Yes, that's a Gibson Les Paul guitar, made by the Gibson company. The famous guitar manufacturer was founded by one Orville Gibson in 1902, and revolutionized guitar design with an arch-top model, based on the design of the violin.

Our current Checker School series is featuring "snappy" problems by G. M. Gibson. We don't know anything about this gentleman; was he a contemporary of Orville, or a relative or descendant? Did Orville play checkers himself?

These questions will remain unanswered for the moment. But we're happy to present another of Mr. Gibson's "snappy" (or should we, to accord with our metaphor, call it "twangy"?) problems.

WHITE

BLACK
B:WK7,20,K25:B4,K14,K15.

Forces are even, although Black, with centralized kings, may have more mobility. Can you snap out a win from this one? Pick away at it and then strum your mouse on Read More to see the solution.

Clever, Montana, is a real place, a fast-growing small town of about 3,000 with the motto "It just gets better every day." The town is well over 100 years old and it's pretty likely to have some sort of checker playing history. Do folks still play checkers in Clever? We emailed a town official but we never got a reply, so we can't say for sure.

There's certainly a place for cleverness in the game of checkers, and today's problem, a "not quite" speed problem, relies on a clever first move.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W13,15,17,18,19,23,26,27,30:B1,6,8,9,10,12,16,20,21.

Are you clever enough to solve it? We think you are, but when you're done, the clever thing to do would be to click on Read More to check your solution.

Labor Day is another one of our favorite holidays, for it gives us the chance to recognize the contributions of the average guy and gal, the working woman and working man who are the backbone of America's prosperity. Every day these folks put in an honest day's work and ask no more than the chance to get ahead a little, to take care of their families, and to do their part in building a society that will offer something to everyone.

As we've pointed out in previous years, many checkerists were and are "ordinary" people who in fact are quite extraordinary. Checker champions have been baseball players and steel workers and just about anything you can think of. Checkers knows no boundary of class or status, and we can't help but feel good about that.

We turn as always to Tom Wiswell, with something he called Fantastic. He could have easily been describing himself, but of course Mr. Wiswell was modest and humble as are most of the truly great.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win?

W:W9,12,16,19,24,25,30:B1,3,10,18,21,28.

Now, we're going to do something different this week. We'll give you the solution up front. Here is what Mr. Wiswell published quite some years ago.

Mr. Wiswell's solution ends here. Continue:

White Wins with the opposition.

But the thing is that Mr. Wiswell, very uncharacteristically, was wrong. The position is actually a draw. So what you ask you to labor away at is this: Correct the play above and show how Black can draw. You've got your work cut out for you, and the task is not easy. But, as the saying goes, that's why they call it "work." When you're ready, work your mouse over to Read More to see the annotated and corrected play.

It looks like something straight out of a horror movie; the evil villain (let's call him Mr. Scissors) threatens our heroine with a horrible fate. But of course, we know that the hero will arrive to save the day ... or will he?

The villain in the old movie above certainly isn't regular contributor and master problemist Ed Atkinson, who sent us today's problem, which he of course calls Mr. Scissors.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK17,19,22,24:B8,11,K26,K28.

Once you find the right first move, the problem isn't all that hard. Can you cut it? Snip away and save the day, then cut your mouse over to Read More to see the cutting-edge solution.

At our Checker Maven location we're already seeing preliminary effects of Hurricane Lane and we anticipate heavy rain and high winds tonight (August 23, 2018) and tomorrow and into the weekend. If the storm doesn't make its anticipated westward turn it could track right over us.

Our offices will be closed and we could be out of touch for anything from a short while to a longer while. Publication will continue for at least a few weeks as that's all automated, and our server is on the mainland.

We're hoping for the best but we're prepared to be indoors for a while with our checker books!

Popularity is fleeting. One day you're in ...

... the next day, you're out.

Our game of checkers, too, has gone through such cycles.

In 1908, a match was played for the championship of Essex County, Massachusetts. One can only imagine with wonder at the popularity of checkers 110 years ago, at a level such that even county championships were vigorously contested.

