Chessboard: the history of the appearance of the chessboard. Chessboard and initial arrangement of pieces Chessboard 64 squares

Although Chess board It also serves as a field for playing checkers; it is still called chess, because this game is the most ancient and intellectual. It requires specific knowledge from players and promotes the development of logical and mathematical thinking.

History of the emergence and development of chess

Indian legend

History of the chessboard begins with an Indian legend. A certain Brahmin came up with an exciting game for his rajah on a board with squares. And for his creation, he asked the Raja for the number of wheat grains equal to the number of squares on a chessboard, if you put 1 grain on the first square, 2 grains on the second, 4 grains on the third, and so on, doubling the number of wheat grains each time. The naive Raja agreed, but when they began to count the grains, it turned out that there was no such abundance of wheat not only in the overlord’s bins, but throughout the entire globe.

First written mention of chess

There are also versions that the game of chess was invented in Mesopotamia or China. Scientists agree that the first in the 5th century. The first literary mention of this game is found in the Sanskrit poem - Shansharita, composed in honor of King Sharshi, who ruled in India in the 1st half of the 7th century. The game on a board consisting of 64 squares was called Chaturanga. The game allowed us to simulate the combat operations of armies. The figurines depicted a ruler, warriors, elephants and chariots. Victory in the game was considered to be the death of the ruler or the destruction of the enemy's fighting forces.

In chaturanga, the chessboard with pieces did not look the same as it does now. The game involved 4 players, arranged in pairs, against each other. The arrangement of chess pieces on the board was also different. They spread out like the wings of a swastika.

The moves were determined by the number of points rolled on the dice.

Chess in the Middle East. Chatrang.

Around the 7th century, the game entered ancient Iran and was called Chatrang.

Later it acquired the Persian name - chess, which meant - the ruler is dead. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the caliphs in Baghdad patronized chess, and intellectual competitions of the strongest players of that time were regularly held at their court.

But Islam prohibited images of people, and therefore, in order not to conflict with religion, the figures received an abstract image. They were carved from wood and sculpted from clay. Due to its cheapness, in the East the game became widespread among ordinary people.

Big Timurlenga chess

The classic number of cells on a chessboard is 64. In other words, there are 8 cells horizontally and vertically. But history knows how many squares on the chessboard existed at different stages of the development of the game.
So, at a certain period, there were so-called big chess, with 12 and even 16 squares horizontally and vertically. Accordingly, the number of chess pieces increased. Grand chess was popular during the reign of Shah Timur.

Chess in Azerbaijan and Russia

The fact that chess was popular in the court circles of Persia is evidenced by the poems of the great Azerbaijani poet-philosopher Nizami Ganjavi, who lived in the second half of the 12th century.

From research conducted by the famous Soviet historian of the spread of chess I. Linder, it became known that this game was brought to ancient Rus' from Azerbaijan in the 8th-9th centuries. Ivan the Terrible was seriously interested in her.

From the poem “Mehr and Mushteri,” written at the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th centuries by G. Tabriz, it became known that chess was played in Azerbaijan long before the spread of Islam.

The famous Azerbaijani poet Magomed Fizuli draws a subtle analogy in his work “Leyli and Majnun”, comparing a young man in love who has lost his mind with himself. The poet writes that although Majnun lived much earlier than him, in the kingdom of love the young man is just a pawn, while he, the author of the poem, is the king. And, despite the fact that in a chess game the pawn stands in front of the king, it still remains a pawn. And Majnun, who came into the world earlier, is a pawn standing in front of the king.

As evidenced by ancient literary sources, simultaneous chess sessions were held back in the Middle Ages. For example, the famous Persian player Haji Ali Tabrizi, who lived in the 14th century, played simultaneous games with four players. He was unanimously recognized as the strongest chess player not only in his country, but throughout the entire Timurlenga empire. True, the eastern chessboard was one color.

European reform of the chess game.

Chess appeared in Western Europe around the 10th century. They were brought by the Arabs through Aquitaine or Iberia. Historians differ on this issue.

The Vikings brought the new game to Britain and Scandinavia. Already in the 11th-12th centuries, chess became an element of aristocratic education and one of the most favorite entertainments of the aristocracy.

But in Europe, the game of chess has undergone its own changes.

