Countdown #25 - 30

Anyone else exhausted from the holidays? Guess they finally caught up with me. Hope everyone has been enjoying good company and good food!

Now to make up for countdown posts...

Countdown #25 - Joke IV

Value: 5 points if guessed correctly, 2 points for any creative guess

Why does Santa give chess sets without the queens and rooks?

Countdown #26 - River-crossing

Value: 2 points

Based on content from: http://brainden.com/crossing-river.htm

Two 'male' pawns, two 'female' pawns, one king, one queen, a rook, and a knight need to cross a river using a single boat. The boat can support maximum two pieces at a time, and one piece (in the boat) must be a major piece, or the king, in order to cross.

In addition,
- the 'female' pawns don't like having the king around if the queen is not present
- the 'male' pawns don't like having the queen around if the king is not present
- the knight cannot be left with any pawns, queen, or king, unless the rook is present

How can all of them cross under these circumstances?

Countdown #27 - Camel Story

Value: 1 point for each correct answer to the following questions

Question 1 -What are the names of the camels and how were these names chosen?

Question 2 - What did the camels say the chess king looked like?

Question 3 - How did chess lose its status as a 'royal game'?

Question 4 - What is the name of the tournament Oscar will play in?

Countdown #28 - Brain Teaser

Value: 2 points

In a single move, Johnny moved his king two squares, but did not castle. How is this possible?

Countdown #29 - Top Ten II

Value: 1 point per correct blank filled in.

Top 10 ways to signal you want to resign a chess game:

(note: not all methods are necessarily recommended!)

1. Say "I resign".
2. ______ hands.
3. Tip down your ______.
4. Stop the ______.
5. Write "you win" on your scorepad and show it to your opponent.
6. Stare at your opponent angrily, then ______ out of the room.
7. Sweep all the ______ off the board. (http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/etiquette-on-resigning)
8. Offer to ______ again.
9. Spell it out using toothpicks?
10. Disconnect your ______.

Countdown #30 - How well do you know your blog writer?

Value: 1 point for each correct answer to the following questions

Question 1 - What are my favourite colours?
(a) Red and green...Christmas spirit!
(b) Yellow and orange...now that's sunny!
(c) Blue and purple...they're so 'cool'!
(d) Any colour, as long as it's in the rainbow!

Question 2 - What do I like to drink when I need an energy boost?
(a) An energy drink, duh!
(b) Vanilla cappuccino
(c) Coke Zero
(d) Plain water

Question 3 - What is my favourite thing to do over the holidays?
(a) Shop
(b) Sleep
(c) Visit friends
(d) Wrap gifts

Question 4 - I was once asked what food I could live off of for the rest of my life. What was my answer?
(a) Ice cream
(b) Apples
(c) Whole wheat pitas and tzatziki
(d) I can't choose!