Thread: Recursion for N Queens problem

Hi all,
I have code that find the solution to a N-queens problem by starting at the upper left hand corner of the board and works its way through the rows and columns. However, I would like to modify the code so that it places a queen at a random place and then starts looking for the solution at that random row and column. Any help is greatly appreciated. Here is the code I have for a four queens problem but it doesnt start with a queen at a random place.

public class EightQueens extends JApplet {
  public static final int SIZE = 4; // The size of the chess board
  private int[] queens = new int[SIZE]; // The queen positions 
 
  public EightQueens() {
    search(0); // Search for a solution from row 0
    add(new ChessBoard(), BorderLayout.CENTER);
  }
 
  /** Check if a queen can be placed at row i and column j */
  private boolean isValid(int row, int column) {
    for (int i = 1; i <= row; i++)
      if (queens[row - i] == column // Check column
        || queens[row - i] == column - i // Check upleft diagonal
        || queens[row - i] == column + i) // Check upright diagonal
        return false; // There is a conflict
    return true; // No conflict
  }
 
  /** Search for a solution starting from a specified row */
  private boolean search(int row) {
    if (row == SIZE) // Stopping condition
      return true; // A solution found to place 8 queens in 8 rows
 
    for (int column = 0; column < SIZE; column++) {
      queens[row] = column; // Place a queen at (row, column)
      if (isValid(row, column) && search(row + 1)) 
        return true; // Found, thus return true to exit for loop   
    }
 
    // No solution for a queen placed at any column of this row
    return false; 
  }