The magician above is indeed full of all sorts of tricks and we might well call her a "tricky one" although likely she would rather be known by the more formal designation of prestidigitator.

Often in the early part of each month we present a "speed" problem--- something for you to solve as quickly as you can. Such problems generally fall into the "easy" category. Today, though, we have a "tricky one" sent along (with analysis) by regular contributors Lloyd and "Gosh Josh" Gordon of Toronto. Is it as full of tricks as the magician above? You'll have to decide for yourself.

Although the problem terms are for White to find the draw, see if you can also hold the draw for Black. Unless you're an upper-level player you may not solve this one speedily, but some effort will be well rewarded. When you're ready to see the solution, though, there's no trick; just click on Read More.

[Read More]

The Coffee and Cake Checker Club was in session at the Beacon Cafe in the Provident Life Building, in Bismarck, North Dakota. It was May 21, 1955 (it's always 1955 at the Beacon Cafe), the last Saturday before the Memorial Day weekend, and that meant it was the last time the club would meet before its summer break, which lasted until after Labor Day weekend in September.

At just after one o'clock, there was already a great turnout. Of course Sal, the unofficial leader, had arrived on time, and also on hand were regulars Tom, Wayne, Dan, Louie the Flash, Sam, and Mike, as well as less frequent attendees such as Ron, Kevin (a.k.a. "Spooler") and Blaine, who at age twenty five was the only member under fifty years old.

There were so many attendees that they took up two large booths in the back of the cafe, and Deana, the proprietess of the Beacon, couldn't have been happier. A good turnout meant good sales, and she didn't hesitate to announce that fresh Mixed Berry Bars were on hand in quantity to go along with large quantities of North Dakota style coffee (brewed traditionally with four scoops of coffee grounds per gallon of water).

A lot of the chatter was about plans for the summer. Sal was going to Las Vegas to play in a major tournament, the North American Classic, a high caliber event which would feature both amateur and professional players. Dan and Wayne were going to play a couple of weekend tournaments in Minneapolis. And of course several of the others would play in the big tournament at the North Dakota State Fair up in Minot, North Dakota.

It would be a busy summer, but Sal always missed his Saturday afternoon club meetings and by the time September rolled around, he would hardly be able to wait to get together with the "boys" once again.

Still, there was the rest of this afternoon to enjoy. The coffee was good, the companionship even better, and it didn't take long for those "boys" to ask Sal what he had for them in the way of a challenging checker problem.

"I have one from an old magazine," Sal said. "It's by a fellow named John Tonks. I've never heard of the gentleman, but it's a clever problem."

"Well there, Sal," Louie said, "you might just be buying for quite the crowd today." Louie was referring to the tradition that if the "boys" could solve Sal's problem, Sal would buy for all of them, while if they couldn't solve it, they would treat Sal. It wasn't quite a balanced arrangement, but Sal was a generous sort and just enjoyed the fun and competitive spirit of it all.

Sal needed to set up two checkerboards, one at each of the booths that the club was occupying.

"How about 30 minutes, boys?" Sal asked.

"Aw, c'mon Sal, give us an hour, willya?" Blaine piped up.

"Okay, then," Sal replied, "but not a minute longer!"

As Deana refilled everyone's coffee mugs, the "boys" dug into the problem and soon North Dakota checker chatter filled the air.

---

We too are always wistful about saying good-bye to the Beacon Cafe for the summer, but we'll be sure to follow Sal as he goes on vacation and then plays in that big Vegas tournament. Meanwhile, though, play along with the "boys" and try to solve today's problem. When you're ready click on Read More to see the solution.

[Read More]

"Marvin, dear, I've made out your action list for you, and I suggest you read it over carefully, as there are many things you're going to have to get done in a relatively short amount of time."

Priscilla Snelson, the CEO of the international conglomerate Rust Belt Holdings, and the fiancee of superstar checkerist Marvin J. Mavin, Captain of the World Champion Detroit Doublejumpers in the National Checker League, was addressing Marvin. As was typical for a Saturday afternoon when the Doublejumpers didn't have a match to play, and weren't on a road trip, Marvin was visiting Priscilla at her highly upscale condo, 6,000 square feet of the ultimate in luxury.

They were in Priscilla's living room, and she had just handed Marvin a sheaf of stapled papers, made up of perhaps 10 sheets, densely printed on both sides.

Marvin, having little choice, accepted the sheaf from Priscilla and started to leaf through it. On each page about 15 items were listed, showing dates, locations, names of participants, and the nature of the "action items" as Priscilla had titled them.

"Gee, hon, there's like, I don't know, a bajillion things here, and I ain't gonna remember like hardly nothing ... "

"That's why you have a list, Marvin, so you can refer to it and not miss something important. And there aren't a bajillion action items. In fact there are only two hundred and thirty. There are twice that many on my list. Oh, by the way, don't bother to tell me how busy you are, as I'm just as busy if not more so, and I certainly won't use that for an excuse."

