I must be misunderstanding, but in a chessboard the black and white square alternate in any given row and column. Here is the problem's description for a sample output of a 5x5 board: # # # # # # # # # # # # # I thought it would look something like this: # # # # # # # # # # # # # So starting in the upper left hand corner, the next square to the right or down should be a space and continue the pattern.