This column will appear on America's 250th birthday! It's a great day and a great and historic milestone. Your editor is old enough to remember America's 200th back in 1976, and is thrilled to be here for this next major marker in the history of a nation that is like no other in the human experience. To recognize this day in our own way, here is a fanciful story featuring many of your favorite Checker Maven characters.

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Marvin J. Mavin was enjoying a fine summer day. The National Checker League was in the off season and training camp didn't start for another month. At home in his wife Priscilla's enormous upscale condo, all he had to do was choose an activity. Swim in Priscilla's private pool? Go for a stroll around their exclusive upscale neighborhood? Stay home with a tall cool one and watch Checker Television Network? Or just take a nice little nap?

Marvin was pondering these options when suddenly there was something like a mist in the center of the room. Marvin thought perhaps he had fallen asleep and was dreaming, but then he heard a voice.

"This way, Marvin." The voice was polite but definitely commanding. "Step into the mist. The others await."

"But ... but ... " Marvin began. He was quickly interrupted.

"There is no time to lose. This day only comes once. Enter."

Marvin, not knowing why, stepped into the mist.

# # #

Marvin's wife, Priscilla, had gone to the office. Being a holiday, she thought to have at least half a day of uninterrupted work time, for as the CEO of a large international conglomerate, the work never ended.

She was busily reading through income statements when all of a sudden her desk vanished and was replaced by an opening in the floor. There was a stairway leading downward in the opening.

"Enter," a voice said in a quiet but firm voice. "Come down the stairs. The others are waiting."

"What others?" Priscilla asked, wondering if she should press the button under her desk that silently called Security. Oh ... right ... her desk had disappeared.

"Come," the voice said, not answering her question. "This day only comes once."

Priscilla, wondering if she had perhaps lost her mind under the pressure of business, started down the stairs.

# # #

Tommy Wagner was on his way to Uncle Ben's for his Saturday checker lesson on Uncle Ben's porch. It was another hot day in central Florida and Tommy was looking forward to having some of the delicious cold lemonade that Uncle Ben always made for them both to enjoy.

But a strange sight greeted him when he arrived at Uncle Ben's address. The house wasn't there! And Uncle Ben was standing in front of some sort of a shimmering rectangle that was filled with blue light that seemed to crackle with white lightning bolts.

"This way, Tommy," Uncle Ben said, "we've been called. Come with me through the portal."

"Uh ... Uncle Ben ... I don't get it ... where's the house?"

"Never mind, Tommy; all will become clear. Now hurry, this day only comes once."

Tommy really wasn't sure what to do. But he trusted Uncle Ben, and so the two of them stepped into the blue light.

# # #

Sal Westerman was in his basement study with all the fans turned on, trying to stay cool. His study was his refuge, especially during the hot days of summer. Bismarck, North Dakota may be known as a cold northern city but summers could be blistering hot and this summer, 1955, was no exception.

He had a new issue of All Checkers Digest to enjoy, and he had made a pitcher of iced tea and put it in the old refrigerator he had in his study to keep it cold during the rest of the day. He had just closed the door of the fridge when the fridge disappeared before his eyes. Instead, there was just an empty space, and behind the empty space, a portion of the wall had also vanished to be replaced by the entryway to a long corridor that stretched off into the distance.

"This way, please, Mr. Westerman," a voice said. The voice was polite and respectful but it had a certain--- presence.

"This way ... what?" Sal stammered. "What's happening here?"

"All in due course, sir," the voice said, "but please come now. There is not a lot of time."

Sal, not knowing what else to do, entered the corridor.

# # #

Many others had similar experiences. Sal's wife Sylvia was interrupted and summoned in the midst of sewing a quilt. The "boys" from Sal's Coffee and Cake Checker Club also were called. Like Sal, some were asked to walk down corridors; some were taken through shimmering portals; others descended stairways or entered clouds of mist.

Young Ed and Young Bill were called upon, each of them from different years and in different places. Even old Benny from Benny's Tavern in 1940s Newark, New Jersey, received a visit and a command from an unseen voice.

# # #

All of them suddenly found themselves standing in the National Mall in Washington D.C. Someone was standing in front of them, preparing to speak. The gathered group thought they recognized--- could it really be him?

