# The Moscow Puzzles, Kordemsky

> Source: https://ollybritton.com/notes/books/the-moscow-puzzles/ · Updated: 2026-04-15 · Tags: book, notes

![the-moscow-puzzles.jpg](https://ollybritton.com/assets/attachments/img/the-moscow-puzzles.jpg)

> A collection of 359 puzzles.

I’ve also wanted to memorise a list of puzzles. Some of the puzzles have diagrams which means I can’t reproduce them in here, but I’ve flagged the ones that require complicated diagrams with a “🏞️“, and ones that require a diagram but that isn’t too hard to remember with a “🎆”.

## Amusing Problems
- [x] 1. 🏞️ Observant Children
- [x] 2. 🏞️ The Stone Flower
- [x] 3. Moving Checkers
	- Place dots like so: black, white, black, white, black, white.
	- Add 4 extra empty spaces on the end.
	- Checkers can moved in pairs, taking two adjacent checkers and sliding them to an empty space.
	- Can you make it: black, black, black, white, white, white, in only three moves?
- [x] 4. Three Moves
	- Place piles containing 11 things, 7 things and 6 things.
	- A move consists of adding exactly 11 things to the pile of 11, exactly 7 things to the pile of 7, or 6 things to the pile of 6, with the added things coming from just one other pile. Likewise for if you end up making a pile of 4 after one move, you can add 4 things to it.
	- Can you make all piles contain 8 things in just one turn?
- [ ] 5. 🎆 Count!
	- Draw a pentagon and inscribe a pentagram inside. How many triangles in the picture?

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