N-QueensII : 4ms and short

class Solution {
public:
    void helper(int row, int &res, int n, vector<int>& solution) {
        if (row == n+1) {
            ++ res;
		}
        for (int i = 1; i <= n; ++ i) {
            if (canPlace(row, i, solution)) {
                solution[row-1] = i;
                helper(row+1, res, n, solution);
                solution[row-1] = -1;
            }
        }
    }
    
    bool canPlace(int row, int i, vector<int>& solution) {
        for (int j = 1; j < row; ++ j) {
            if (i == solution[j-1] || abs(i-solution[j-1]) == abs(row-j))
                return false;
        }
        return true;
    }
    
    int totalNQueens(int n) {
        vector<int> solution(n, -1);
        int res = 0;
        if (n < 1)
            return res;
        helper(1, res, n, solution);
        return res;
    }
};