How do you solve Determine Color of a Chessboard Square on LeetCode?

Determine Color of a Chessboard Square (LeetCode #1812) can be solved using Brute Force or Optimal Solution. The optimal approach is Optimal Solution with O(1) time complexity and O(1) space complexity. Key insight: The chessboard alternates colors, so the sum of the column and row determines the color.

What is the time complexity of Determine Color of a Chessboard Square?

The optimal solution for Determine Color of a Chessboard Square runs in O(1) time and uses O(1) space. Both time and space complexity remain O(1) as we are still performing a constant number of operations and using a fixed amount of space.

What is the brute force solution for Determine Color of a Chessboard Square?

The brute force approach for Determine Color of a Chessboard Square is Brute Force, with O(1) time complexity and O(1) space complexity. The brute force approach involves checking the color of the square by mapping the coordinates to their respective positions on the chessboard. We can visualize the chessboard and determine the color based on the position. The optimal Optimal Solution approach improves this to O(1).

What algorithm or data structure is used to solve Determine Color of a Chessboard Square?

Determine Color of a Chessboard Square uses the following concepts: Math, String. The recommended patterns to study are: Math, String Manipulation.

What are the interview tips for Determine Color of a Chessboard Square?

Always clarify the problem statement and constraints before diving into coding. Think about edge cases, such as the corners of the chessboard. Explain your thought process clearly while coding to demonstrate your understanding.

What are common mistakes when solving Determine Color of a Chessboard Square?

Confusing the mapping of letters to numbers (e.g., treating 'a' as 0 instead of 1). Not correctly handling the conversion of the character representing the row.

#1812

Determine Color of a Chessboard Square

Easy

MathStringMathString Manipulation

LeetCode ↗

Approaches

Brute ForceOptimal

Complexity Comparison

	Brute Force	Optimal Solution★
Time	O(1)	O(1)
Space	O(1)	O(1)

💡

Intuition

Time O(1)Space O(1)

The optimal solution leverages the same logic as the brute force but simplifies the process by directly calculating the color based on the sum of the indices. This approach is efficient and straightforward.

⚙️

Algorithm

3 steps

1Step 1: Convert the letter part of the coordinate to a number (1 for 'a', 2 for 'b', ..., 8 for 'h').
2Step 2: Convert the number part of the coordinate to an integer.
3Step 3: Return true if the sum of the column and row is odd (indicating a white square), false otherwise.

solution.py2 lines

1def squareIsWhite(coordinates):
2    return (ord(coordinates[0]) - ord('a') + 1 + int(coordinates[1])) % 2 == 1

ℹ

Complexity note: Both time and space complexity remain O(1) as we are still performing a constant number of operations and using a fixed amount of space.

1The chessboard alternates colors, so the sum of the column and row determines the color.
2Odd sums correspond to white squares, while even sums correspond to black squares.

Solutions and explanations are original Tejav content. Problem titles © LeetCode — use the LeetCode button above for the full problem statement.