The Single Corner opening with 11-15, 22-18 is very popular and full of interesting play, but sometimes a seemingly reasonable and natural looking move will singe a player's fingers, so to speak. We'll look at one such situation in today's original study.

To set the scene, here's the run-up, without commentary.

1.	11-15	22-18
2.	15x22	25x18
3.	9-14	18x9
4.	5x14	29-25
5.	8-11	25-22
6.	10-15	22-17
7.	4-8	17x10
8.	7x14	23-18
9.	15x22	26x10
10.	6x15	24-19
11.	15x24	28x19
12.	2-6	32-28
13.	11-15	19x10
14.	6x15	21-17
15.	12-16	28-24

Here's the position as it now stands.

White should have played 17-14 but didn't, and it's a win for Black, but how? Could you have drawn with White had you played 17-14? Black still would have an edge and the draw is not easy.

So we've burned the candle at both ends, and left you with two problems. Show the Black win after White's 28-24, and show how White could have made a draw with 17-14.

Too much? Burned out? Set your mouse aflame on Read More to see the solution and explanatory notes.

[Read More]

Samantha was outside the library, waiting for Andrew to arrive. “Come, on, come on, before she realizes ...”

Thirteen long minutes passed before Andrew pulled up to the curb. Samantha tore open the passenger door and scrambled into the car.

"Go! Now! Quick!" she said as she swung the door shut behind her.

"What's going on ..."

"Go! Go! NOW!" Samantha said frantically.

Andrew pulled quickly away from the curb and drove down the street.

"Faster!" Samantha said, turning to look out the back window. "She'll be at the door any second now ... there she is! Turn the car, get it out of sight!"

Andrew made a quick right turn into the nearest side street and continued driving. Samantha let out a breath and turned back around to face forward again.

"Whew! That was close!" she said.

Andrew turned back on to the main street, driving in the direction of the highway back to Lake City. "Would you mind explaining?"

"It's complicated, but I think I found something. And we better leave town right away."

"We're on our way," Andrew said. "It's an hour back to Lake City. Plenty of time to explain, even if it's complicated."

# # #

On the drive back, Samantha told Andrew about Miss Victor's extreme unfriendliness, and about the book of checker problems Samantha had found on a shelf in the library.

"A copy, you say," Andrew said. "Not the original."

"Right, a photocopy."

"Then the original is somewhere else, or missing altogether. Maybe it's archived due to its age. Or maybe ..."

"What?"

"Never mind. I need to have a look at it when we get back to the hotel. But I can't believe you stole it from the library!"

Samantha smiled and put her hand on Andrew's shoulder. "I'm just full of surprises," she said.

# # #

They were back in their Lake City hotel in the early afternoon. Both of them were hungry, and even though Andrew was itching to have a look at Samantha's "acquisition" she insisted that they eat lunch first.

"Chicken fried steak," Samantha said. "My stomach may never recover from this trip. When we get back to Albuquerque, I think I'm going to make you take me back to the Cattleman's Club."

Andrew groaned. "On a professor's salary?" he asked. "That's kind of a once a year thing."

"All right, then, I'll settle for Sadie's, but it will have to be twice."

Andrew nodded, his mind clearly elsewhere.

They were in their hotel room, and Samantha had just handed him "Cudworth's Checker Problems." Andrew was at the room's little table, minutely examining the photocopy.

"What should I do while you're, um, busy?" Samantha asked. She knew Andrew would probably spend hours with the stolen book.

"Umm ... go shopping or something," Andrew replied absently.

"Sure, since I've already toured the sausage factory, I might as well check out the couture at the Lake City General Store."

"Oh, there must be something," Andrew said.

"Right, well, I'll go find myself a nice hardware store or something. See you later." Samantha grabbed the rental car keys and was out the door.

Andrew didn't pay any attention.

# # #

Two hours passed, Andrew spending all of it looking at the slim book of checker problems. Something was familiar, but he couldn't place it. He went over and over the book, trying to make the connection, without success.

The book contained only seven problems, written out in an old-fashioned style with hand-drawn diagrams.

"These aren't original problems," Andrew muttered. "I know they're not, but ..."

Just then the door opened and Samantha came in, carrying a very large shopping bag.

