Der Springerpfad
- Wege und Planung
- Ages 8 and up
- About 10 minutes
The story behind it
More than a thousand years ago a poet in Kashmir hid a knight’s journey inside a verse: read the syllables in the order the horse lands on them, and the verse appears again. People have been riding the knight around the board ever since.
Read the full story: The poem that was a horse →How to play
- The knight starts in the corner.
- Tap a glowing square to hop there.
- Stuck? Step back. The hint only points to a hop that can still finish.
Levels
For teachers and coaches
Knight’s trail — Paths and planning
Ages 8 and up · about 10 minutes · 8by8verse Chess Lab
What it teaches
Planning ahead, backtracking, and noticing a useful rule of thumb.
The story to tell first
More than a thousand years ago a poet in Kashmir hid a knight’s journey inside a verse: read the syllables in the order the horse lands on them, and the verse appears again. People have been riding the knight around the board ever since.
Three questions to ask
- Which squares are hardest to get out of? What if you visit those first?
- The knight changes square colour on every hop. What does that tell you about a five-by-five board?
- When you got stuck, how far back did you need to go?
Without a screen
On squared paper, number the squares as a knight visits them. Who can reach the highest number without help?
Weiter
Finish
Hint
Step back
Start again
Play again
Next level
Back to the lab
Right.
Not quite.
Not yet — have another go.
Question {n} of {total}
{right} out of {total} right.
Three stars. Clean work.
Two stars. Well played.
One star. Level done.
king
queen
rook
bishop
knight
pawn
Hop to a glowing square. {n} squares left.
No square left to hop to. Step back and try another way.
From here the trail cannot be finished. Step back.
Ashta cannot see a way from here yet. Step back a few hops.
All {n} squares, each one once.