Man (person!) overboard! It's an emergency situation and we'd best hope someone trained and experienced in water rescue is on hand.

Something similar occurs in our game of checkers. One of our men goes overboard, we're down a piece, and we're looking to find a way to get a draw.

That's the situation for White in the diagram below. But there is a way to pull off a draw, if you can see it. We'd call this a "not quite" speed problem. It isn't too difficult but you can easily go wrong.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:WK10,13,K14,K15:B5,K16,K22,K28,K30

Are you trained and experienced in man down (man overboard) situations? You won't have to go too far overboard to solve this one; but a life preserver is always at hand. Just click on Read More to see the solution.

It was another Saturday afternoon at The Beacon Cafe in the Provident Life Building in Bismarck, North Dakota, and the Coffee and Cake Checker Club was in session in one of the large booths.

Sal

Sal was the leader and there were five others present today. It was cloudy, windy, and chilly outside and the coffee was flowing.

Mike

After the boys (all of whom were at least 50 years old) had played an hour or so of informal games, one of them, Mike, said, "Hey Sal, don't you have a coffee and cake problem today? You didn't have one last week and I've been kind of wanting to win another piece of cake off you."

Sal frowned. The last time he tried, Mike had indeed solved Sal's problem and Sal had to buy coffee and cake. But then Sal's frown turned into a smile. "Matter of fact, Ed sent me a real nice one."

Ed

"Uh-oh," Mike said. Whenever Sal had a problem from either Brian in St. Louis or Ed in Harrisburg, it was bound to be tough. Top quality for sure, but never easy.

Sal leaned back against the seat. "Are you up for it?"

Deana

Mike and the rest of the group hesitated a little, but Deana, the owner, knowing just when to jump in, said from behind her counter, "I've got fresh apple kuchen this afternoon, boys!"

Kochtopf CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Well, that did it. Deana's apple kuchen, like most of her desserts, was irresistible.

"Lay it out," Mike said to Sal, pointing to one of the checkerboards, "and pretty soon I'll be enjoying that kuchen you're going to buy me."

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK20,22,23,25,28,30:B6,7,10,21,K26.

"There it is," Sal said after setting up the position. "Take your time. Just not too long. I don't want to have to rush the kuchen that you'll be buying me, Mike!"

Mike laughed. "We'll see about that," he said. But five minutes later, all of the boys were still scratching their heads.

"I'll give you five more minutes but that's it," Sal said. He was greeted by the usual groans.

Once again we're asking if you can win coffee and cake from Sal, but unlike at The Beacon, you can take all the time you wish. When you're finished, click on Read More to see the solution.

pxhere CC0

Some of us need to be on diets. 1,000 calories a day, maybe? That doesn't allow for much. Salads with no-fat dressing, if any dressing at all; steamed vegetables (hold the butter, thank you), and a little protein. Just a little.

Fortunately our game of checkers doesn't involve diets, but it can involve small servings in the form of miniature problems. Today in Checker School we continue with another composition by William Veal--- a small slice, if you will. (We seem to be seeing a lot of Mr. Veal recently!)

BLACK

WHITE
Black to Play, White Wins

B:W23,26,K28:B9,K24.

Well, yes, White is a man up and should win, but maybe it's not as easy as all that. The White men look pretty exposed and Black might be able to chase one of them down ... but we'll let you figure out the best line of play. In the end, it's a fairly small effort. So slice (and dice) this one, and then click on Read More to see the solution.

Pexels CC0

Summer speed. It can mean a number of things, but today we encourage you to enjoy the way things slow down to 'summer speed' during those long, warm days. Take some time to relax and get out of the daily rat race that persists during the larger part of the year. Surely take time to enjoy a little checkers.

So for us, today, 'summer speed' refers to a nice little speed problem provided by regular contributors Lloyd and Josh Gordon of Toronto. This one falls into the 'very easy' category so we won't even bother with the Javascript clock. Just solve it at whatever speed you like.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK7,11,14,15:B5,12,K16,22.

Surely you've solved it already, but if you'd like to double-check, click on Read More to see the snappy solution.

Robert Huff CC BY-NC 2.0

When this column first appears, we'll be just a few days away from the Fourth of July, America's birthday and one of our favorite holidays. We never tire of saying that we are unapologetic American patriots with a deep appreciation for our freedom and democracy. We're not one of those who believes that America is responsible for the ills of the world and we're proud of what's good about our nation.