"You won't believe what I found here," Samantha started to say, when all of a sudden Andrew looked up and shouted, "That's it!"

Samantha, taken aback, dropped her heavy bag. "What on earth do you mean?" she said. "I go to a quilt store and 'that's it'? What are you talking about?"

It finally registered in Andrew's mind that he had shouted his words at Samantha. "Oh, no, not you!" he said. "I mean I've got it!" He smiled, got up, and gave her a hug.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, hugging him back, rather tentatively.

"Well, I think I've got it," Andrew said. "I just have to check a couple of things on the internet. This hotel is supposed to have service, isn't it?"

"Don't you want to see our new quilt?" she asked. "I found ..."

"Yes, sure, honey, sure, right away, just as soon as ... now where did we put the laptop? We brought it with us, right?"

# # #

Samantha had folded, unfolded, and refolded her new quilt at least half a dozen times. Andrew hadn't even looked at it once.

"This internet connection is just too slow," Andrew said, probably for the tenth time. He had the stolen book opennext to the laptop and was scribbling notes on squares of paper from the little notepad he found on the hotel dresser.

About ten minutes later, he shouted, "That's it!"

"You said that before," Samantha said. "What's 'it' now?"

"I was right! I've got it!"

"You've got it? Well, I hope it's not catching. Now, can you please look at our new quilt?"

"Oh, yes, it's very nice, I love it," Andrew said. "But I knew there was something familiar about all this!"

"You've never been interested in quilts," Samantha said. "How could it be familiar?"

"No, the book! Cudworth's book! Don't you get it?"

"No. I don't. Tell me."

But Andrew was still talking. "We have to go back there."

"Back where?"

"Lindyville, where else? But it will have to be a night. Tonight. Yes, we'll go tonight. Late. Very late."

"We can't. We have a flight back in the morning. We have to be at the airport by eight."

"Change it. We'll go back Monday. This is too important. Can you take care of it? We'll call in sick or something. We can crack this case if we just go back to Lindyville, I know we can!"

Samantha looked like she would rather crack Andrew's head than the case, but she knew how he was. "I'll take care of it," she said. "Then let's go for dinner. We can give Waffle House one last chance, I suppose."

# # #

All through dinner, Andrew kept a resolute silence about his conclusions, merely saying, "You'll see, you'll see," and then consulting his notes over and over again.

"I wish we had a printer," he said. "We'll have to make do with my sketches." He produced another couple of squares of paper with untidy scrawls all over them."

Andrew paid the check. "Come on, we need to buy a couple of flashlights and a few tools," he said. "There must be a hardware store that's still open."

"Oh, there is," Samantha said, "believe me, I've seen every store in this town."

Half an hour later, the rental car's trunk was loaded with flashlights, batteries, a crowbar, a pickaxe, a bolt cutter, a hammer, and some large screwdrivers.

"Planning a break-in or something?" the checkout clerk had asked. Andrew had just glared while Samantha stared open-mouthed.

"Let's get an hour or two of sleep," Andrew said. "We'll be on the road by eleven and get to Lindyville by midnight."

"What on earth are we up to?" Samantha asked.

"You'll see, you'll see," Andrew kept repeating, all the way back to the hotel.

---

Have you figured it out yet? Perhaps this problem will solve the mystery for you.

The problem is of medium difficulty (or maybe not quite), but the solution is very appealing. See how you do and then click Read More to see the solution.

[Read More]

The Checker Maven is in the midst of office renovations, and it's a stressful, difficult, and expensive time. We'll be shutting down our computers tonight (Monday, February 8, 2016) around 8 PM HST, and they'll be off for a couple of weeks. Never fear, The Checker Maven website will stay online and Saturday columns will appear on schedule. It's just that we might be a little slow in responding to email, as for the most part we'll be working out of the Hamilton Library on the University of Hawai`i Mānoa campus.

We'll be back as soon as we can!

We're always looking for entertaining and instructive speed problems. Unlike like the young racers above, our goal today isn't to cross the finish line first; it's to further develop our checker visualization skills, and one way to do that is with a good problem solved against the clock.

