If you are a fan of mathematical riddles and brain teasers, the name Samuel Loyd (or Sam Loyd, as he is popularly known) should sound familiar. Born in 1841, Loyd is considered one of the most popular inventors of pastimes of this type in the world, though he also stood out as a world-class chess player. Loyd claimed to have created the famous "fifteen puzzle," but recently it has been argued that this is not entirely true. In any case, he has left a legacy of more than 5,000 puzzle games that still captivate millions of people.
A Chess Player and Puzzle Master
Samuel Loyd (1841-1911), better known as Sam Loyd, was a reasonably good chess player—he reached #15 worldwide—who became famous for his brain teasers and mathematical riddles. An American by nationality, he lived most of his life in New York, though he was born in Philadelphia. Such was his passion for these mathematical pastimes, that many specialists believe he did not achieve better chess performance because he was more interested in turning each game into a series of ornate or intriguing combinations rather than focusing on winning. In any case, the world remembers him for the more than 5,000 mathematical problems he published throughout his life, more than for his qualities as a chess player.
The Fifteen Puzzle and the Tangram
As expected, many of the problems Sam Loyd published relate to chess, although this was by no means the most prolific field of his production. He was passionate about the ancient puzzle known as the "Tangram", and even published a book containing more than 700 designs created by him and a fantastic story about its origin. One of the few controversial aspects of Loyd's life concerns a very well-known pastime called the "fifteen puzzle". Sam always maintained that he was the creator of this game, but recently it has been shown that he only modified an existing puzzle. In any case, this does not overshadow this man's work at all, for he left us as a legacy a book (which any puzzle enthusiast should have in their library) called Cyclopedia de 5000 rompecabezas, published by his son three years after his death.
Returning from Klondike
It is very difficult to determine which is the most famous pastime Loyd created, but some are more popular than others. In that group you can surely include one called "Returning from Klondike", created expressly to prevent it from being solved by the "Euler method". According to Loyd himself, the great mathematician Euler discovered a rule for solving all sorts of mazes, which basically consists of solving them from the end to the beginning. The puzzle "Returning from Klondike" was conceived especially to avoid being solved by Euler's rule, and considering the following image, it proposes:
"Start from the center. Advance three steps in any of the eight directions, north, south, east, west, or diagonally northeast, northwest, southeast, or southwest. When you have advanced three steps in a straight line you will reach a numbered square, which marks the second day of travel, and which will be as many steps in a straight line in any of the eight directions as the number indicates. From this new point, advance again according to the number's indication, and continue this way until you reach a square whose number makes you take a step, only one, beyond the edge. Then you will have left the forest and you can shout as much as you like, for you have solved the riddle!"
Despite its simple appearance, a good dose of patience is needed to solve it. Many of his riddles were based on images, and were really difficult to solve. For example: How would you cut the following figure into two parts of equal shape?
The drawings that illustrate his riddles are unmistakable. Many of the problems Loyd posed—like "Returning from Klondike"—could not exist without the corresponding drawing. Others, like the one you see below, can be stated without the illustration, but its existence helps better understand the problem.
An Enduring Legacy
Sam Loyd was a contemporary of Henry Ernest Dudeney, an English mathematician and author of math games and puzzles who, throughout his life, published several books collecting his works that had appeared in newspapers and magazines. Much has been discussed about which of the two was better in this field, without reaching a satisfactory conclusion. In any case, people like Loyd helped millions of people discover the appeal of solving a problem, even if they were not too fond of mathematics.
Read more about Sam Loyd on Wikipedia.