We always turn to Tom Wiswell on this holiday. Mr. Wiswell, as we've so often noted, was a patriot who served our nation as did so many members of the Greatest Generation.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Draw

B:WK2,20,21,23,24,29,31:B3,5,7,8,11,14,22.

It's indeed a nice problem, as we have come to expect from Mr. Wiswell. Give it a good try and then click on Read More to see the solution and notes.

Public Domain

William Veal was a British problemist of some renown, perhaps best known (to us, at least) for composing a monster stroke problem featured some years ago in our columns.

Did Mr. Veal's ancestors at one point deal in veal? That would fit with popular theory, which insists that names like "Smith" eventually trace back to someone who was a smith, and so on. Of course, those links are likely very tenuous if they exist at all.

But one other possibility was turned up by our Research Department. "Vieil" is the Old French term for "old" and this became "viel" in Anglo-Norman French. It refers to an old man or the elder of two people with the same name. It's not a long leap from there to "Veal."

A long leap? That brings us back to checkers and this month's Checker School column, the first of a series of "gems" from, of course, William Veal.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK11,14,18,K21:B6,K19,22,26.

Certainly at first glance a White win is anything but obvious, and Black is poised to crown one or perhaps two of his men. Can you match Mr. Veal and find the solution? There's a bit of a clue (just a bit) in the writeup above. See how you do and then click on Read More to see the solution.

In the latter 1940s, back in the heydays of checkers, men's hairstyles were short and neat, and in general, appearances were more dressy than today. Men wore fedoras, and a suit with a white shirt and tie was almost a sort of uniform.

The following problem was published anonymously in an old newspaper, which declared it to be "short and neat." We're surprised it didn't appear next to an advertisement for grooming products!

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:WK10,20,28:B3,4,11,12.

Short and neat? We'll let you decide, but in any case Black, being a piece up, ought to win. Yet as we've often said, showing the win is the hard part. Can you find a short and neat solution? Or even a long and messy one? Give it a try--- more than a short try--- and then neatly click your mouse on Read More to see the solution.

PxHere CC0

We're definitely diving into the deep end with this month's mind-boggling stroke problem. You'll really need to keep your wits about you to solve this one.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W6,10,14,15,18,19,20,22,23,24:B1,3,7,K13,K21,K25,26,27,K28.

Can you solve it without moving the pieces? It's an enormous test of visualization skills. And though it's hardly a practical over the board situation, we think this sort of problem builds your ability to see ahead and calculate (and do go ahead and move the pieces if it's all just a bit too deep).

Don't go off the deep end yourself; try it out and then click on Read More to dive into the solution.

Rmyers CC BY-SA 3.0

The great guitarist Andres Segovia once said, in effect, that technique either advances or retreats; it never stays the same. Of course, he was talking about the classical guitar, but the same applies to the game of checkers. We need to constantly strive to improve our technique and not allow it to slip back.

In today's Checker School entry, we divert briefly from our "gem" problems and present an exercise in endgame technique. It's a bit on the long side, but it's very instructive.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK15,K20,K28,K30:B5,K27,K29,K32.

White has a win on the board; that's probably obvious to the experienced eye. But the win takes patience and the skilled application of technique. Can you find the winning path? It's well worth your time and effort; do give it a solid try before you click on Read More to see the details.

Diagramless.

A diagramless crossword puzzle is exactly what the name implies--- you get the clues but no diagram. You've got to figure out the diagram on your own. Quite the challenge.

Diagramless checker problems exist, too. They're not nearly as insidious as a diagramless crossword; they are simply problems published without a diagram, just a listing of what pieces go on what squares.

Now, in today's column, we won't put you through the exercise of visualizing the board without benefit of a diagram. In doing so, we're really not keeping with the 'diagramless' theme, but we suspect that you, our valued reader, will prefer this slight breaking of the rules.

This one is credited to John Tonks who was from West Lorne, Ontario, back in the day.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W9,13,15,19,21:B1,2,7,14,K26.

Now, 'diagramless' is not 'clueless' so don't be clueless yourself; the problem isn't terribly hard, although it does have a clever twist. And we'll clue you in: clicking on Read More will show you the solution.