Regular contributors Josh and Lloyd Gordon of Toronto sent us a speed problem that is relatively easy, but quite surprisingly, it arose in actual over the board play. You'll see what we mean when you solve it.

Click on the link below to display the problem and start our unforgiving Javascript clock. Then come back and click on Read More to check your solution.

February 2016 Speed Problem (easy, 5 seconds)

[Read More]

Last year we had the great pleasure of meeting the well-known and highly respected North Carolina checkerist and checker correspondent J.R. Smith, when he and his family spent a few days in Hawai`i Nei.

We all had breakfast at Keoni's in Waikiki, where we asked J.R. if we could write a column about him; he graciously agreed. Here's J.R.'s story, told in his own words.

"I grew up on a farm in a rural community called Porter in Stanley County, NC.  I was the 4th child of five brothers and five sisters. We all played checkers as kids and especially on winter weekends. One of my earliest memories was helping my older sister, Nina make a checker board and pieces.  She mostly did it while I helped a little.

She cut the squares out on a wide pine board with a pocket knife and the pieces were sawed from an old broken broom handle.  We smutted the grooves on the board and the dark squares & pieces from the fireplace.  We were acting on stories we heard about our Grandpa Smith who ran a saw mill and made his own checkerboard.

There was a country store about two miles from our home to which we would walk or ride double on a bicycle and watch older folks play in the back around the stove.  When I was in FFA (Future Farmers of America) I won the checker championship twice in a row.  This was a summer camp program offered through our school system.  We would save our money so we could go each summer to White Lake, NC.  This was one of many events during that week of camp.

I also remember buying my first checker book in the book store at NC State College, Raleigh, NC while participation in our FFA judging contests as: Seed, Weed, & Tool Contest;  Land Judging;  Cattle, Poultry, Swing, & Dairy, etc. The State Finals were held at NC State College.

It wasn’t until 1997 that I knew anything about organized checkers.  I read in the Greensboro News & Record about a National Checker Tournament being held at Howard Johnson Inn – South, in Greensboro, NC.  I visited the tournament which was August 11th - 15th and I met Merle Vaughan, Bill Stanley, and Clint Pickard.  Merle Vaughan actually invited me to play a few practice games with him.  This was my first experience with professional checkers, and I learned about North Carolina Checker Association and the America Checker Federation.

I later attended some local and state tournaments with Bill McClintock.

At the NC State Open Tournament in July 1999 at the Best Western-Cary Inn & Suites, Cary, NC  I joined NCCA as a life-time member by persuasion from Cecil Lowe and Clint Pickard.

Les Balderson, ACF President worked closely with NC and us. We held five Nationals in Sanford and Greensboro, NC.  I recall Les was big on promoting Life-Time ACF memberships which I bought mine in 2000. We strive to keep District 4 healthy for the Carolinas, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, and Georgia.  NCCA also took a special interest in promoting 11-Man Ballot Checkers, originally because Elbert Lowder loved this style of play and other District 4 players picked up interest and respect for the depth it adds to our wonderful mind sport.  I feel the same things about checkers that fascinated and entertained our forefathers still exist today.  The game is so simple a child can play it and yet no one has mastered it. 

I suppose I got bit by the checker bug while mingling with the key individuals like Clint Pickard, Cecil Lowe, Raleigh Johnson, Bill McClintock, Elbert Lowder, and John Webster who supported and help organize North Carolina checkers. They started our trust fund which helps support our tournaments and preserve NC Checkers. 

I feel it’s important and I enjoy helping to continue our NC checker legacy.  The grand old game is a hobby, a mind sport with beauty and complexity sometimes missed by today’s general public because of the relative simplicity of the rules of checkers as compared to chess. The game is worthy of our attention and preservation.

In 2005 I was elected Secretary and Bill McClintock as Treasurer of NCCA, approved by the Executive Committee.  Clint Pickard held the Treasurer’s position and Elbert Lowder was Secretary who both wanting to transfer their duties to younger members.

Cecil Lowe, NCCA President and Clint Pickard were great mentors; I feel I got excellent guidance and counsel from both.

We started our NCCA website in 2004, I originally wanted to do something like Eric Strange did with ICF but at the time I didn’t have the where-with-all, resources, or game database.  We decided to stick with a checker calendar for upcoming tournaments and events, report results, and have picture of players and the events.  We want to promote checkers, and keep everyone informed."

