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Three Move Opening: A Checker Romance

Part Three: First Interlude

When Reggie arrived at class the following morning, Katie was already in her seat near the front of the room. She was deep into her Chaucer book, no doubt doing some last-minute review. Reggie dropped his backpack onto the floor near his own usual seat, and made his way to toward the front, clutching his carefully written note.

But his bus had been a little late and the classroom was already filling up. Everyone was taking their seats. He saw Katie close her Chaucer book and put it under her chair.

Dr. Rowan strode into the room, carrying a sheaf of papers. Reggie was now the only student not seated.

"Planning to take the quiz standing up, Mr. Pastor?"

Once again, all heads turned toward Reggie. But Katie turned her gaze away quickly.

"Uh ... no, sir, I ..."

"Then you'd best be seated. At once." There was no mistaking the stern tone in Dr. Rowan's voice.

Reggie got through the quiz, somehow; he even knew most of the answers to the fill-in-the-blank questions, although he had a bad time with the translation section. Who cared about Middle English verbs, anyhow?

It was over. The quiz papers were passed to the front, and the students were dismissed. Everyone packed their things and prepared to leave.

Reggie saw Katie make a rush for the door, carefully avoiding looking in his direction. Reggie grabbed his backpack and ran after her.

He managed to catch up with her in the hall. "Katie! Katie! Please wait!"

She did stop, and turned to look at him. "What is it you want, Reggie? I don't want to be late for my next class."

Next class? It was lunchtime. Reggie knew she had the next period free. "Please, Katie, just take this." He held out his hand, in which he held his note.

"But ... all right." She took the note and slid it into a pocket in her backpack. "I'll read it later. Now, I really have to get moving."

With that, she was off down the hallway at a rapid pace, and Reggie thought it best not to follow her.

Perhaps he could be brave enough to call her tonight. Or maybe, when she read the note, she would call him. Yes, he was sure that was what would happen. He'd have to be certain to have his phone with him at all times.

"I can't believe it!" Katie said.

The school day was over and she was in the little apartment she shared with her roommate, Barbara Lamont. Barbara was a short, thin, dark-haired 20 year old from the outskirts of London, who decided on school in Weymouth to get away from what she called "the insanity of the city."

"What's wrong? He's asked you out, just as you told me wanted. You were pretty upset when he didn't do that yesterday, so what's the problem now?"

"It's the way he did it," Katie said. "Here, read the note." Reggie's note was laying on the coffee table. Katie picked it up and handed it to Barbara.

Barbara read the note aloud.

11-15, 22-17, 8-11, 17-13, 15-18

My dear Suffolk Maid,

I ask you for the honour of your company at the new movie opening in Weymouth on Saturday.

Would you be willing to be my guest at the nine o'clock evening show?

Perhaps we could have a light dinner beforehand.

I await the favour of your reply.

Ever at your service,

Reggie Pastor

"What are those numbers at the top?" Barabara asked.

"Those numbers are what I'm upset over," Katie replied. "Look, I know you're not a draughts player. But those numbers represent a draughts opening. Do you know what it's called?"

"Of course not. What does it matter?"

"It matters. That's The Maid of the Mill!"

"So?"

"He refers to me as a 'Suffolk Maid.' Is that how he thinks of me? A pretty girl from a blue collar family? He must have found out ... or maybe I told him, I don't remember ... that my parents came from mill families in Rochdale. They worked their way up and moved to Suffolk. I tell you, this is absolutely insulting and unbelievably disrespectful."

"Are you maybe being a little too sensitive?"

"Too sensitive? Well, I've got a reply for him!"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, he'll find out. Tomorrow, at class."

Reggie's practice that afternoon went a lot better, and his coach noticed it. "Ah, I see girl trouble is over," Coach Talovich joked. "Draughts playing is better when not having distraction."

Reggie was anxious to talk to Jack again after practice. Coach Talovich let the club out a little early and neither Reggie nor Jack had to rush to the bus stop.

Reggie and Jack stopped outside the door of the practice room. The corridor was silent and their words echoed in the post-school-day stillness.

"Did you ask that girl out?" Jack asked.

"Sure did," Reggie said. He smiled and shifted his feet around.

"Oh, got you nervous? She didn't turn you down, did you?"

"No ..."

"Well, then, you've got yourself a date!" Jack clapped Reggie on the back. "Good going! Always listen to old Jack!"

"Uh ..."

"What is it? Aren't you happy?"

Reggie got it out all in a rush. "She hasn't answered yet. But I'm sure she'll call me any minute now?"

"She'll call? What in the world are you talking about? I thought you already called her."

Reggie told Jack about the note he had written, and pointed out that the note was so good that he just knew Katie would call.

Jack shook his head as he listened. Finally, when Reggie had concluded, he said, "Reggie, you're great at draughts, better than I am, better than probably anyone on the team. But you don't know anything about girls."

"But I ..."

"Yes, you wrote a nice note, I'm sure it was great. Actually, I'm not so sure. That 'Maid of the Mill' thing was clever but she could take it the wrong way. And expecting her to call you? You think she'll be so excited by a guy asking her out with a note--- not even a call--- that she'll take the lead and phone you? Reggie, my friend, you're kidding yourself. That just isn't going to happen."

"So what do I do then? Wait until I see her at class, I imagine ..."

"Call her tonight. Do what you should have done last night."

But Reggie didn't call, and just as Jack had predicted, Katie didn't call him, either. Around midnight, Reggie gave up waiting and went to bed.