The match was played between C. O. Mayberry, who was champion of the city of Lynn (yes, there were municipal champions as well), and Frank L. McClellan, the Captain of the Lynn Checker Club (in additional to the local club, the Lynn newspaper published a checker column). In the position below, Mr. Mayberry played Black and Mr. McClellan, White. The setting was originally featured in Teetzel's Canadian Checker Player. Mr. Teetzel opines that Mr. Mayberry must have thought he was going to win, but it was not to be, as Mr. McClellan found a clever draw.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W9,16,18,20,26,30:B1,3,7,11,21,K29.

Checkers is, sadly, far less popular today, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to enjoy the game. Will the problem above prove "popular" with you? We think so, and after you solve it, we're sure you'll enjoy clicking on Read More to check your solution.

Wow, we'd hate to be on the receiving end of whatever is going on in the photo above; that lady is really snapping at someone. We can only hope it all gets worked out peacefully.

We're continuing our Checker School series with another "snappy" problem posed to our friend Nemo by his mentor, Skittle, both of whom appear in Checker Board Strategy by Andrew J. Banks, a self-described "checker philosopher." The problem itself is attributed to G. M. Gibson.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:WK9,19,25:B11,K17,K18.

Black has two kings and a man to White's one king and two men, and has one other obvious advantage. Do you see it? Do you see how White might defend, and how Black might still overcome that defense?

Don't snap at us; we're just trying to provide you with interesting material! And when you find the solution, you'll surely snap to attention! Clicking on Read More will let you check your work and review our extensive notes.

If you browse with Google Chrome, you may have noticed that for a little while now our site bears the legend "Not secure" next to the URL. Is The Checker Maven indeed "not secure"?

Actually, it's fine. We don't collect any information from you so there's nothing that needs to be encrypted or hidden away. But Google is pushing web site managers to move from the http protocol to the encrypted https protocol.

The problem for us, aside from the time it would take to make the switch, is that we'd incur almost $100 per year in additional costs, and neither us nor you would really get anything in return.

So we're keeping things as-is for a while longer. Don't worry, your personal information isn't at risk, because we never collect it in the first place.

"Sort of" is a common two-word phrase in English. We're "sort of" tired or hungry. We "sort of" need to do homework, laundry, yard work, etc. And the best example of all: We're "sort of" interested in doing something or going somewhere.

We hope that all of us are more than "sort of" interested in checkers, though; and if we are, you'll find this "sort of" speed problem (pun intended), provided by regular contributors Lloyd and Josh Gordon, to be a good one.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W14,15,18,19,24,27,28,30:B1,3,6,7,8,11,20,22.

Why is this a "sort of" speed problem? The initial sequence is easy to find, but the follow-up play is a bit more complex, though certainly below the expert range. So don't "sort of" solve it; do it all the way, after which clicking on Read More will more than "sort of" show you the solution and explanatory notes.

1987: Korea and Iran were in the news (sound familiar?). Reagan was President. The stock market had a giant meltdown. And IBM's John Akers declared 1987 to be "The Year of the Customer" leaving us to wonder what other years might have been.

But did you know there was "The Year of the Checker"? Well, those exact words weren't used, and it was only the thought of one writer, but the following quote makes our point.

"... this season finds checkers fast becoming one of the leading popular pastimes, with checker clubs being formed in almost every large city in the country. Team matches are going on, checker columns are appearing in the local papers and the year XXXX will witness the greatest checker gathering of all time ..."

Taken from a checker book, we think this rather effectively declares that "The Year of the Checker" was in progress. We challenge you to name the book and the author, and replace "XXXX" with the year that the author referenced. What year was "The Year of the Checker"? (Hint: It certainly wasn't 1987.)

Although the fortune of our game has declined since, some things are timeless, such as the following problem, which appeared in the book cited above.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:WK8,K13,21:BK7,K15,K23.

The problem isn't especially difficult, though it might be better suited to a more advanced beginner than to a novice. See if this is "the year of the checker" for you; find the solution and then click on Read More to see the winning moves and the answers to our questions.