In this article, we revisit the complexity of the reconfiguration of independent sets under the token sliding rule on chordal graphs. In the \textsc{Token Sliding-Connectivity} problem, the input is a graph $G$ and an integer $k$, and the objective is to determine whether the reconfiguration graph $TS_k(G)$ of $G$ is connected. The vertices of $TS_k(G)$ are $k$-independent sets of $G$, and two vertices are adjacent if and only if one can transform one of the two corresponding independent sets into the other by sliding a vertex (also called a \emph{token}) along an edge. Bonamy and Bousquet [WG'17] proved that the \textsc{Token Sliding-Connectivity} problem is polynomial-time solvable on interval graphs but \NP-hard on split graphs. In light of these two results, the authors asked: can we decide the connectivity of $TS_k(G)$ in polynomial time for chordal graphs with \emph{maximum clique-tree degree} $d$? We answer this question in the negative and prove that the problem is \para-\NP-hard when parameterized by $d$. More precisely, the problem is \NP-hard even when $d = 4$. We then study the parameterized complexity of the problem for a larger parameter called \emph{leafage} and prove that the problem is \co-\W[1]-hard. We prove similar results for a closely related problem called \textsc{Token Sliding-Reachability}. In this problem, the input is a graph $G$ with two of its $k$-independent sets $I$ and $J$, and the objective is to determine whether there is a sequence of valid token sliding moves that transform $I$ into $J$.

The eternal vertex cover game is played between an attacker and a defender on an undirected graph G. The defender identifies k vertices to position guards initially. The attacker, on their turn, attacks an edge e, and the defender must move a guard along e to defend the attack. The defender may move other guards as well, under the constraint that every guard moves at most once and to a neighboring vertex. The smallest number of guards required to defend attacks forever is called the eternal vertex cover number of G, denoted evc(G). For any graph G, evc(G) is at least mvc(G) (the vertex cover number of G). A graph is Spartan if evc(G) = mvc(G). It is known that a bipartite graph is Spartan if and only if every edge belongs to a perfect matching. We show that the only König graphs that are Spartan are the bipartite Spartan graphs. We also give new lower bounds for evc(G), generalizing a known lower bound based on cut vertices. We finally show a new matching-based characterization of all Spartan graphs.

We study a two-player game on a graph between an attacker and a defender. To begin with, the defender places guards on a subset of vertices. In each move, the attacker attacks an edge. The defender must move at least one guard across the attacked edge to defend the attack. The defender wins if and only if the defender can defend an infinite sequence of attacks. The smallest number of guards with which the defender has a winning strategy is called the eternal vertex cover number of a graph $G$ and is denoted by $evc(G)$. It is clear that $evc(G)$ is at least $mvc(G)$, the size of a minimum vertex cover of $G$. We say that $G$ is Spartan if $evc(G) = mvc(G)$. The characterization of Spartan graphs has been largely open. In the setting of bipartite graphs on $2n$ vertices where every edge belongs to a perfect matching, an easy strategy is to have $n$ guards that always move along perfect matchings in response to attacks. We show that these are essentially the only Spartan bipartite graphs.