J.R. continues:

"There are no short cuts to obtaining Master Skill.  It takes a good memory and many hours of study, practice, and playing.  This means you use books or the internet to download study games, positions, and problems.  I like Strange’s ICF site, ACF, Newell’s Checker Maven, Al Lyman’s Checkerworld,  Kacher’s  Library, and Jim Loy’s site (which is down now) to do this.  You need to play as much as possible with a better player who will help you or play in an internet game room like Play-OK.

Checker programs like Checkerboard with Cake or Kingrow and WCC are great tools to improve your game.

I know what I should do to get better but haven’t dedicated the time or discipline to do it.  I also like reading checker history and reading about yesterday’s greats which brings me to Jay Hinnershitz’s OMOCH site.  Roberto Waldteufel also has an excellent site.

I think it is important to have a local checker club or regularly scheduled gathering to keep up the interest and recruit new player from public exposure and activities.  We have weekly meetings every Tuesday. We play checkers in a supportive environment to improve knowledge and skill as well as fun and friendship.

I will close my checker story with mentioning my concern about our obligation to promote our great game.  We desperately need to set up checker clubs and tournaments in public and private middle schools. We must grow checkers from the ground up by getting youth playing checkers.  These programs must be coordinated with the school system and Principal.  It will take everyone in your checker club to share the load and duties to establish and supervise study sessions and nurture an after school checker program."

We asked J.R. for a game or a line of play that he found interesting. He mentioned several but this one turned out to be fascinating.

"One of my pet or favorite games is one I borrowed from Jerry Lattimer from Waverly, NY.  He was a Champion Mail player and had a nice checker site but it close in 2002 like so many others have over the years. The game is a variation of Old Fourteenth as 11-15, 23-19, 8-11, 22-17, 4-8 forms the Old Fourteenth but White elects to continue 25-22, leaving the trunk line with this variation 9-14, 17-13."

At this point J.R. mentions that 14-18 has up to now been considered a loss, and indeed it is inferior to 14-17, which still leaves White with a bit of an edge but much less of one.

We give the whole run-up here.

1.	11-15	23-19
2.	8-11	22-17
3.	4-8	25-22
4.	9-14

9-13 or 15-18 give equality. The text move sends Black down a hard road.

4.	...	17-13
5.	14-18

14-17, as we noted, would have been better. We now have the problem position.

Demonstrating the win takes some time and effort. J.R. can do it; can you? It's not so easy, but one thing's for sure: clicking on Read More will show you how it's done.

[Read More]

Yes, it's janvier, meaning "January" in French, and Janvier happens to be the name of the old-time American checker player and writer, J.D. Janvier, to whom today's study in our Checker School series is attributed.

Black has the early king. Still, White is about to go a piece up, but Black will quickly even the count. How can White win? This problem is rather easier than most of our Checker School studies, but it's interesting nonetheless. Trouvez la solution and then click on Read More to verify your answer, read the explanatory notes, and play through a sample game.

[Read More]

Today we present the seventh and final volume of Grandmaster Richard Pask's 21st Century Checkers, comprising the 12-16 ballots. 21st Century Checkers will surely be the definitive reference for many years to come, and The Checker Maven is proud and privileged to be able to offer Mr. Pask's work, absolutely free for the taking thanks to Mr. Pask's boundless generosity to the checker-playing community.

Looking forward, Mr. Pask contemplates an "omnibus" which will be comprised of all seven parts in a single book, to be entitled Complete Checkers; it will be available most likely later on in 2016 as a free downloadable electronic version. We are also contemplating a printed edition, which of course cannot be free, but will be offered on a non-profit basis, with all proceeds above costs being donated to support youth checkers.

Meanwhile, volume seven can be downloaded here or from the "Richard Pask" page linked in the column on the right. And to get you started, here's a fascinating position taken from the book. The run-up is as follows:

1.	12-16	22-17
2.	16-20	17-13
3.	11-15	25-22
4.	8-11	24-19
5.	15x24	28x19
6.	11-15	19-16
7.	4-8	29-25
8.	8-12	22-17
9.	12x19	23x16
10.	15-19	25-22

We have now reached {v14, #2096 in the book}

11.

