It's no secret that here at The Checker Maven we invest in as many checker books as our funding allows. This week, we received a new book by Dr. Harold Schneider, with the unusual title Board Game Tournaments for the Fun, Profit, and Professionalism of the Public. (The associated web site is here.) It's a book that is every bit as unusual as the title, covering a wide variety of game-related subjects, but concentrating, of course, on checkers.

We'll publish a full review on our Book Review page in due course (though with our current large backlog, it may be some little while). But we can't resist transcribing a line from the back cover of the book, wherein Dr. Schneider gives us what is very likely the most quotable quip in the entire history of our game:

Excluding the game of romance between men and women, it is the number one fun game in the world.

Just try to top that one! We think, in fact, that Dr. Schneider is right on the money with his assessment.

It's time for another installment from Willie Ryan's classic Tricks Traps & Shots of the Checkerboard. This month we'll see a practical example of the "run-off" tactic, and one of the earliest "gotchas" ever published. But we're sure you'd rather hear from Willie directly.

Bumped Off on the Run-Off

As a general rule, it is sound strategy to attack an advanced piece by squeezing or running it off. In the following example we have a good illustration of what can happen when a player tries to maintain an advanced piece against tactical pressure.

11-16 24-20 16-19 23-16 12-19 22-18 8-11 27-23 4-8 23-16 8-12 32-27 12-19 27-23 3-8---A.

A---Black gets a rude awakening after this plausible push. The right route to draw is: 11-16, 20-11, 7-16, 18-15, 9-14, 15-11 (25-22, 6-9 draws), 6-9, 25-22, 9-13, 22-18, 10-15, 18-9, 5-14, 29-25, 15-18, 26-22, 18-27, 31-15, 2-6, etc.

The Scrub's Delight

11-15 23-19 8-11 22-17 4-8---A 17-13 15-18 24-20 11-15 28-24 8-11 26-23 9-14 31-26 6-9 13-6 2-9 26-22 9-13---B.

The illustrated layout was one of the earliest standard pitfalls to be recorded in checker literature, being first shown, in 1800, by that pioneer chronicler of the checker art, Joshua Sturges. Appropriately labeled "The Scrub's Delight," it has probably dropped more novices than any other trap on the board.

A---Completes the Old Fourteenth opening, one of the first and most popular developments tackled by the learner. Winning chances are about equal.

B---Time-tested standard play to here. The text loses, forming the Scrub's Delight. The correct play to force a draw is: 1-6, 22-17, 18-22, 25-18, 15-22, 23-18, 14-23, 27-18, 9-13, 17-14, 10-17, 21-14, 6-10, 30-25, 10-17, 25-21, 22-26, 21-14, 26-31, 19-15, 31-26, 15-8, 26-22, 32-28, 22-15, 24-19, etc.

Don't get bumped off and don't be a scrub. Try out the problems and then click on Read More to check your solutions.

[Read More]

"There are various excuses made by checker players as to why they were beaten. It may have been the arrival of a new baby; the unexpected arrival of his mother-in-law; it might have been the toothache the previous night; the baby may have kept him awake all night on account of its having the colic; the weather may have changed suddenly and brought on a twinge of rheumatism; he may not have had the kind of board to play on to which he is accustomed; a spectator may have smiled at a time when smiles were out of order; some one may have opened a window causing a draught; he may have used a line of play given in the book as sound and it turned out otherwise. The foregoing and many others may all be good and valid excuses, but the finest one of all is, the other fellow was a better player."

Printed more than eighty years ago as The Art of Alibi in the Seattle Times, and still relevant today.

Actually, we're really not sure how fast a June bug might be, but you'll need to be at least as fast to solve the June speed problem. Although not conceptually difficult, it does require good visualization. Click below to show the problem and start the clock. You have 60 seconds!

June Speed Problem (Easy to Medium)

Try the problem, and if you're stuck, don't be bugged! Fly your mouse over to Read More to reveal the solution.

[Read More]

The Checker Maven has two items of interesting news about on-line checker game sites.

First, the upcoming World Mailplay Championship match, between defending champion Mac Banks and challenger Bill Carter, will be played via the internet, on the Wyllie Online Draughts Club site. Members of the site will be able to follow the games as they take place, and a fantastic competition is to be expected. In the qualifying rounds, Challenger Carter didn't lose a single game, so Champion Banks, a competitor with great skill and knowledge, will have to play at the top of his game.

