"Look Before You Leap" is good advice not just for the checker player but for life in general. Willie Ryan used that well-known phrase to title one of the positions in his famous Tricks, Traps, & Shots of the Checkerboard, more of which appears today as we continue our electronic republication of this unmatched classic.

They'll Do It Every Time!

Here is a quick play on the ancient single corner opening that has been dropping the duffers since the days of Anderson and Wyllie. I've scored with this one on countless occasions in my exhibitions.

11-15 22-18 15-22 25-18 8-11 24-19 10-15 19-10 6-22 26-17 9-13 17-14 11-15 28-24 4-8---A.

A---Caught! Either 1-6 or 15-18 will draw.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W14,21,23,24,27,29,30,31,32:B1,2,3,5,7,8,12,13,15.

Look Before You Leap

One of the first lessons a beginner learns by sad experience is that moves that appear worthy are often the stepping stones to sudden defeat. The accompanying game illustrates the ever present danger of making plausible-looking moves without first considering the consequences of all possible replies. The following sequence of moves creates the pattern in the diagram:

11-15 23-19 8-11 22-17 4-8 17-13 15-18 24-20 9-14 28-24 10-15 19-10 6-15 26-23 12-16---A.

A---A natural advance that turns into a rout. The correct moves are: 15-19, 24-15, 5-9, 13-6, 1-26, 31-15, 11-18, 25-22, etc., resulting in a draw.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W13,20,21,23,24,25,27,29,30,31,32:B1,2,3,5,7,8,11,14,15,16,18.

Editor's Note: We encourage you to take a good look at these positions before you leap to the solution by clicking on Read More.

Solutions

They'll Do It Every Time!

And now white ends all with: 21-17, 13-22, 14-10, 7-14, 23-18, 14-23, 27-4, 12-16, 30-26; white wins.

Look Before You Leap

Continue: 23-19, 16-23, 20-16, 11-20, 25-22, 18-25, 27-4, 20-27, 32-23, 1-6, 29-22; white wins.