Sam Loyd's Alice Puzzle

Samuel Loyd (January 30, 1841 – April 10, 1911) was an American chess player, chess composer, puzzle author, and recreational mathematician.

As a chess composer, he authored a number of chess problems, often with interesting themes. At his peak, Loyd was one of the best chess players in the US, and was ranked 15th in the world, according to chessmetrics.com.

Following his death, his book Cyclopedia of 5000 Puzzles was published (1914) by his son. His son, named after his father, dropped the "Jr" from his name and started publishing reprints of his father's puzzles. Loyd (senior) was inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame in 1987.

Matthew Costello called him "puzzledom's greatest celebrity... popularizer, genius", but also a "huckster" and "fast-talking snake oil salesman."