The Enduring Appeal of Chessboard-Based Puzzles

"Solving such puzzles involves an integrated use of spatial reasoning (determining where the pieces are on the board and how they can move about) and insight thinking (discovering the trick via an "Aha!" insight). To put it colloquially, in such puzzles, spatial reasoning "meets" insight thinking. Some chessboard-based puzzles, however, might enlist these two processes in an entangled way instead, with the insight resulting from disentangling the puzzle from how it describes a situation spatially."

"the puzzles are framed as dialogues between master fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Watson: "Black moved last, Watson. What was his last move-and White's last move?" Without giving away the answer, which I leave up to the reader, suffice it to say that there is a trick here-a piece (like a White Bishop) was blocking the attack, and White moved another piece (like a Rook) out of the way, resulting in a discovered check."

Chessboard-based puzzles have long historical popularity and include a modern genre built around chess rules and logical reconstruction of moves. Dialogical puzzles can require identifying hidden moves and tactics, such as discovered checks caused by moving one piece to reveal another's attack. Solving these puzzles requires integrating spatial reasoning—locating pieces and legal moves—with insight thinking—the sudden realization of the trick. Some puzzles entangle these processes, where the insight emerges from separating the described spatial configuration from its deceptive presentation. The mutilated chessboard problem exemplifies combinatorial reasoning about board coloring and tiling constraints.

Read at Psychology Today