1. The game has become gambling, with bets.
2. The chessboard became two-color, with alternating black and white squares. Knowing how many cells are on the chessboard, it is easy to calculate how many black cells are on the chessboard, as well as the number of white cells.
3. The path to victory has been shortened. Instead of 3 ways - checkmate, stalemate and destruction of the enemy pieces, only checkmate remained.

In 1283, at the request of the Spanish king Alfonso X, the Book of Games was created, in which the authors collected chess problems, for example, those in which it was necessary to checkmate in a certain number of moves.

3

64 is a whole area, so it is as wide as it is long.

It happens that it is also the most suitable option for playing chess because:

It is large enough to allow multiple maneuvers and strategic opportunities.

This is small enough to provide general guidelines.

The pieces back (2 rooks, 2 knights, 2 bishops, 1 queen, 1 king) also require an 8-row board. If you want to make it to 81 (9x9) pieces, you'll have to add one more thing (an extra queen?). But on such a large board, each game would at least take 30 minutes, if not more. Blitz and bullet chess would not be a choice.

If there were 128 or 32 squares, you would ask, “Why is this the number of squares? Why not double it or half it?” This is similar to the question: why does the right corner contain 90°?

3

There is nothing stopping you from playing chess on board a 4x4, 6x6 or 9x9. In ancient times, people tried such approaches.

To answer why 64 squares, I have to answer a little mathematically. Let me start with this:

[Chess's] earliest form in the 6th century was known as Chaturanga, which translates to "four divisions (of the military)": infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariots.

It states that chaturanga means "game of squares" and also mentions 4 divisions of the military, where 1 division = 8 pieces (4 pawns + 4 main units). So 4x4 = 16 pieces on each side. This also means a total of 32 pieces on the board (8 in each row).

For 32 pieces to be fully mobile on the board, 36 squares would be too congested and not possible; 49 squares would be too congested; 64 sure makes sense, as well as a perfect square of 8.

2

We'll have to ask the inventors :) I think they were playing another game on an 8x8 board (chaturanga?) and were missing one or two players. There could also be 10x10 (drafts), 19x19 (Go), 9x10 (Chinese chess of 18 pieces each) or any other number of fields.

4

Capablanca stands for a 10x10 chessboard. He was concerned that the way chess was being played, that there were too many draws, so his answer to this problem was to create two new pieces and play the game on a 10x10 board with ten pawns and ten pieces.

Eight being twos makes an easy to draw board:

1) Start with a large area. 2) Divide this square in half, both vertically and horizontally. (result: 4 squares.) 3) Divide each of the resulting squares in half in the same way. (Result: 16 squares.) 4) Divide each of these squares in half in the same way. (Result: 64 squares.)

Consistently dividing large squares in half is quite easy on the eye, without the aid of any measuring device. If you need higher precision, you can use a line tied to a marker (pencil, chalk, whatever) and a ruler and make a 64 square chess board with almost the same precision as someone using a high precision ruler. You couldn't do this for any board size that isn't a force of two.

Good day, dear friend!

The space for playing chess is called a chessboard. If you don’t like the word “board”, you can call it this: a chess board. Just don’t confuse it with another field—a cell. About all this in today's article.

So, let me explain my point.

Chess field can be considered in two forms: the chessboard as a whole and each of 64 parts - cells into which it is divided.

Let's go in order:

Board

The chessboard represents a set of dark and light cells (fields) located alternately .

Surely you have heard the following expression: “They are arranged in a checkerboard pattern.” That is, alternately.

Total on the board 64 cells or fields.

The color usually has brown shades. Accordingly, the color of the fields: dark fields are dark brown, light fields are light brown. This applies to the board as a real object. Electronic charts can come in a variety of colors.

Chess square

The squares on a chessboard are usually called fields.

The fields are arranged in rows. Total rows 8 . Eight fields (cells) in each row. Rows of fields are called horizontals. Accordingly, there are also verticals - they are also 8 .

Each row (horizontal) has your number: from one to eight . Verticals are designated by Latin symbols: from a before h

You've probably noticed that the board resembles a coordinate system. So he is. Only instead of the names of the axes, each field has a name.

For example:

Each field (cell) has its own unique number. The number is made up of the vertical designation, in this case - d, and row numbers, in our example - 4 .

That is, in our figure the field is indicated d4.

All other fields are designated in the same way.

Arrangement of figures

White pieces in the initial position are located strictly on the first and second row (horizontals) .

