Turning grille transposition

10x10 grid, small random sample

In plain English: 10x10 grid, small random sample, using a method that uses a card with holes (a grille, often rotated between passes) to pick out letters. 28.0 million key/parameter combinations were tested. Best match: 16/24 known letters, a level that searches like this can reach without the right key. This record is negative within the tested scope.

NOISE Tier 3

How to read this record

Verdict – ELIMINATED (ruled out within the tested scope), NOISE (nothing beyond what chance produces for a search of this size; also shown when a record stored no verdict of its own), INCONCLUSIVE (the test left candidates or options standing, or could not decide, so it does not rule the method out), INTERESTING (slightly above random, almost certainly coincidence), SIGNAL (statistically unusual, warrants investigation), or FULL MATCH (all 24 known letters correct).
Confidence Tier – Tier 1 = mathematical proof, valid while its stated assumptions hold. Tier 2 = every possibility within the stated scope tested. Tier 3 = partially tested or sampled. Tier 4 = not yet properly tested.
Configs Tested – How many different key/parameter combinations were tried.
Best Score – How many of the 24 known plaintext letters the best attempt matched (out of 24). N/A means no such score could be read from this record.
Keystream Consistency (Bean) – Whether the key values at different positions are mathematically consistent with each other. The check only holds when the known letters stay in their carved positions (no letters rearranged or removed), and the full set used here assumes the standard A to Z alphabet.
Scope Limitations – What this elimination does not rule out.

Configs Tested: 28,000,420
Best Score: 16 / 24 known letters matched · can occur by chance in searches like this
Confidence: Tier 3: Partial or statistical. May warrant re-testing under different assumptions.
Date Tested: 2026-02-14
Script: scripts/_uncategorized/e_s_18_turning_grille.py

Scope Limitations

This elimination does not rule out:

Tests only a random sample of 10x10 grilles plus a few patterned ones, a negligible fraction of the roughly 1.1 quadrillion possible, each paired with a short repeating Vigenere or Beaufort key (mostly lengths 5 to 8) applied before or after the grille. An older claim that a general proof closes this family relied on E-FRAC-35, which was retracted on 2026-08-24.

Assumptions

10x10 grille rotated 4 times, holding the 97 letters plus 3 padding letters
Repeating-key Vigenere or Beaufort with the grille

Reproduce

PYTHONPATH=src python3 -u scripts/_uncategorized/e_s_18_turning_grille.py

Requires the kryptos repo, Python 3.11+, PYTHONPATH=src. Some recent scripts may not be in the public repository yet.

Found an error? Report on GitHub