Level 21: Chessformer

Slide the rook up from (7,7)? No, the rook is at (7,7) after move 5. Actually, after move 5, the rook is at (7,7) because it slid to the right edge. It pushed the pawn onto the star. Now the rook is on the star’s square but hasn’t captured it because the star is under the pawn.

Slide the rook down from (1,4) to (1,7) — the bottom-left corner. This does nothing immediately, but it repositions the rook. chessformer level 21

Slide the rook left (it’s already at left edge? No—wait, the rook starts at column 2, row 4. Slide left 1 square to column 1, row 4). Now the rook is against the left wall. Nothing changes yet. Slide the rook up from (7,7)

In truth, the correct solution (verified by speedruns) uses the rook to “kick” the pawn off the star, then the king slides into the empty star square. The beauty is that the king never directly attacks; it simply occupies space after the rook clears the way. Level 21 is not the hardest level in Chessformer (Level 34 holds that title for many), but it is the gatekeeper . It is the first level that demands players abandon the idea of using pieces “correctly” by chess rules. In standard chess, rooks are for attacking, kings are for hiding. In Chessformer , the rook is a bulldozer, and the king is a precision tool. It pushed the pawn onto the star

Slide the king right from (3,4) along row 3. It will slide, hit a stone, stop—but wait, the star is at (7,7), not row 3. Hmm. The actual solution involves the king sliding up from row 3 to row 7 in a later move, but the precise sequence is too long to detail here.

Slide the king up to (3,4). Now the king is aligned with the star’s column.