The speaker immediately confirmed their thoughts. "Yes, I am the spirit of Tommie Wiswell," he said, "and I've gathered you together here from across the years and across the miles. All of you have been characters in the Checker Maven webzine's series of checker fiction stories, and its editor has asked me to assemble you today in the heart of the nation's capital to honor America on her 250th birthday. I know all of you to be true patriots and, no matter the year, place or circumstances, you all have a love for your country.

"America has withstood much over the years, but in good times and bad, the American spirit has prevailed, and I believe that it always will. So today we'll celebrate America's birthday together. For some of you, it's many years in the future; for others, it's the actual day, but I'm sure you will all understand."

Tommie raised his arm in a salute and the gathered group returned the salute. "On with the celebration!" he said.

# # #

The next day, Sal and Marvin and Benny and everyone else wondered what had really happened. Perhaps it was only a dream. But what a dream it was. It was a dream come true; a dream of 250 years of democracy and bringing the light of freedom into the world.

# # #

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Our story, unusually, didn't feature a checker problem, but we won't disappoint you. Of course given our story you know we're going to turn to that great American checkerist--- and patriot--- Tom Wiswell. The problem isn't by Tom; it's by Charles Hefter, but Tom thought it worthy of inclusion in one of his books.

Many "star" moves are involved on Black's part; can you meet the challenge? When you're ready, click on Read More to see the solution.

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Editor's Note: Ed Gilbert pointed out a flaw in the original setting. Here's a corrected version.

There's theory and there's practice. The electrician shown working above is applying practical knowledge no doubt mostly obtained through study and experience. A similar concept applies to our game of checkers. We need to learn the theory but in the end, practical application is what wins or saves games for us, and the more experience we have, the better.

In the diagram below, credited to regular contributors Lloyd and "Gosh Josh" Gordon, White is a piece up but Black can achieve a draw--- with careful play.

Now, being something in the nature of a speed problem, the draw is neither difficult nor sophisticated.

Experienced players will have little trouble; improving players may take a bit longer, but either way, it's a nice little workout. Give it a practical try and then take the practical step of clicking on Read More to see the solution.

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On Memorial Day we give honor to those who made the ultimate sacrifice and recognize all who served. The world is not a peaceful place, unfortunately, and there are others who would happily take away our freedoms and impose their will. This weekend The Checker Maven extends its appreciation to those who day in and day out have protected and continue to protect our way of life even at great personal cost.

Our own observations have been that many checker players tend to the patriotic side and here at The Checker Maven it's no different. We've often said that we are unapologetic patriots. Times have been difficult lately; we won't say more than that but we do not waver from the idea of patriotism as wanting what's best for one's country, and if things are not as they should be, we work to make them better.

We've also frequently said that a checkerist who was a true patriot was Tom Wiswell, who served in the Army during World War II. So let's look at something of his. It's from a game he played once upon a time against James Ricca. Mr. Wiswell had White and was to play and draw.

The solution to this one is fairly long and will require thought, but the situation is a practical one. Give it your best and then click on Read More to see the solution.

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Looks like the folks in the photo above are in quite a rush. Maybe they should "make haste slowly" lest they trip and fall.

"Make haste slowly" is the watchphrase for this month's speed problem. In the diagram below, White is two pieces up and the win, as they say "should be easy" and it actually is --- if you make haste slowly.

How fast can you solve this one? Perhaps fast enough --- but not too fast? Proceed a bit slowly, and when you're ready hasten to click on Read More to see the solution.

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Since time immemorial, in the world of politics, business, religion, what have you--- someone will come up with an idea or a concept and invariably there will be opposition from someone else, typically another political party. In genteel Parliamentary circles, these opposers are often called "The Loyal Opposition" but behind the polite facade often lies something entirely different. In less genteel circles, less genteel terms may be used but the concept is still the same.

In our game of checkers "the opposition" refers (happily) to quite another thing. In years past, and even now, this has been called "the move" and to paraphrase various famous checkerists, "Much nonsense has been written about it."

Do you win with the move? Sometimes. Does having the move make a difference? Sometimes. But recasting the notion as "having the opposition" (loyal or not) can clarify matters a bit, and this leads to today's position, accredited to J. Wyllie and published, among other places, in Andrew Banks' electic book Checker Board Strategy.

