No, we don't know what they are either! When we think of "three of a kind" playing cards come to mind first, followed by a few other more ordinary images. Our photo is definitely "three of a kind" but the mystery of their identity will remain unsolved.

Today's Checker School entry is also three of a kind; or, at least, three variations on a common checker theme. In each setting, Black has three kings to White's two kings and a man, and it is up to Black to demonstrate a win. It's not an easy task, but the situations are very practical and knowing this theme will score you many an extra point in competitive play.

F. N. JOHNSON
WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W29,K7,K6:BK22,K15,K14.

M. H. C. WARDELL
WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W29,K3,K2:BK30,K22,K15.

R. E. BOWEN
WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W21,K12,K1:BK14,K11,K10.

In a sense, if you can solve one, you can solve them all; but it's easier said than done. As a small hint, you may wish to do these in reverse order, starting with the third diagram.

Give it a try, and note that as usual one thing is no mystery: clicking on Read More brings you the solutions, sample games, and many explanatory notes.

This year's baseball season is well underway, and we're certain that old-time checkerist Harvey L. Hopkins would be horrified. Mr. Hopkins, you'll perhaps recall, was an attorney in Chicago in the late 1800s, and published a checker pamphlet called Home Checker Companion: Our Boys at Home.

We've teased a lot in our columns about Mr. Hopkins' pedantic, moralistic approach to checkers; we've even made him a part of the back-story to the alternative reality of Marvin J. Mavin's world. In his little booklet, he put forth the thesis that going to baseball games was a rather unsavory activity, perhaps even leading to a life of crime! How much better it would be if "the boys" stayed at home and played checkers, under close parental supervision, to be sure.

We can't deny that staying home and playing checkers is a good thing. Neither can we deny that parental supervision is equally good. But as fans ourselves, we have trouble with Mr. Hopkins' theory about the evils of baseball. Still and all, it's a fact that Mr. Hopkins was a skilled checkerist, and today's problem (which Mr. Hopkins attributes to Ralph D. Banks) is a clever and instructive study.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W28,23,K22:BK29,21,20,15.

It's a common occurence: Black, being a piece up, should win handily, but his position is cramped and demonstrating the win over the board is necessary. Can you do it, solving by sight alone? Never mind that ball game, you've got a checker problem to work out! Do your best and then click on Read More to see the solution.

May Day, the first of May, has its presumable roots in the ancient fires of Beltane, but is today celebrated in a number of different ways. In England, May Day is a substantial civic celebration, with traditions such as the Maypole, the May Queen, and much more.

In France, it's customary to give a lilly-of-the-valley to your lady of choice.

In Germany, Walpurgisnacht is celebrated on May Day Eve (Faust, anyone?).

May Day is also a Roman Catholic holiday. And finally, May Day is celebrated by the international labor movement as a day of the worker, and in some countries, military parades are held.

While we don't in any way accord with the philosophies of these aforesaid countries, most of whom repressed and exploited the worker while pretending to act in his interests, we think a checker problem that Tom Wiswell originally called "Victory" is appropriate. On May Day, the ancient traditions celebrated the victory of light over darkness, with the advent of spring and the coming of longer days. And we note that in the end, when the Communist system collapsed some years ago, the worker really was the victor---1.

So here's our celebratory problem, and as usual for a Tom Wiswell piece, it's a dandy. It's anything but easy, but it's worth the effort.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W17,20,25,30,32:B5,10,11,16,23.

1---The Checker Maven makes no apologies for its pro-democracy position.

March on to victory, but if it rains on your parade, click Read More to see the delightful solution.

The Hedgehoppers were a relatively obscure band from Durban, South Africa, circa 1971 (just where do we come up with these things?). Quite honestly, we've never listened to their music; and today, we'd wager it would be difficult to find.

Perhaps equally difficult to find is Willie Ryan's classic book, Tricks Traps & Shots of the Checkerboard. Fortunately, we're reprinting sections of it here each month; and in our usual manner, our lead photo and full column have related titles. Today, we bring you Hynd's Hedgehopper, explained to us by Willie himself.

"Here is a good stroke by Champion John Hynd of Manchester, England, which is recorded in every expert's notebook. Hynd, by the way, has been playing top-flight draughts for almost half a century, and is still playing with the best. A former Champion of England, he played on the British team in the 1905 International Match.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,31,32:B1,3,6,7,9,10,11,12,14,15,18.

A---Off the beam, and loses. Here is how black should play it: 6-9*, 32-28, 9-13---1, 19-16, 12-19, 23-16, 14-17, 21-14, 10-17, 24-19, 15-24, 22-8, 3-19, 27-23, 17-21, 23-16, 21-30, 28-19, 30-23, 16-12, 23-16, 20-2, 1-6, etc., for a draw; an old combination."