Black– symmetrically, on 7 And 8 row (horizontal).

The initial set of pieces: king, queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops and eight pawns.

Along the edges, (for white in the margins a1 And h1) The rooks are positioned, then the knights further to the center, then the bishops. In the center are the Queen (field d1) and King (field e1). There are 8 pawns on the second row.

Black figures are located symmetrically with white, - on 7 And 8 horizontals.

The board should be placed so that field a1 was located in the lower left corner .

Example correct placement of the board and pieces:

Incorrect arrangement of the board and pieces:

In this case white the figures are located on 7 And 8 horizontals that wrong. In fact, the board is just upside down .

Another example of incorrect placement of the board and placement of pieces: Numerical designations of rows (horizontals) are located at the bottom. Accordingly, the letter designations of the verticals are on the side.

Also quite a common occurrence among beginning chess players is confusion in the relative position of the queen and king.

The rule is: the queen must occupy a square of its own color . That is, the white queen must be on a light square ( d1). Black - on dark ( d8)

Accordingly, the king is always nearby, to the right of the queen, on the field e1 (e8).

How to arrange figures

I recommend following the rule from the first steps: start placing figures “from the center” : first the king and queen, then bishops, knights, rooks, pawns. This sequence will allow you to better remember the value of the figures.

In addition, later, when arranging various non-original positions, it is also better to start with the king and so on. This way you're less likely to miss anything.

Personally, I even sometimes I say it out loud , starting to arrange the figures. For example: “White: the king is one, the queen is five...” And so on.

It’s easier this way, since the auditory channel of perception is also included.

Chess notation

The “coordinate system” of the chessboard was not invented by chance. It allows you to record games, combinations, problems and studies. And then play it back.

The system of signs for recording a party is called chess notation . In short, all moves are reflected using symbols.

For example: 10.Nf3-g5

This entry means the following : White's tenth move has been made. Horse from the field f3 go to g5.

Black's move is indicated with an ellipsis after the move number. For example: 10….Ka6-c5

There is a separate section on chess notation in detail. We won't repeat ourselves.

I hope this is more or less clear. If you have any questions, the comments section is at your service.

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There are only 64 squares on the chessboard, but real chess battles can take place on them. One half of the cells is black, the other is white - 32 former and 32 black. According to chess rules, a cell is called a field.

Black and white are conventional colors. In the photo, some of the figures and the board are made using malachite. However, green figures and fields are conditionally black

Before arranging chess pieces, you need to position the chessboard correctly.

On the left side the board is installed correctly, on the right - incorrectly

There is a funny incident connected with an incorrectly placed chessboard that happened in ancient times somewhere on the border. It was on the border that two gentlemen periodically met and played chess with each other. One fine day, a customs officer became interested in the game and noticed that the board was positioned incorrectly. Those. The “chess players” didn’t even know the rules of chess, but simply pretended to play the game. As it turned out later, the imaginary chess players were smugglers - they hid contraband goods (gold, diamonds :) in chess pieces).

Naming chess fields (cells)

If there are fans of the game “Battleship” among our readers, then they probably drew an analogy with chess - each field has its own address. For example, a1, b7, e4, etc.

Each chess field has its own unique address. It is highly advisable that you visually remember where each field is located. In the future, this will be useful when studying the recording of chess moves. Please note that squares d4,e4,d5,e5 form the so-called center of the board. It is for the cent that the fight is waged at the beginning of a chess game (opening).

To quickly remember the names (addresses) of the chess fields, it makes sense to print out the drawing (A4 format) and hang it on the wall.

Names and designations of chess pieces

There are 6 types of figures in the opponents' arsenal:

• The pawn is His Majesty's soldier.
• Knight - the cost of a knight is equivalent to 3 pawns;
• Bishop - its cost, like that of a knight, is 3 pawns;
• Rook - heavy artillery (5 pawns);
• Queen - 9 pawns;
• The king is priceless, because without him the game is impossible.

From left to right: king, queen, bishop, knight, rook, pawn

It is advisable for any beginning chess player to learn how to write down chess moves as early as possible; for this you need to know chess notation. Chess notation is a system of symbols used to record a chess game or the position of pieces on a chessboard. Already now you can familiarize yourself with the designations of chess pieces.

