We calculate the number of ways to place two dominos and subtract the number of overlapping pairs
Each domino can be placed horizontally () or vertically ()

  • Horizontal placement: Each row has 7 locations to place and each column has 8 locations. So in total, we have ways.
  • Vertical placement: Each column has 7 locations to place and each row has 8 locations. So in total, we have ways.
    In total we have ways to place one domino
    The total number of ways to place two dominos is

The number of overlapping pairs can be calculated by categorizing to different conditions

  • For corner squares (4 squares), each has 2 ways to cover
  • For edge squares (24 squares), each has 3 ways to cover
  • For inner squares (36 squares), each has 4 ways to cover
    We have to choose 2 placements in different categories

Then we get the number of non-overlapping ways

And the final answer is