This one is pretty easy; figure out "the move" that wins, and after that, we have no "opposition" to your clicking on Read More to check your solution.

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Easy? Hard? If you know how to do something, it's easy. If you don't know how, it's hard. While a bit of a simplification, this rings largely true. If you know what you're doing, you'll be able to succeed, even if perhaps with some effort. And that's very much the case in our game of checkers.

In the problem above, White is a piece up and should easily win, correct? And indeed the win isn't that hard--- if you are able to visualize it. In other words, if you know how.

There are actually two winning moves; one wraps things up pretty nicely, while the other wins but takes more effort. Save yourself some time; find the faster win. After all, this is a speed problem! With the time you save, get yourself some coffee and cake and relax a little.

See how you do and then, quick-quick, click-click your mouse on Read More to see the solution.

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Govan is indeed a run-down area of Glasgow, which however for years was home of the Govan Press, a local newspaper which apparently published checker columns. For today's Checker School entry, we have a problem by famous problemist S. J. Pickering, which was published in that (presumably at least somewhat illustrious) newspaper way back when. The problem illustrates a number of important checker tactics.

In fact, there is a comparable problem attributed to another famous checkerist, Barker Woolhouse (you can learn all about him on the marvelous Start Checkers site).

So today you have not one, but two problems to work on. They aren't especially hard but they are quite educational. So stay out of run-down neighborhoods and instead solve these problems, then run your mouse down on Read More to see the solutions.

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The press. It might refer to a printing press, as above, or perhaps a press reporter. Or maybe pressing clothes, as shown below.

There are also a coffee press, press-on nails, and many other things. But in checkers, of course, press has its own meaning, and if you solve today's Checker School problem, you'll see an example. (There ... we've already given a big hint.) The problem is attributed to one E. J. Rees and appears in Andrew Banks' eclectic book Checker Board Strategy.

This one isn't particularly hard, although there's an unusual twist. Press on and find the solution. No press-ure; take all the time you wish, and then press your mouse on Read More to see the solution and some interesting notes.

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The expression "Can't win for losing" traces back to at least 1920 when it was used to describe the Detroit Tigers baseball team, which apparently was not having a good start to their season.

This phrase applies specifically to our game of checkers as well, if we alter the context a little. There are positions in which all moves lose--- except one, which wins or draws as the case may be. This happens very often. A little less frequently, there are series of such moves, which are called "star moves" being the only moves that avoid loss or preserve a win or draw.

Here's one such situation, sent along by regular contributors Lloyd and "Gosh Josh" Gordon.

Here both sides have to watch their steps to obtain a draw. Can you avoid losing? Maybe you can't win, but can you at least hold the draw? Give it a go. It's a little beyond a normal first Saturday speed problem but it's worth a little extra time and effort. Do click on Read More to verify your play.

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We thought for today's column we'd try something new; namely, publish a checker problem composed by one of the better artificial intelligence (AI) engines. So we got on to one of them--- although we won't mention the name, it's by far the most well known--- and gave it a try.

It was a real learning experience.

We started out by asking it to compose a problem for 8x8 Anglo-American checkers. It happily did so, putting pieces on both the light and dark squares, and then offering to compose more difficult problems. We went through two more iterations and got the same sort of thing.

We then explicity told it to only put pieces on the dark squares (something it had previously told us it was doing, but it wasn't). Same result. We admonished it again. It came back with a problem and a solution that made no sense. For one thing the pieces were either (a) moving in the wrong direction, or (b) it was just fine to have an uncrowned man on the last row.

After this we asked for sources of checker puzzles. It gave a few, with mixed accuracy; some of the websites cited didn't feature problems and the same was true of the referenced books. (It did give a pointer to our site, which was surprising but nice.) The engine also casually mentioned Tom Wiswell and offered to compose a Wiswell-style problem. Alas, that was a bust too, as again it confused movement directions and spewed out something that made no sense.

That was enough for us, and for today's column we turned back the clock to something well over a hundred years before AI and AI hype was ever even heard of, to select a nice problem by an honest to goodness human, who knew orders of magnitude more about composing checker problems than the best AI today seems to know.

It's a nice problem, neither too hard nor too easy, which can be readily solved with your natural intelligence. Blow a raspberry at AI and solve this one, and then click on Read More to check your solution.

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