What is Warndorff’s Algorithm?

The core idea behind Warndorff’s algorithm is to reduce the chances of getting stuck in a corner or isolated area of the chessboard by always choosing the move that leads to the square with the fewest possible onward moves. This heuristic increases the likelihood of completing the tour.

Warndorff’s algorithm is a heuristic method used to solve the Knight’s Tour problem, a classic challenge in the field of combinatorial algorithms and chessboard puzzles. The Knight’s Tour problem asks whether a knight can visit every square on a chessboard exactly once. This algorithm provides an efficient way to find such a tour, uses a simple but effective rule: always move the knight to the square that has the fewest onward moves.

In this article, we will explore Warndorff’s algorithm and its implementation in Python, guiding you through the principles behind the heuristic and providing a step-by-step explanation of the code.