Glossary

A*

An informed graph search algorithm that finds the shortest path using a heuristic to guide exploration.

BFS

Breadth-First Search; explores all nodes at a given distance before proceeding further. Used here for parking-spot selection.

Bitboard

A 64-bit integer where each bit represents one square of the chess board. Bit set = square occupied.

Blocker

A piece that sits on an intermediate square of another piece’s intended movement path.

BoardCoord

The (row, col) struct representing a physical square on the board.

Chebyshev Distance

The maximum of $|\Delta r|$ and $|\Delta c|$ between two squares; equals the minimum number of king moves.

FEN

Forsyth-Edwards Notation; used here to identify squares via two-character algebraic names (e.g. e4).

Gantry

The motorised XY carriage beneath the board that moves a magnet to drag pieces.

Manhattan Distance

The sum $|\Delta r| + |\Delta c|$; minimum steps if only orthogonal movement is allowed.

MovePlan

The complete, ordered execution plan for one chess move on the physical board.

Parking Spot

A temporary empty square to which a blocking piece is relocated while the primary move is executed.

Path

An ordered sequence of BoardCoord values (not including source) that the gantry head traverses.

PhysicalBoard

The occupancy-tracking class used during move planning; mutated on a temporary copy.

PhysicalMove

A simple descriptor of a piece movement: source, destination, piece type, and capture flag.

RelocationPlan

A plan to temporarily move a single blocker to a parking spot, including the route.

Restoration

The return of a temporarily parked piece to its original square after the primary move completes.