The title for this problem was bestowed upon the position by Willie Ryan himself, as published posthumiously in the book Big League Checkers. Here's the position:

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W31,30,28,27,26,25,24,21,20,18,14:B17,16,12,11,9,7,6,5,4,3,2.

Forces are even, but frankly, we don't really like the looks of the Black piece on 17. Can you come up with the move that turns the tables and wins the game?

Give it a spin, and if it all comes out backwards, turn around and click on Read More for the solution.

Solution

17-22 26-17 9-13 25-22 6-9 Black Wins; possible continuations are:

31-26 3-8 26-23 11-15 20-11 7-16 18-11 9-25 24-20 8-15 20-11 13-22

and

30-25 11-15 20-11 7-16 18-11 9-18 22-15 13-29

among others.