Abstract: The n-queen problem is a classic challenge of computer science: given a chess board of arbitrary size n, place n queen pieces on the board such that no two queens may attack each other (i.e., no two queens are on the same rank, file, or diagonal.) This simple challenge turns out to be a particularly difficult problem, because many solutions exist for every n but cannot be reached by a repeating pattern or simple algorithm. A solution may be found through brute-force trials, but a much mor elegant solution is to use a customized Hopfield-Tank neural network, which uses some heuristics to evolve a solution.

This application solves the n-queen problem with an implementation of a Hopfield-Tank neural network. The user simply selects the size of the board and asks the application to find a solution; the application steps through an iterative process, showing the results at each stage. The chess pieces fade in and out of the board as the computer tries different possibilities, and it often (but not always) reaches a valid solution.

Version: 1.0 - last updated Thursday, June 09, 2005

Links: Download (Contents: Executable (Windows), Source Code (C#))

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