Is Determine Color of a Chessboard Square easy or hard?

Determine Color of a Chessboard Square is classified as an Easy problem on LeetCode with a high acceptance rate. The challenge is recognizing the alternating chessboard pattern and converting the coordinate string into numeric indices.

Determine Color of a Chessboard Square Python/Java solution

In both Python and Java, convert the column character to a numeric index and add it to the row digit. Then return whether the sum is odd or even. The logic is identical across languages and runs in O(1) time with O(1) extra space.

How to solve Determine Color of a Chessboard Square in O(1)?

Convert the column character to an index using ASCII math and parse the row digit as an integer. Compute the sum of the two values and check its parity. If the sum is even the square is one color, if odd it is the other. This requires only constant operations, giving O(1) time and O(1) space.

What is the best approach for Determine Color of a Chessboard Square?

The most common approach checks the parity of the coordinate indices. Convert the column letter to a number (a=1 through h=8), add it to the row number, and evaluate (row + column) % 2. The parity determines the color. This runs in O(1) time and O(1) space.

Is Determine Color of a Chessboard Square asked at Google/Amazon/Meta?

Problems like this appear in coding screens that test basic pattern recognition and coordinate reasoning. While not a common hard interview problem at Google, Amazon, or Meta, similar parity or grid-coloring questions appear in early screening rounds and coding practice sets.

What data structure is used in Determine Color of a Chessboard Square?

No complex data structure is required. The solution relies on simple string parsing and arithmetic operations. The key idea comes from math and coordinate parity rather than arrays, hash maps, or trees.

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

The problem is solved in constant time. Only a few character conversions and a parity check are required, so the time complexity is O(1). The algorithm also uses O(1) space since no additional data structures are needed.

Description Hints 2 Solution Video 3:58

1812. Determine Color of a Chessboard Square

Easy79.8% acceptance1 company

You are given coordinates, a string that represents the coordinates of a square of the chessboard. Below is a chessboard for your reference.

Return true if the square is white, and false if the square is black.

The coordinate will always represent a valid chessboard square. The coordinate will always have the letter first, and the number second.

Example 1:

Input: coordinates = "a1"
Output: false
Explanation: From the chessboard above, the square with coordinates "a1" is black, so return false.

Example 2:

Input: coordinates = "h3"
Output: true
Explanation: From the chessboard above, the square with coordinates "h3" is white, so return true.

Example 3:

Input: coordinates = "c7"
Output: false

Constraints:

coordinates.length == 2
'a' <= coordinates[0] <= 'h'
'1' <= coordinates[1] <= '8'

Asked at 1 company

JPMorgan Chase

Topics

Math String

Hints open one at a time

Hint 1

Convert the coordinates to (x, y) - that is, "a1" is (1, 1), "d7" is (4, 7).

Hint 2

Try add the numbers together and look for a pattern.

3:58

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