British Scientists have Promised USD 1 Million to Solve a Chess Problem

Scientists at the University of St Andrews offered USD 1 million to unravel an ancient chess task, the site of this British university reported.

The so-called "Task for the Eight Queens" was formulated in the middle of the 19th century. Its essence is to place the queens in the chess field so that no one falls under the blows of the others. The queens can move according to the standard rule: vertically, horizontally on both diagonals. For the standard 64-sq. board  the solution was found in 1954. But with increasing the field size and number of figures, the task becomes more complicated. Researchers have found that if the size of the board increases to 1000 per 1000 squares, computer programs are confused.

According to Professor Jan Gent,the one who manages to create an algorithm to quickly solve the task will be able to tailor his program to other issues, including code deciphering on the Internet.