Traveling-Chess-Piece

Idea based on Neil Sloane's "Trapped Knight" (https://oeis.org/A316667)

Implementation based on scipython blog: https://scipython.com/blog/the-trapped-knight/

General rules:

• Start with a spiraled, labeled square tiling, like this:

  17--16--15--14--13   .
  
   |               |   .
  
  18   5---4---3  12   .
  
   |   |       |   |   .
  
  19   6   1---2  11   .
  
   |   |           |   .
  
  20   7---8---9--10   .
  
   |                   .
  
  21--22--23--24--25--26
  

• define a movement of a piece moving along the board

• move the piece according to the rules such that it always picks the lowest square it can reach but has not visited yet

Implementing other pieces

The initial Trapped Knight of course used a Knight's movement. This script leaves a possibility to extend this to any kind of piece. Add your own pieces in the get_moves(iy, ix) function by returning all possible (relative) moves given that the piece is on field (ix, iy).

The pre-implemented pieces ROOK, BISHOP and QUEEN can move like the corresponding chess pieces, but the size of their move must be equal to the number of digits of the field it is on, plus one. E.g., a Rook on field 77 has to move exactly 3 squares, either up, down, left, or right.

The Knight is known to become trapped. The implemented Rook and Bishop become trapped, too. I don't know what happens to the Queen in the long run.

The piece, for now has to be set manually in the source code in line 6. Similarly for the maximum number of steps, in line 7.