The Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes

Brossura

Pubblicato il 12 Settembre 1979 da Knopf, Brand: Knopf.

ISBN:: 978-0-394-73757-7

(1 recensione)

"Join the master sleuth as he and Dr. Watson examine interrupted chess matches at clubs and country homes, examining the pieces' current positions to identify previous moves. Rather than predicting the outcome of these games, the Baker Street duo focus on past events, using the same variety of logical reasoning that unlocks the secrets to their ever-popular mysteries. Holmes instructs Watson (and us) in the intricacies of retrograde analysis in order to deduce on which square the white queen was captured, whether a pawn has been promoted, and which piece has been replaced by a coin. The mysteries grow increasingly complex, culminating in a double murder perpetrated by the devious Professor Moriarty. Philosopher and logician Raymond Smullyan brilliantly recaptures the mood of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tales. Readers need only a knowledge of how the pieces move; the first puzzles explain all of the concepts that arise later on. These …

"Join the master sleuth as he and Dr. Watson examine interrupted chess matches at clubs and country homes, examining the pieces' current positions to identify previous moves. Rather than predicting the outcome of these games, the Baker Street duo focus on past events, using the same variety of logical reasoning that unlocks the secrets to their ever-popular mysteries. Holmes instructs Watson (and us) in the intricacies of retrograde analysis in order to deduce on which square the white queen was captured, whether a pawn has been promoted, and which piece has been replaced by a coin. The mysteries grow increasingly complex, culminating in a double murder perpetrated by the devious Professor Moriarty. Philosopher and logician Raymond Smullyan brilliantly recaptures the mood of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tales. Readers need only a knowledge of how the pieces move; the first puzzles explain all of the concepts that arise later on. These witty and challenging problems will captivate chess aficionados, puzzle enthusiasts, Sherlock Holmes fans, and everyone who relishes mysteries, crime stories, and tales of detection"--Cover (page 4).

2 edizioni

.mau. ha recensito The Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes di Raymond M. Smullyan

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3 stelle

Questo vecchio libro di Raymond Smullyan, come dice il titolo, parla di problemi di scacchi. Ma questi problemi sono peculiari, perché le partite giocate sono tutto fuorché serie, pur rimanendo legali. Essi sono infatti definiti come "analisi retrogada": partendo dalla posizione mostrata occorre scoprire cosa è successo in passato, se per esempio si può fare un arrocco, oppure capire in quale di due caselle adiacenti bisogna posizionare un pedone, o così via. Essendo necessarie grandi doti di logica, è solo naturale che il protagonista sia Sherlock Holmes con il fidato dottor Watson. Secondo me dopo i primi esempi ci si stanca un po', ma ci sono chicche tipo il matto che si può solo ottenere con la promozione di un pedone in un pezzo del colore opposto (fino a duecento anni fa non era vietato...) che vale la pena leggere.