Which chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit introduces the riddle contest between Bilbo and Gollum?

“Riddles in the Dark” is the chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit that introduces Bilbo and Gollum’s riddle contest.

In this chapter, Bilbo becomes separated from the dwarves in the goblin tunnels beneath the Misty Mountains. He finds a mysterious golden ring and encounters Gollum, a strange creature living beside an underground lake.

The two characters agree to ask each other riddles. Bilbo eventually wins by asking what he has in his pocket, although the question does not follow the usual rules of the contest. He escapes after discovering that the ring can make its wearer invisible.

Tolkien substantially revised this episode for the 1951 edition of The Hobbit. The first edition presented the Ring and Gollum differently, while the revised version made the object’s connection to the darker history revealed in The Lord of the Rings much clearer.