She wanted to accept in person. That must be it, he thought as he tried in vain to fall asleep.

He made sure he was at class ten minutes in advance the next morning, catching an earlier bus just to be sure. He was in his seat, waiting, as Katie entered the classroom.

Katie headed straight toward Reggie's seat. Great! He knew it would all work out! But she wasn't smiling. Why was that?

Katie handed Reggie a slightly wrinkled sheet of paper. "Here," she said, and before Reggie could reply, she had turned and gone off to her own seat.

Dr. Rowan entered the classroom. Reggie, despite his burning desire to read what Katie had given him, knew better than to do so in front of his instructor. He'd have to face the interminable wait until class was over.

"Not so good at Middle English verbs, are we, Mr. Pastor?" Dr. Rowan was standing directly in front of Reggie, holding Reggie's quiz paper. "But you did pass after all," he continued. "Frankly, I was surprised, given your obvious dislike of one of the greatest English writers of all time." Dr. Rowan dropped the paper on Reggie's desk and walked off, distributing graded quiz papers to the other students.

Reggie really did try to pay attention for the next hour. He tried not to look in Katie's direction. He tried not to finger the note Katie had given him. He tried to take notes on Dr. Rowan's explanation of Chaucer's use of metaphor in the something-or-other tale. But it was pretty much in vain.

Finally the hour was over. Katie once again rushed to the door, and this time Reggie didn't chase after her. He would have to read her note first.

Everyone was gone and Reggie had remained behind in the now empty classroom. Dr. Rowan had even turned off the lights on his way out and Reggie was in semi-darkness, the only illumination coming from the small windows that were near ceiling-level in the room.

He opened the note. It was fairly brief.

10-15, 23-18, 6-10

I do not accept your invitation, as I found your reference to me as a "Suffolk Maid" and "Maid of the Mill" to be rather insulting. You knew of my family's mill-town ancestry and how my forebears struggled to rise from poverty.

I am disappointed, Reggie. I had thought much better of you.

Katie

Reggie couldn't believe it at first. The shock numbed him. Everything suddenly seemed unreal. As if in a dream, he noticed the streaks on the blackboard and the grime on the windows above. There was a chewing-gum wrapper on the floor.

Why did the mind focus on such little details when one's personal world was coming apart? He had read something about that somewhere ...

But the worst of all was the first line of the note. He had sent her 'Maid of the Mill' and she had responded with a draughts reference of her own.

10-15, 23-18, 6-10. Also known as 'The Goatgetter.'

To be continued ....

---

Although Katie had something entirely different in mind, the Goatgetter is an unbalanced 3-move ballot that can be tough to play over the board. Here's an example.

1.	10-15	23-18
2.	6-10	18-14
3.	9-18	24-19
4.	15-24	22-6
5.	1-10	28-19
6.	11-15	27-24
7.	8-11	25-22
8.	11-16	26-23
9.	16-20	31-27
10.	5-9	22-17
11.	4-8	17-13
12.	8-11	13-6
13.	2-9	29-25

Everything so far is by the book, and now Black should play 14. 11-16 to hold the draw. But what if Black plays the seemingly natural 14. 9-14? That would bring us to the position below.

White will indeed get Black's goat and come out the winner, but it isn't that easy. Can you work it out? We think that if you find the correct first move, you'll be able to solve it. Don't let it get your goat and don't become the goat ... give it your best try and then click on Read More to see the solution. And be sure to join us in about a month for the next chapter of our story.

[Read More]

Ed Atkinson, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is well-known in the checker community as a top player and skilled problemist. He is also, we're proud to say, a regular Checker Maven reader and occasional correspondent.

Ed offered us an original problem for publication and as you might expect, it's a dandy. He calls it Patterns, and you'll see why if you find the winning moves.

You'd think White would have an easy win here; after all, he's got two kings and Black has none. But White looks a bit crowded around Black's single corner, and the win isn't at all easy to find. This is a top-notch, difficult problem with a rewarding solution. Can you find the pattern?

See what you can arrange, and then click on Read More to check your work.

[Read More]

North America is in the depths of winter once again; it's the time of year when there's been enough winter weather that you really, really want spring to come. But you'll have to wait another eight weeks or so for that.

Fortunately, checkers never gets tiresome, and if you've got to be indoors, what better way than with a hot beverage and a fine checker study? The one below, attributed to old-time player Charles Hefter, is surprisingly good.

Looks easy, doesn't it? Black has two kings and White has but two ordinary men. But in fact winning this position requires careful play.

Can you get the full score or will you tire of the effort? Of course you won't, and clicking on Read More will allow you to check your solution.

[Read More]

Two-for-the-price-of-one promotions are certainly popular in the world of marketing, making the buyer believe they're getting a good deal. Sometimes you do get a good price, and at other times (such as in the photo above), not so much. We occasionally refer to some bad deals as giving you "fifty percent off twice the price" or what is known in French as a "fausse solde."

But to start off February we have, indeed, two checker problems for the price of one, and it's definitely a good deal. (Not that you ever have to pay to read The Checker Maven, of course.)

The first situation is a true speed problem, and a rather nice one sent to us by regular contributors Lloyd and Josh Gordon. It's not terribly hard, probably of the 30 second variety.

But what is interesting, though, is that if White plays 2-6 the game is lost, yet that's the move one might make reflexively. This one is somewhat longer and a bit more difficult, and can't really be called a speed problem.

Don't sell out; instead, double down on these two problems, then click on Read More to see the solutions.

[Read More]