Spring in North America, after a long winter of snow, cold, and darkness, is a welcome time. And although the photograph above is a little beyond the very first stroke of spring, it's an apt illustration of how beautiful the season can be.

Today, we present you, in checkeristic terms, with the first stroke (problem) of the spring season. We know that many of you would rather be outdoors at long last, and not seated indoors at the checkerboard, so we suggest that you have the best of both by taking your checkerboard out on the porch or patio and working on today's remarkable problem.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W23,22,18,17,16,15,13,11:BK26,K25,19,12,9,6,4,2.

Keen powers of visualization are needed to see how to do this one, but we assure you it's worth the effort; the solution is as spectacular as the new blooms of the season. Do give it a go, and then spring your mouse over to Read More to see the solution.

Solution

15-10 6x15 13x6 2x9 17-13 26x17 13x6 15x22---A 6-2 19x26 2-7 12x19 11-8 4x11 7x14---B White Wins.

A---19x26 6-2 15x22 same.

B---A spectacular finish.