The Thinking Board

The chessboard with two corners missing

The room

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The problem

Two opposite corners of a chessboard have been cut away. Thirty-one dominoes lie on the table, each exactly the size of two adjacent squares.

Can they cover what is left, with none overlapping and none hanging over the edge?

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Proof by Pigeonhole Principle

A standard chessboard has 64 squares, 32 white and 32 black. Each opposite (aka diagonal) corner has the same color. If you remove two corners, then the ratio of square colors becomes either 30 white and 32 black squares or 32 white and 30 black squares.

Note, each domino tiles two squares at once: 1 white square and 1 black square. Since the ratio of square colors is not 1:1 after removing the corners, it is impossible to cover the resulting chessboard without overlap or overhangs. By the Pigeonhole Principle, if we tile the color with less squares, there will only be 2 squares of the other color remaining -> either requiring an overlap or overhang.

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