. It will be seen that the attempt shown
in the illustration requires fifteen strokes. Can you do it in twelve?
Every turning must be made on a star, and the lines must be parallel to
the sides and diagonals of the square, as shown. In this case we are
dealing with a chessboard of reduced dimensions, but only queen moves
(without going outside the boundary as in the last case) are required.
Answer:
The illustration shows how all the stars may be struck out in twelve
straight strokes, beginning and ending at a black star.
