retrograde analysis
Reverse-engineering past moves
Retrograde analysis is a method of reasoning backward from a position to determine how it was reached.
The term comes from chess problems, where solvers deduce previous moves from a given board state: Retrograde analysis proves Black's last move must have been castling.
The approach applies to any puzzle or investigation that works from outcome to origin.
- endgameConcluding phase of competition
- zugzwangObligatory weakening move situation
- en passantPawn takes adjacent pawn
- deductionConclusion from premises
- inferenceConclusion reached through reasoning
last move · castling · proof · algorithm · promotion · stalemate · checkmate · reconstruct · composition · recursion · data structure · reverse engineering · paradox · decision tree · unravel · forensic · reasoning · diagram
- chess problemscheckmate, mate in two, helpmate, study, solution