Second, and this is a Checker Maven exclusive, we've learned that the GoldToken turn-based game site is in the process of implementing three-move restriction play, and we understand that they plan to do it right, setting up games in pairs and using the 156 opening "hard" deck. We're told by their site manager that this new option could be available as soon as late summer of this year. We're always glad and appreciative when online game sites take checkers seriously and present our game in an accurate and professional manner.

A concerned Checker Maven reader pointed out to us that, using his Internet Explorer web browser, text selection didn't work properly. When he tried to cut and paste game moves from The Checker Maven into his favorite checker program, he was unable to pick out just the moves, ending up with most of the page instead!

In our editorial offices we almost exclusively use free and open-source software, and we verify new articles with the Firefox web browser; Firefox, of course, didn't have any problem with text selection. So we dug deeper and learned of an Internet Explorer bug triggered by certain style sheet elements. Not wanting to inconvenience any of our readers, we made a few style sheet changes and now text selection works properly with Internet Explorer. The appearance of The Checker Maven has changed very slightly, but it's so little we bet you didn't notice.

We certainly appreciate it when our loyal readers help out by alerting us to problems and errors. Thank you one and all!

We last left our hero, Marvin J. Mavin, in somewhat dire straits. Recall that in Part One of the story (click here to read it again) Marvin and his girlfriend Priscilla were at a fancy champagne party. Marvin got into an argument with Russian Draughts master Dmitri Tovarischky and a challenge game, with a thousand dollars riding on the outcome, was in progress. We pick up the story with Marvin a man down in the game and not a beer in sight.

Marvin continued to fidget in his chair and mutter under his breath. Then, suddenly, he leaped to his feet, grinning widely, and played:

...

13-17

"Why Checkers Boy is laughing?" asked Dmitri, obviously annoyed with Marvin's antics. "You think chasing my man is smart move. Watch, Dmitri is only getting another king!"

The game continued:

22-25	17-22
25-29	4-8

Suddenly Dmitri's expression changed from a satisfied scowl to a concerned and puzzled look. "Pieces on 29, 21, and 2 cannot move," he said quietly. "Why is situation so difficult now for great Russian champion?"

Marvin had settled in his chair, no longer moving about. A sly smile was all that could be seen on his face. The watching crowd, too, was silent. They were no longer even sipping their champagne. Play went on:

19-16	10-14
2-6	...

Dmitri let out a long breath. "Ha, Checkers Boy! You see! Man is moving now and Russian Champion will win game!"

...

14-18

But now Dmitri was scowling again. "Da, da, da, man goes to 9 and gets lost when King moves 22 to 17 and then to 13. Checkers Boy is thinking he is clever boy...."

20-24	18-14
24-19	22-17
19-24	17-22
24-27	14-17
6-10	22-18

Marvin lifted his head and spoke in a manner that was, at least for him, uncharacteristically quiet. "You ain't going nowhere, are ya, Pinko!"

29-25---A

...

"OK big Checkers Boy! Now king is moving from corner!" gloated Dimitri.

...

17-13

"Nyet, nyet, nyet! Dmitri will not put king back in corner!"

27-24 ?---B

...

Marvin sat up straight and exclaimed, "Losing patience, are ya now! Well take this!"

...	18-14!
10x17	13x29

Drawn.

A---Accomplishes nothing, but neither does anything else. 27-24 might be a little better.
B---25-29 doesn't allow the quick wrapup, but still only draws, as Black can make no progress.

Marvin jumped up, raised his arms, leaped and clicked his heels in mid-air. "Did you see that! Did YOU see that! Yeah, ya fat Russkie, you were gonna beat old Marvin, were ya! Well I showed ya didn't I!"

Marvin's girlfriend Priscilla, who up to this point had kept a bit of a distance from the playing table, was starting to get a very unpleasant tight and white look. "Marvin...you only got a draw and you really ought to be a little nicer..." she began to say, in a voice that was a little too calm. But Marvin could not be stopped, as he turned his attention to the watching crowd.

"And all a youse!" he said, "Hangin' around waitin' for poor ole Marvin to lose so Russkie here can buy ya all some expensive vodka! Yer all a bunch a put-ons! Ya oughta drink beer like real people!"

"MARVIN, YOU CAN FIND YOUR OWN RIDE HOME!" shouted Priscilla in a most unladylike manner. She turned on her heels and strode to the exit, letting the door slam behind her.

"Uh.... honey?" said Marvin, taken with surprise. But it was too late.

The crowd dispersed quickly, the party mood of the evening ended. Dmitri was no longer anywhere to be seen, having silently slipped away at the end of the game. Somewhat sullenly, Marvin packed up his checkers and board, and went out alone into the night, hoping to find a bar still open where he could at least get a beer.

