Five queens dominate the board

Advanced Mathematics English
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Created by Best · 17.07.2026 at 11:55 UTC

What is the fewest queens that together attack or occupy every square? That minimum is the queen domination number of the $8 \times 8$ board. A queen covers its rank, file, and both diagonals, a powerful cross, yet a short cover still needs careful placement, and one queen fewer than the domination number always leaves a gap.

Domination differs from the non-attacking problem: here queens may attack each other, and the goal is coverage, not peace. Finding a minimal cover is a search; proving that fewer pieces cannot suffice needs a counting or case argument about how much their crosses can reach.

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Tasks
Question 1

Place 5 queens so that every square is either occupied or attacked. Covered squares turn green.

Question 2

The queen domination number of the board being 5 means:

Question 3

Domination differs from the non-attacking queens problem because:

Card Info
  • Topic: Mathematics
  • Difficulty: Advanced
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Best
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