Your editor, many years ago, went hiking and climbing in southern Mindanao in the Philippines. Locals referred to the area where we went as "delicado" --- delicate --- due to the sometime presence of rebel militia. Being young and foolish, we were not deterred from what turned out to be a dangerous undertaking. Fortunately, nothing went wrong.

Today's checker problem is "delicado" in a different way, and there's nothing foolish or dangerous about it at all. Your solution may go wrong, but if you work at it, you'll get it, and you may learn some technique in the process.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W22,20,18,K13:BK21,K12,10,8.

There's no need to carry arms or keep a lookout, and checking your solution is as easy as clicking on Read More.

August in the Northern Hemisphere can be pretty darn hot. Sometimes extraordinary measures are required, as shown in the photo above.

Your editor is scheduled to be visiting in far off New York City on the date this column is due to be published, and August in New York is just about always hot and humid.

So we picked out a rather hot stroke problem (please, no heat stroke jokes) for this month. It looks complex but it's actually one of the easier ones, and it's filled with action.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W31,19,14,11,K10,8,6,K3:BK25,24,K23,22,K21,5,1.

Don't overheat your brain; you'll see the solution if you can visualize well (just keep the sweat out of your eyes). When you've solved it, click on Read More to see the solution.

We came across this personalized postcard evidently made for checker great Tommie Wiswell. Mr. Wiswell is playing a simultaneous exhibition, as he often did. Note that the postcard lists what was apparently his home address, 355 45th Street in Brooklyn, a building that is still standing. Our research tells us it's in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn, was built in 1910 (interestingly, the year Mr. Wiswell was born); it's listed as a multiple family dwelling; the size is about 2,500 square feet on a 2,000 square foot lot; and it's valued at around $800,000 or so.

We'll use any excuse to feature a Tommie Wiswell problem, of course. This one is based on a Louis Ginsberg game played at an unspecified club in New York City. Mr. Ginsberg was also a Brooklynite, and hence comes the title of the problem.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W30,22,K11:B14,12,9,6.

The problem isn't all that easy in that there are some nice ways to get it wrong. It would be a lot of fun to work on it at a nearby Brooklyn park, but in this internet age, you can solve it from just about anywhere in the world. Give it a try and then click on Read More to see the solution, notes, and an interesting photo.

"Man in the middle" can have several meanings. In the computer security world, it refers to a cyberattack based on intercepting--- getting in the middle of--- a network path. In the baseball example shown above, the baserunner is caught between bases. In general, being "the man in the middle" isn't a very good thing.

Not so in today's checker problem, which is credited to old-time checkerist D. Robinson of Glasgow. Let's have a look.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Draw

B:WK29,24,12:BK23,K7.

Black has two men in the middle (actually, two kings). But the title of our problem is "man" in the middle, not "men." That's a bit of a hint toward finding a somewhat surprising draw for Black.

Can you solve it, or will you get caught in the middle? Click your mouse (the left button, not the middle one) on Read More when you're ready to check your solution.

Every year we say that we love celebrating America's birthday, the Fourth of July, and this year is no different. At The Checker Maven we're proud to be patriots and with today's problem, we salute everyone who serves our nation, whether past, present, or future.

As we always do on this date, we turn to Tommie Wiswell, master checker problemist, champion player, and World War II veteran. He calls this problem "The Sentinel" and we think that title is an appropriate tribute to those serving us today as sentinels of freedom.

Here's the position.

BLACK

White to Play and Draw

W:W32,28,K7,K3:BK29,19,14,9,5.

The title gives a clue to the solution. Can you work it out, perhaps between hot dogs at the 4th of July picnic? Don't get cole slaw on your checkerboard! When you're ready, click on Read More to reveal the carefully guarded solution.

We've heard more than enough over the years about the "People's Republic of XXX" and the "Democratic People's Republic of YYY" and all the rest. These countries are seldom a republic and virtually never democratic.

So our latest finds, "The People's Journal" and "The People's Checker Book" might at first sound more than a little suspicious, until we point out that these publications date back to about 1898, long before the first appearance of a "People's Republic" and even before the Bolshevik revolution.

In fact, "The People's Journal" published some interesting checker problems, one of which is presented below.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:B14,K11,K22:W12,24,K19.

This problem has a surprisingly clever solution, and it might in fact fool some of the people some of the time, but we suspect it will please all of the people all the time. When you're ready to check your answer, it's your democratic privilege to click your mouse on Read More.

Today's column appears on June 18, 2016, and we found an interesting Hawaiian connection to this date, which lead to a rather tenuous checker connection. But first, a little background is in order.

You probably didn't know that the macadamia nut is named after Scotsman John Macadam, who was born in 1829, but if you've ever visited Hawai`i you'll be familiar with the flavor and texture of this iconic item.

The macadamia nut was first brought to Hawai`i in 1881 by William Herbert Purvis, but the reintroduction in 1892 is usually taken to be the beginning of commercial production. Brothers Edward Walter and Robert Alfred Jordan planted their trees on Wyllie Street in Nu`uanu Valley on, you guessed it, June 18 of that year. Upon reading the name "Robert Alfred Jordan" we immediately thought of the great checkerist Alfred Jordan, but of course that was another person altogether.

Still, we continued with that nutty line of thinking and tried to recall the "nuttiest" checker problems we've ever seen. In the end we decided on this one.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W31,25,K22,15:B18,K11,8,7.

Why is this a "nutty" problem? Actually, it's a really good one, and White needs to find several "star" moves. It just struck us that the board position looks, well, nutty, and not something you're likely to see very often, if ever, in over the board play. Is the problem "nutty" or merely a "tough nut to crack"?

Don't go nuts; just work out the solution and then click on Read More to see the not so nutty solution.

This column is due to appear on June 4, 2016. It seems that the month of June has inspired many lines of poetic thought. Perhaps none is as well known as that of James Russell Lowell:

“And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days.”

(By the way, our photo above depicts a perfect June day in Waikiki.)

Or, consider this bit of humor from Bern Williams, with a grain of truth within:

“If a June night could talk, it would probably boast that it invented romance.”

And how about one of our favorites, a Dr. Seuss doggerel:

“How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”

Indeed, how did it get late so soon? That's a perfect introduction to an easy speed problem, for which we're allowing you 10 seconds. Think fast! It gets late really, really soon.

June Speed Problem (Easy, 10 seconds)

When you're ready, click on the link above. Solve the problem and then come back here and click on Read More to verify your solution.

We thought that the shirt shown above made for a great speed problem image for the month of "May." Warning: Bad puns ahead.

This month's speed problem "may" require a little more thought than usual. We categorize it as being of "medium" difficulty, though "may"be you'll find it easier or harder.

May Speed Problem (Medium, 30 seconds)

Whenever you "may" be ready, click on the link above to display the problem and start the clock. Then come back here, after which you "may" click on Read More to check your solution.

Josh and Lloyd Gordon of Toronto have been contributors to The Checker Maven for some while, frequently sending us interesting position from their games and studies. Lately, they've been trying their hand, not at music composition, but at problem composition.

Now, while perhaps they're not yet ready to enter Bill Salot's excellent high-level competitions (see here[1]), they did send along an effort that we found quite interesting. It isn't terribly hard but it's a lot of fun.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W32,31,30,29,28,27,24,23,21,19,17:B18,14,13,12,10,8,7,6,5,3,1.

Are you composed enough to find the solution? Composing a mouse click on Read More will allow you to annotate your opus with the correct solution.

[1] Bill Salot runs frequent thematic composition contests at the link given above. The problems found there are of the highest quality and are richly deserving of your attention.