1---Ed Gilbert's King's Row computer engine gives 1-6 to draw here as well, and the continuation is also quite flashy: 1-6 20-16 11x20 19-16 12x19 23x16 15-19 24x15 10x19 22x15 14-18 15-11 18-23 27x18 9-13 11x2 3-8 2x9 5x30 to a draw.

Can you sing and dance your way through this one? Don't worry, sweet music can be had by clicking on Read More, which will take you straight to the solution.

We've had a few inquiries about our new, downsized and down-costed Santa Fe location, so to better illustrate, we've shown above a (rather poor) webcam photo of your editor's desk. The offices are not much different from those at the old location; they're just smaller and the building itself is somewhat older, and certainly in a part of town substantially further down the prestige ladder. What a difference a half a mile can make!

The larger question, of course, is as yet unanswered: in this economic downturn, how long can we keep offices in both Santa Fe and Honolulu? While we don't yet have a timetable, it seems likely that one or the other will close in the next year or so. Time, fortune, and the wishes of our parent company, Mr. Fred Investments, will ultimately tell the tale.

Volleyball players Heffner and Price were two of the mainstays of the Alabama women's volleyball team some six or seven years ago, but that was Erin Heffner and Erin Price. And for better or worse, our topic in these columns isn't women's volleyball.

Instead, it's our mission and our duty to focus on checkers, and today's lesson in our monthly Checker School series, drawn from the pages of Ben Boland's Famous Positions in the Game of Checkers, concerns closely related positions by checkerists A. J. Heffner and G. Price. We have no way of knowing if these gentlemen ever played volleyball, but their mastery of the art of Dama is undoubted.

A. J. HEFFNER
BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK9,31,32:BK8,12,20.

G. PRICE
WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Draw

B:W32,27,K10:B20,12,K8.

Now that we've served up these problems, can you volley back at us with the solutions? Give it a try, but if there are spikes in your path, click on Read More to jump to the solutions, sample game, and explanatory notes.

We're not talking today about the city of Denver, as attractive and appealing as that modern metropolis might be. Instead, we're talking about John Denvir (and neither do we mean the late popular musician who called himself John Denver). John T. Denvir was a well-known checker player and author in the early 1900s, and was, to put it mildly, a man of controversy. He did publish a number of checker instruction books, and today's two-part problem is drawn from one of them.

First, look at this position arising from a Single Corner opening:

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W22,20,18,12,9:B14,11,3,2.

White has drawing moves here, and it's not so hard to find them. We invite you to give it a try.

One way not to draw is with the seemingly clever 20-16, which results in this position.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W22,18,16,12,9:B14,11,3,2.

Can you find a win for Black at this point?

If you don't find the solutions, you needn't travel all the way to Denver to see how it's done; clicking on Read More will transport you immediately to the answers.

The current state of the economy affects everyone, and The Checker Maven is no exception.

We don't spoil your reading experience by publishing advertising; we will never, ever charge a subscription fee; and we neither solicit nor accept donations. Revenue from a handful of collateral products, and cross-subsidies from our parent company, the Avi Gobbler Productions Division of Mr. Fred Investments, provide us with our only sources of income. It's no surprise that with the economy as it is, our operating funds are down substantially.

So, as a cost-saving measure, we made the decision to move our Santa Fe offices half a mile or so to smaller quarters in a less expensive area. Our staff count will remain the same, and most importantly, regular Saturday publication of The Checker Maven will continue without interruption or reduction in quality or quantity of content.

Spring has come to the northern hemisphere, and our rather impressive long jumper in the photo above is literally springing into spring as the outdoor season arrives. But even with our irrepressible urge to get out of the house and into the fine fresh air, we know you still have a little time to keep up with your game of checkers.

In this week's column we help you do just that, with a nice speed problem that will give you a little practice without keeping you inside for too long. We rank it as "medium" on the difficulty scale and allow you ... one minute. After all, the sunshine and blue skies are calling you!

Click below to show the problem and start the clock, then click on Read More to check your solution.

April Speed Problem (medium; 60 seconds)

A very complex-looking double crossing is to be found in the model railway section pictured above. We wonder, though, if it's equal in complexity to today's checker problem, which, most appropriately, arises in a line of the Double Cross opening. The Double Cross, arising from 9-14 23-18, has a bit of shall we say a checkered reputation, with 23-18 being at best a weak reply to 9-14. Nevertheless, it's completely playable if you know what you're doing, but there's plenty of opportunity to go astray.

But for now, let's jump right into our position, in which White has indeed strayed from the narrow path.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W31,27,19,18:B11,10,9,4.

Can you find the Black win, or will you get all crossed up? Don't be cross about it; clicking on Read More brings you the solution, the run-up to the position, and the usual explanatory notes.