9-14

27-23

A losing move. Detailed computer analysis shows 30-25 to be a narrow (and very hard to find) draw, but can you find the Black win here?

This problem is certainly in the grandmaster category. But we urge you to try it anyhow. Doing the analysis will surely develop your skills, and when you click on Read More and view the solution, you'll learn something no matter what your current skill level. Advanced problems are a great challenge for top players and a source of inspiration and education for the rest of us.

[Read More]

Saturday morning dawned sunny and cold. It was the kind of morning made for staying in bed late and snuggling under warm blankets.

But at about 8 AM Andrew was out of bed, nudging Samantha. "Come on, sleepyhead, there's a busy day ahead! I want to get to Lindyville when the library opens at ten!

Andrew figured Lindyville to be about an hour's drive, given the likely poor winter condition of the two-lane road that lead there from Lake City.

"Look, I know you're tired out from yesterday's excitement ..."

He ducked the pillow that Samantha threw at him, but didn't see the second one coming, and it hit him square in the face.

"Excitement," Samantha muttered, throwing the covers aside and getting out of the bed. "Dusty basement records rooms and a drive through town highlighted by a tour of the Lake City Sausage Factory. Even your old checker magazines would top that."

"Glad to hear you're showing an interest," Andrew said, rubbing his face. "Waffle House for breakfast?"

"Like there's a choice?" Samantha went into the bathroom and closed the door.

They arrived at the Lindyville Library at about 11 o'clock. "Let me handle this," Samantha said. "You haven't done very well with Miss Victor so far, and she doesn't know me."

"Okay," Andrew said. "I want to see if I can find the site of the old checker club, so I'll just pick you up here in about an hour."

Samantha got out of the rental car and waved as Andrew drove off. Then she turned and faced the Library entrance.

The building was a lot larger than she had expected. Lindyville's population was under two hundred but this looked like a decent-sized library and it was in a rather new-looking building on a generously sized lot.

Samantha pulled open the glass door and entered. The interior was divided into three rooms, two of them quite large, all of them lined with bookshelves around the walls and tables and chairs in the middle.

To her left was what was obviously the checkout and reference desk. And Samantha had no trouble at all recognizing Miss Victor, who was favoring her with a cold glare.

"Haven't seen you here before," Miss Victor said. She was exactly what Samantha had expected: a rather large middle-aged woman with florid features and dark hair pulled back into an untidy bun. Her voice was low and rough. Definitely a smoker, as Andrew had pointed out.

"I'm not from around here," Samantha said.

"Don't have to tell me that," Miss Victor said.

"I ... I'm just visiting."

"Don't get many visitors in Lindyville. None of them come to the Library, either."

"Well, let me be the first!" Samantha said, affecting a bright tone.

It didn't work.

"Must be here for a reason," Miss Victor said. "You didn't just sort of end up here."

It's time to take this on, Samantha thought. She walked over to the desk and faced Miss Victor.

"Yes, I'm here for a reason," Samantha said. "I came here with Professor Lopez from the University of New Mexico."

Miss Victor's eyes flicked. "Him," she said. "He doesn't listen very well."

"That's as may be, Miss Victor," Samantha said. "But we're doing research, and I would think that as the town's librarian, you'd want to be helpful. Now, surely you know something about the old Lindyville Checker Club. What can you tell me?"

"Nothing. Can't tell you nothing ... er, anything."

"Surely you've heard of it? Surely you know about the murder?"

"That's an old, old story, long done and gone. What are you, one of them ... er... those ... big city troublemakers, trying to make our town look bad? People don't care for that, you know. Outsiders stirring things up, I mean."

There was an awkward silence. "Well, if you can't help me," Samantha finally said, "do you at least have a reference section? You know, someplace where I can do a little research?"

"Library's full of books," Miss Victor said.

"I meant, you know, the history of Lindyville ..."

"Look around. You're bound to find something. Now if you'll excuse me I have work to do." Miss Victor looked down and started turning the pages of a copy of Vogue.

"I thought your job was ... never mind." Samantha walked off toward the bookshelves.