Arrangement of chess pieces

Now let's see what the initial arrangement of chess pieces on the board looks like.

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You must enable JavaScript to display charts.

This is exactly how the pieces should be arranged if we are talking about chess in the classical sense. However, other variants of pieces are also possible when it comes to Fischer chess - otherwise called “random chess”. For now we are interested in the classic arrangement, so we need to remember it. Otherwise, confusion may arise, like in a chess game for children.

To make it easier for you to remember the arrangement of the figures, you can arrange them in a certain sequence. Watch the video for one of the options.

At the beginning of a chess game, there are 32 pieces on the board - 16 white and 16 black. At the end of the game, the minimum number of pieces can be two - a white and a black king. Kings are the two most important pieces on the chessboard. The time has come to figure out what they can do - the whole truth about the chess king.

63. The Legend of the Chessboard

Chess is one of the most ancient games. It has existed for many centuries, and it is not surprising that various legends are associated with it, the veracity of which, due to the length of time, cannot be verified.

I want to tell you one of these legends. To understand it, you don’t need to know how to play chess at all: it’s enough to know that the game takes place on a board laid out into 64 squares (alternately black and white).

The game of chess was invented in India, and when the Hindu king Sheram met it, he was delighted with its wit and the variety of positions possible in it.

Having learned that it was invented by one of his subjects, the king ordered to call him to personally reward him for his successful invention.

The inventor, his name was Seth, came to the throne of the ruler. He was a modestly dressed scientist who received his livelihood from his students.

“I wish to adequately reward you, Seth, for the wonderful game you came up with,” said the king.

The sage bowed.

“I am rich enough to fulfill your wildest wish,” the king continued. “Name a reward that will satisfy you, and you will receive it.”

Seta was silent.

“Don’t be timid,” the king encouraged him. “Express your desire.” I will spare nothing to fulfill it.

Great is your kindness, lord. But give it time
think about the answer. Tomorrow, upon reflection, I will report
you have my request.

When the next day Seta again appeared at the steps of the throne, he surprised the king with the unprecedented modesty of his request.

“Overlord,” said Seth, “order me to give one grain of wheat for the first square of the chessboard.”

A simple grain of wheat? - the king was amazed.

Yes, lord. Order 2 grains for the second cell, 4 for the third, 8 for the fourth, 16 for the fifth, 32 for the sixth...

Enough,” the king interrupted him with irritation. “You will receive your grains for all 64 squares of the board, according to your desire: for each one twice as much as the previous one.” But know that your request is not worthy of my generosity. By asking for such a paltry reward, you are being disrespectful.
you neglect my mercy. Truly, as a teacher, you could set a better example of respect for kindness

his sovereign. Go. My servants will bring you your bag of wheat.

Seta smiled, left the hall and began to wait at the palace gates.

During dinner, the king remembered the inventor of chess and sent to find out whether the reckless Seth had already taken away his pitiful reward.

“Overlord,” was the answer, “your order is being carried out.” Court mathematicians calculate the number of grains that follow.

The king frowned. He was not used to his orders being carried out so slowly.

In the evening, going to bed, the king once again inquired how long ago Seth and his bag of wheat had left the palace fence.

“Lord,” they answered him, “your mathematicians are working tirelessly and hope to finish the calculation before dawn.”

Why are they delaying this matter? - the king exclaimed angrily. “Tomorrow, before I wake up, every last grain must be given to Sethe.” I don't order twice.

In the morning, the king was informed that the chief of the court mathematicians was asking to hear an important report. The king ordered him to be brought in.

“Before you talk about your case,” Sheram announced, “I want to hear whether Sethe has finally been given the insignificant reward that he assigned to himself.”

“For this reason, I dared to appear before you at such an early hour,” answered the old man. “We conscientiously calculated the entire amount of grains that Seth wants to receive.” This number is so big...

No matter how great it is,” the king interrupted arrogantly, my granaries will not become scarce. The reward has been promised and must be given...

It is not in your power, lord, to fulfill such desires. In all your barns there is not such a number of grains as Seth demanded. It is not even in the granaries of the entire kingdom. There is not such a number of grains in the entire space of the Earth. And if you definitely want to give the promised reward, then order the earthly kingdoms to be turned into arable fields, order the seas and oceans to be drained, order the ice and snow covering the distant northern deserts to be melted. Let their entire space be completely sown with wheat. And order everything that is born in these fields to be given to Sethe. Then he will receive his reward. The king listened with amazement to the elder’s words.