If you are of legal age and choose to drink, The Checker Maven asks that you do so in a responsible manner. Drinking and driving is a serious and dangerous crime; please don't ever do it.

We'd like to remind our readers that from now through the first weekend in September, The Checker Maven is on its summer schedule, which means we generally publish one article per week instead of two.

Make no mistake about it. The Wyllie Online Draughts Club, or WODC for short, is all about checkers (or draughts, if you will). It is seriously, determinedly, and single-mindedly about checkers and nothing but checkers. It is a home for the real devotee, the genuine enthusiast, the real maven. It is not a place for casuals, drop-ins, or dabblers. Not at all.

We've been playing there ourselves for a little while now and we're rather impressed.

There are game sites and there are games sites out there on the Net, and we've reviewed dozens of them on our review page. It is safe to say that there is none quite like Wyllie.

Wyllie is a "turn based" or correspondence style site. You make your move, and at some point your opponent moves (whether within minutes or days), and then you move again. You have a ten-day time allotment, plus one day per move, allowing you to schedule your play time and still keep the game moving. Wyllie also offers a "live play" or "head to head" option (limited to Windows computers). For live play, you would likely pre-arrange a meeting in the live play area and then play as you would over the board.

OK, you're saying, this is all well and good, but there are lots of turn-based and head-to-head sites out there, many of them free of charge, a few of them with hundreds and hundreds of players on-line at any given time. So what's so great about Wyllie?

We suggest you read our full review to get all the details, but the difference is that Wyllie is about checkers and checkers only, and some very strong players make it their on-line checker home. Wyllie's on-line tournaments, held more or less monthly, are likely the toughest "mail-play" style tournaments to be found anywhere.

Wyllie offers the things you want if you are really serious about your checkers: the full range of 3-move openings; 11-man ballot play for the daring; complete game records which are protected from random public view; and perhaps best of all, a strict "real name" policy which eliminates 99.99% of the potential pests and undesirables, making the site a pleasure rather than something to be tolerated.

Is WODC for you? It depends. If you like to play a casual game at a summer picnic while enjoying a few tall cool ones, perhaps not. If you're a regular Checker Maven reader and try to solve the problems each week, very likely so; likewise, if you're an enthusiastic competitor from the lower intermediate level and up, you will benefit and enjoy. Membership is not free, but neither is it expensive. You might wish to check it out and decide for yourself.

But enough commentary; as we said above, you can read the full review if you'd like all the details. Let's illustrate the caliber of play at the Wyllie site with a pair of sample tournament games, played between Welsh grandmaster Lindus Edwards and world mail-play champion Mac Banks. (We told you that there are elite players here!) Notes are by Lindus Edwards.

Black: Lindus Edwards
White: Mac Banks

1.	10-15	23-18	2.	6-10	18-14
3.	9x18	24-19	4.	15x24	22x6
5.	1x10	27x20---A

			6.	11-16---B	20x11
7.	8x15	21-17	8.	12-16	25-22
9.	5-9	17-13	10.	2-6	32-27
11.	4-8	27-23	12.	16-19	23x16
13.	8-12	26-23	14.	12x26	30x23
15.	9-14	23-19	16.	15x24	28x19
17.	7-11	29-25	18.	11-15

Drawn.

A---A favourite line of Dr Marion Tinsley.

B---5-9 is published to draw. 11-16 looks a far easier route to me.

Black: Lindus Edwards
White: Mac Banks

1.	9-13	24-20	2.	11-16	20x11
3.	7x16	21-17	4.	5-9	28-24
5.	1-5	25-21	6.	3-7	23-18
7.	16-19	24x15	8.	10x19	32-28
9.	12-16	17-14	10.	8-12	26-23
11.	19x26	30x23	12.	6-10	31-26
13.	10x17	21x14

			14.	7-10---A	14x7
15.	2x11	28-24---B

Drawn.

A---A saving move!

B---The draw is now simple as follows: 16-20 24-19 11-16 29-25 9-14 18-9 5-14 25-21 13-17 Drawn.

Most stroke problems have as terms that one side or other is to move and win. In this month's problem, though, we're only looking for a draw, so obviously, the problem must be easier than most, wouldn't you say?

Perhaps by now you know us better than that! Today's problem will require your best efforts at visualization in order to earn the draw in the following situation.

Just don't be too quick on the draw yourself; give the problem a try before clicking on Read More for the solution.

[Read More]