History is bound to be here somewhere, Samantha thought. I wonder what call number is for local history? No use asking the librarian, that's for sure.

Samantha somehow found herself looking at 790s bookcase. 794.1, books on chess ... 794.2 ... checkers! Maybe there would be something here. Let's see ... Lee's Guide ... Churchill's Compilation ... Checker Magic. The books all looked pretty old and worn, and nothing about a Lindyville Checker Club.

She absently pulled a book from the shelf and leafed through the pages. She replaced it and pulled out another. As she did so, a tattered photocopy fell to the floor. Samantha bent down and picked it up.

It was just a handful of pages stapled together. The title was typewritten. Cudworth's Problem Book, by Bill Cudworth. There was a handwritten note on the cover as well. "Replacement of Lost Original from Lindyville Checker Club".

Had Samantha hit the jackpot? That librarian had to have known about this. Why didn't she say anything? Samantha was starting to get suspicious.

She stole a glance at the checkout desk. Miss Victor was deep in her "work." With a quick motion, Samantha folded the photocopy in half and stuffed it into her purse. Then she replaced the book she had pulled out, and strode nonchalantly toward the exit, keeping her purse on the side of her body away from Miss Victor.

"I'll be leaving now," she said brightly. "Thank you for all your help."

Miss Victor looked up briefly. "Don't like troublemakers," she said to Samantha's back.

About fifteen minutes passed, when, all of a sudden, an expression of horror came over Miss Victor's face. Moving very quickly for someone of her girth, she got out of her chair and sped across the room to the third aisle from the end, reaching the 794.2 section in seconds. She pulled a book from the shelf and flipped through the pages.

"It's gone!" she exclaimed. "How could I forget about the copy!" She ran toward the exit. "That little thief ..."

The bright sunlight struck her eyes as she pushed the door open and looked up and down the road, but Samantha was nowhere to be seen.

---

Today's problem can be solved in two different ways. Perhaps you can find them both, but give yourself full credit for finding either one. This is a classic endgame, one that it would do you well to know how to win.

See if you can win it, then click on Read More to see the solutions.

[Read More]

This column will appear on January 2, 2016. You've had Friday off from work, most likely, and you've hopefully shaken off any New Year's Eve excesses, had your fill of football games, and are ready to settle down to a little checkers to get the new year rolling.

Today we present a full game based on the Single Corner opening. It comes from master play from an earlier day. There are two parts to our checker problem. First, here's the whole game, without commentary.

11-15 22-18 15x22 25x18 12-16 29-25 9-13 25-22 16-20 24-19 8-11 19-16 4-8 16-12 11-16 18-14 10x17 21x14 6-10 22-17 13x22 26x17 8-11 30-25 11-15 23-19 15x24 28x19 16x23 27x18 1-6 25-21 10-15 18x11 7x16 31-27 16-19 32-28 2-7

When originally published, this was correctly left as a Black win (with White to play). Now, the first part of our problem is to demonstrate the win. If you're any sort of advanced player, you'll be able to do this easily enough. If you're a non-expert, it's an excellent exercise in winning a won game.

The second part of the problem is much harder. Can you go back into the game and find out where White went wrong? Again, experts will realize quickly that this line in the Single Corner is not so common. But there's one move that can definitely be said to lose. Can you correct the play?

You'll need to get out your board for this one; we recommend that instead of a computer, as we don't want you to be tempted to simply look at computer analysis.

Will this start the year off right? Only you can say. See how you do and then click on Read More to see the solutions.

[Read More]

We hope that your holiday season is going well, and that it is filled with everything you might wish for. Our holidays definitely include time for checkers, and today we'd like to turn to someone who was without doubt one of the greatest American players of his day, Samuel Gonotsky.

Mr. Gonotsky suffered from poor health made worse by his reputed lack of interest in taking care of himself, and a perennial lack of money. Had he lived beyond his twenties, who knows what checker mountains he might have climbed?

Today, let's look at one of his relatively few problem positions.

This one will require some thought, so maybe it's one to try to solve with that cup of coffee after dinner or a slice of leftover mince pie. It's up to you how to go about it, but the main thing is to enjoy. When you're ready, click on Read More to see the solution.

[Read More]