Tell me this monstrous number,” he said thoughtfully.

Eighteen quintillion four hundred co-
rock six quadrillion seven hundred forty four
trillion seventy-three billion seven hundred
nine million five hundred fifty-one thousand six hundred fifteen, O lord!

Such is the legend. Whether what is told here really happened is unknown, but that the reward that legend speaks of should have been expressed in exactly this number, you yourself can be convinced of this by patient calculation.

Starting with one, you need to add the numbers: 1, 2, 4, 8, etc. The result of the 63rd doubling will show how much the inventor was due for the 64th square of the board. Proceeding as explained on page 75, we can easily find the entire sum of the following grains if we double the last number and subtract one unit. This means that the calculation comes down to just multiplying 64 twos!

2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2, etc. (64 times).

To make calculations easier, we divide these 64 factors into 6 groups of 10 twos each and one last group of 4 twos. The product of 10 twos, as is easy to see, is equal to 1024, and 4 twos is 16. This means that the desired result is equal to

1024*1024*1024 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024 *16.

Multiplying 1024x1024, we get 1048,576. Now all that remains is to find

1 048 576 *1 048 576 *1 048 576 *16,

subtract one unit from the result - and we will know the required number of grains:

18 446 744 073 709 551 615.

If you want to imagine the enormity of this numerical giant, estimate how large a barn would be required to accommodate such a quantity of grains. It is known that a cubic meter of wheat contains about 15 million grains. This means that the reward for the chess inventor would have to be approximately 12,000,000,000,000 cube m, or 12,000 cube km. At barn height 4 m and width 10 m its length would have to extend to 300,000,000 km,- that is, twice as far as from the Earth to the Sun!..

The Hindu king was not able to give such a reward. But he could easily, if he were good at mathematics, free himself from such a burdensome debt. To do this, it was only necessary to invite Sethe to count out for himself, grain by grain, all the wheat due to him.

In fact: if Seta, having started counting, had kept it continuously day and night, counting one grain per second, he would have counted only 86,400 grains in the first day. To count a million grains, it would take at least 10 days of tireless counting. He would count one cubic meter of wheat as approximately half a year: this would give him only 5 quarters. Counting continuously for 10 years, he would count out no more than 100 quarters. You see that even if Seta devoted the rest of his life to counting, he would receive only an insignificant part of the reward he demanded.

64. Rapid reproduction. A ripe poppy head is full of tiny seeds: each can grow into a whole plant. How many poppies will there be if every single grain germinates? To find out, you need to count the grains in the whole head. It's a boring task, but the result is so interesting that you should be patient and finish the count. It turns out that one poppy head contains (in round numbers) 3000 grains.

What follows from this? The fact is that if there was a sufficient area of ​​suitable land around our poppy plant, every fallen grain would sprout, and next summer 3,000 poppies would grow in this place. An entire poppy field from one head!

Let's see what happens next. Each of 3000 plants will bear at least one head (usually several) containing 3000 grains. Having sprouted, the seeds of each head will give 3000 new plants, and, therefore, in the second year we will have no less

3000x3000=9,000,000 plants.

9,000,000x3000=27,000,000,000. And in the fourth year

27,000,000,000X3000=81,000,000,000,000.

In the fifth year, poppies will become cramped on the globe, because the number of plants will become equal

81 000 000 000 000*3000=243 000 000 000 000 000.

The surface of the entire landmass, that is, all the continents and islands of the globe, is only 135 million square kilometers, - 135,000,000,000,000 sq. m.- approximately 2000 times less than the number of poppy specimens that would grow.

You see that if all the poppy seeds sprouted, the offspring of one plant could cover the entire landmass of the globe with a dense thicket of two thousand plants per square meter in just five years. This is the numerical giant hidden in a tiny poppy seed!

If we made a similar calculation not for poppy, but for some other plant that produces fewer seeds, we would come to the same result, but only its offspring would cover the entire Earth not in 5 years, but in a slightly longer period. Let's take, for example, the dandelion, which produces about 100 seeds annually *). If they all sprouted, we would have:

*) Even about 200 seeds were counted in one dandelion head.

This is 70 times more than there are square meters on all land.

Consequently, in the 9th year the continents of the globe would be covered with dandelions, 70 on every square meter.

