Hunt for the longest King Maze - £50 prize • page 1/2 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

Years ago I studied a very interesting type of king maze with the following rules:

Standard chess rules apply however only king moves are allowed for each side.
White wins if they can get their king to get to a specified goal square.
Black wins if they can prevent white from reaching the goal square including trying to stalemate and checkmate themself so that there are no more legal king moves.

To solve a king maze you must play both sides and find the shortest forced victory for white.

While studying and creating these I discovered they are very rich in concepts and can make these puzzles very challenging to solve and very interesting to compose. I have created a collection of such puzzles in this Lichess Study.

For years I have tried to find a king maze with a solution longer than the current record (which is 229 moves). In recent weeks I've also used AI to search for such mazes and while the latest models are scarily good at creating solvers for these they struggle when composing these puzzles and after weeks of trying I still can't find a puzzle longer than the one I composed almost a decade ago.

Which brings me to the challenge. Can you find a king maze with a longer solution? I am so interested in this I am willing to offer a £50 bounty to the first person who can find a king maze with a longer solution, even if it's just by a single move.

Here's the current record which is 229 moves. The goal square is a1:

https://lichess.org/study/d8WFHDZ0/8UNM2EgQ

Years ago I studied a very interesting type of king maze with the following rules: 1. Standard chess rules apply however only king moves are allowed for each side. 2. White wins if they can get their king to get to a specified goal square. 3. Black wins if they can prevent white from reaching the goal square including trying to stalemate and checkmate themself so that there are no more legal king moves. To solve a king maze you must play both sides and find the shortest forced victory for white. While studying and creating these I discovered they are very rich in concepts and can make these puzzles very challenging to solve and very interesting to compose. I have created a collection of such puzzles in this [Lichess Study](https://lichess.org/study/d8WFHDZ0). For years I have tried to find a king maze with a solution longer than the current record (which is [229 moves](https://lichess.org/study/d8WFHDZ0/8UNM2EgQ)). In recent weeks I've also used AI to search for such mazes and while the latest models are scarily good at creating solvers for these they struggle when composing these puzzles and after weeks of trying I still can't find a puzzle longer than the one I composed almost a decade ago. Which brings me to the challenge. Can you find a king maze with a longer solution? I am so interested in this I am willing to offer a £50 bounty to the first person who can find a king maze with a longer solution, even if it's just by a single move. Here's the current record which is 229 moves. The goal square is a1: https://lichess.org/study/d8WFHDZ0/8UNM2EgQ

Rookitiki

A1 has your own rook, so certainly you jest?

Cute_Bishop

edited

It may be easier if u could provide the 229 move solution.
It's your wish though.

It may be easier if u could provide the 229 move solution. It's your wish though.

Rookitiki

edited

The rules would also suffice.

Rule 1 is only move king
Game goal = reach occupied square where rook can’t be removed

See the problem?

The rules would also suffice. - Rule 1 is only move king - Game goal = reach occupied square where rook can’t be removed See the problem?

Cute_Bishop

@Rookitiki said ^

The rules would also suffice.

Rule 1 is only move king

Game goal = reach occupied square where rook can’t be removed

See the problem?

yep, how does op solve this?

@Rookitiki said [^](/forum/redirect/post/GTUZTWDy) > The rules would also suffice. > > - Rule 1 is only move king > > - Game goal = reach occupied square where rook can’t be removed > > See the problem? yep, how does op solve this?

Chess_Dogg edited

@Rookitiki, amazingly white can force the black king to take the a1 rook. @Cute_Bishop, here's the solution:

https://lichess.org/study/AZT9cxxw/EIqWdZC5#0

@Rookitiki, amazingly white can force the black king to take the a1 rook. @Cute_Bishop, here's the solution: https://lichess.org/study/AZT9cxxw/EIqWdZC5#0

Nihongo-san

@Chess_Dogg said ^

@Rookitiki, amazingly white can force the black king to take the a1 rook. @Cute_Bishop, here's the solution:
https://lichess.org/study/AZT9cxxw/EIqWdZC5#0

Absolutely beautiful! I really enjoy the triangulazipns zhe white king has tondo in the beginning.

@Chess_Dogg said [^](/forum/redirect/post/TcGntvbv) > @Rookitiki, amazingly white can force the black king to take the a1 rook. @Cute_Bishop, here's the solution: https://lichess.org/study/AZT9cxxw/EIqWdZC5#0 Absolutely beautiful! I really enjoy the triangulazipns zhe white king has tondo in the beginning.

Tactical2016

the longest king maze is 404 ERROR page

Kitsune9Tails

@Tactical2016 said ^

the longest king maze is 404 ERROR page

No, that's just a game with an infinite tall board. It doesn't count. Of course it would probably be the winner if it does count :)

@Tactical2016 said [^](/forum/redirect/post/jiC7jmGw) > the longest king maze is 404 ERROR page No, that's just a game with an infinite tall board. It doesn't count. Of course it would probably be the winner if it does count :)

Mannyqueen

WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE U GUYS TALKING ABOUT? I'VE NEVER HEARD OF A KING MAZE FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE UNTIL NOW!