Why, in reality, do we not observe such monstrously rapid reproduction? Because the vast majority of seeds die without sprouting: they either do not fall on suitable soil and do not germinate at all, or, having begun to germinate, are drowned out by other plants, or, finally, are simply exterminated by animals. But if this mass destruction of seeds and there were no sprouts, each plant in a short time would have completely covered our entire planet.

This is true not only for plants, but also for animals. Without death, the offspring of one pair of any animal would sooner or later fill the entire Earth. Hordes of locusts completely covering vast areas can give us some idea of ​​​​what would have happened if death had not prevented the reproduction of living beings. In just two or three decades, the continents would be covered with impenetrable forests and steppes, where millions of animals would teem, fighting among themselves for space. The ocean would be filled with fish so thickly that navigation would become impossible. And the air would become barely transparent from the multitude of birds and insects. Let's consider, for example, how quickly the well-known housefly reproduces. Let each fly lay 120 eggs and let 7 generations of flies appear during the summer, half of which are females. We will take April 15 as the beginning of the first clutch and assume that the female fly in 20 days grows so large that it lays eggs itself. Then reproduction will occur like this:

May 5 - each female lays 120 eggs; in mid-May - 60x120=7200 flies emerge, of which 3600 are females;

May 25 - each of the 3,600 females lays 120 eggs; at the beginning of June - 3600x120=432,000 flies come out, of which 216,000 are females;

June 14 - Each of the 216,000 females lays 120 eggs; at the end of June - 25,920,000 flies emerge, including 12,960,000 females;

July 5 - 12,960,000 females lay 120 eggs; in July - 1,555,200,000 flies emerge, among them 777,600,000 females;

To more clearly imagine this huge mass of flies, which, if they reproduced unhindered, could be born from one pair during one summer, let us imagine that they are lined up in a straight line, one next to the other. Since the length of the fly is 5 mm, then all these flies would stretch to 2500 million. km- 18 times greater than the distance from the Earth to the Sun (i.e., approximately the same as from the Earth to the distant planet Uranus) ...

In conclusion, we present several genuine cases of unusually rapid reproduction of animals placed in favorable conditions.

There were originally no sparrows in America. This bird, so common among us, was brought into the United States deliberately for the purpose of destroying harmful insects there. The sparrow, as you know, eats in abundance voracious caterpillars and other insects that harm gardens and vegetable gardens. The sparrows fell in love with the new environment: in America there were no predators exterminating these birds, and the sparrow began to multiply quickly. The number of harmful insects began to noticeably decrease, but soon the sparrows multiplied so much that - due to a lack of animal food - they began to eat plant food and began to devastate crops *). I had to start fighting the sparrows; This struggle cost the Americans so dearly that in the future a law was passed prohibiting the import of any animals into America.

Second example. There were no rabbits in Australia when this continent was discovered by Europeans. The rabbit was brought there at the end of the 18th century, and since there are no predators that feed on rabbits, the reproduction of these rodents proceeded at an unusually fast pace. Soon hordes of rabbits flooded all of Australia, causing terrible harm to agriculture and turning into a real disaster. Huge amounts of money were spent on the fight against this scourge of agriculture, and only thanks to energetic measures was it possible to cope with the disaster. Much the same thing happened later with rabbits in California.

*) And on the Hawaiian Islands they completely replaced all other small birds.

The third cautionary tale took place on the island of Jamaica. Poisonous snakes were found here in abundance. To get rid of them, it was decided to import a secretary bird, a fierce destroyer of poisonous snakes, to the island. The number of snakes did indeed soon decrease, but the field rats, which had previously been eaten by snakes, multiplied incredibly. Rats caused such damage to sugar cane plantations that serious consideration had to be given to their extermination. It is known that the enemy of rats is the Indian mongoose. It was decided to bring 4 pairs of these animals to the island and allow them to breed freely. Mongooses adapted well to their new homeland and quickly populated the entire island. Less than ten years had passed since they had almost exterminated the rats on it. But alas, having exterminated the rats, the mongooses began to eat whatever they could, becoming omnivores: they attacked puppies, kids, piglets, poultry and their eggs. And having multiplied even more, they began to develop orchards, grain fields, and plantations. The inhabitants began to destroy their former allies, but they succeeded only to some extent | limit the harm caused by mongooses.