"Yeah but the World Series is coming up and stuff."

"The Doublejumpers won't be in the World Series this year. Your team won't make Divisional Champs. You had too many top players retire and your management didn't recruit as well as they should have. A lot of fans are upset. No, this year the Cleveland Cutters are going to knock you out. Just as well, as you'll be very busy with our wedding."

Marvin, listening to this, felt his heart sink. He knew it was true; the Doublejumpers just weren't as good as they were in previous years. But to hear it from Priscilla, and to have her say it in such an unfeeling manner, hurt Marvin's feelings.

But Marvin didn't say anything and instead started looking at the list. "Lemme see ... cake tasting ... shoe fitting ... dress fitting ... hey Prissy, what's this about a dress fitting? I sure ain't going to wear no dress!"

"Oh, Marvin, that's my dress fitting, and you need to be there. And don't call me Prissy!"

"Why? You're the one wearing the dress ... "

"That's my handmade Italian gown. It's $100,000 and it has to be adjusted for a perfect fit. Of course you'll want to be there to see how it turned out."

Marvin kept reading. "Makeup evaluation ... that's for you right?"

"It's for both of us."

"Huh?"

"Well, of course. You'll want to look your best, and the right makeup will bring out all your good features. It will be subtle, naturally. I've hired a makeup artist who works with top film stars."

"Uh, whatever." Marvin was starting to wonder what he had gotten himself into. Reading along, he came to another item that really got his attention. "What's up with 'hair styling'?" he asked.

"Oh, that. You aren't going to like it, I'm afraid, but it's just how it is. You'll have to have your dreadlocks cut off, and you'll need a completely new hairstyle. I know your hair is kind of a trademark, but you simply can't appear that way at our wedding. Anyhow, you'll get used to the new style and you'll be very happy at how it makes you look. I've selected the close-cropped military look for you."

Marvin breathed in and breathed out. Then he put the action list on the coffee table and stood up. "Now look, Prissy, I can do a lotta things. I can listen to you tell me how bad my team is, even though you kinda really hurt my feelings. I can go and see that fancy dress with you. I can get shoes and taste cakes and even put up with makeup and all that stuff. But I will not cut my hair. No sir, no ma'am, I ain't gonna do that! My hair is the real me. My fans know me by my hair and I just won't won't won't won't won't cut it!"

Priscilla put her hands on her hips. Her face turned white as a sheet.

Oh boy, thought Marvin, here it comes.

"You will have your hair cut and styled in a presentable and dignified manner. You will not look like a bum off the street at our wedding. There will be no further discussion of this. You will do as you're told, is that clear?"

Marvin hesitated a moment. "Yeah, Prissy, it's clear. Clear like the sky in a Michigan snowstorm." Marvin hesitated again. Then, without another word, he left the condo.

Four hours later, in a dive bar near his apartment, Marvin, after more beers than he should have had, started to wonder if he had made a huge mistake. He was trying to distract himself with a checker problem, but it wasn't working. He couldn't focus and the beer wasn't the only reason.

Sighing, he paid his tab, picked up his checker magazine, and went back to his apartment to sleep it off. He had no idea what tomorrow might bring, and he really didn't want to find out.

---

With the wedding just a month away, what will be the outcome? Should we caption this, "Priscilla to play, what result?" Or have we just encountered a situation of "Marvin to play and lose"? Stay tuned to this website for our next installment.

Was Priscilla too hard on Marvin? Was Marvin too stubborn? These are difficult questions, and we suggest for the moment that you just stick with checkers and try to solve the problem that Marvin simply couldn't concentrate on. See if you can find the correct play, and then click on Read More to view the solution. Would that life's problems be solved with just a mouse click!

[Read More]

When traveling abroad, do we change currency or exchange currency? Or do we change currency at a Currency Exchange? We can probably say that's all a matter of semantics.

Not so much so, though, in our game of checkers. If you solve the twin problem below, sent to us by regular contributors Lloyd and "Gosh Josh" Gordon of Toronto, you'll see what we mean.

These are not terribly difficult. The Black win is especially easy, and as for the White win, we've practically given it away. Find the solutions--- time yourself if you want an extra challenge--- and then exchange your mouse position with Read More (or should we say change your mouse position to Read More) to see the solutions.

[Read More]

Is there such a thing as too many pictures? Evidently so. The photo above shows an art display that hardly accords with accepted practices. It's overcrowded and the pictures aren't well positioned.

The previous entry in Bill Salot's outstanding series of checker problem composing contests featured problems that had a visual aspect--- they were works of art in both the visual and ludological senses. For our current contest, Mr. Salot has continued with that theme. Too many pictures? Hardly! We're sure everyone will welcome this new trio of dual-artform problem settings.

The contest problems themselves can be found, as always, on the contest page. We hope you'll drop by, give the problems a try, and of course cast your vote for the one you like best.

As a lead-in, we present a problem by the late Roy Little, which he called Mr. X. It was the winner of Contest 11 back in June, 2013.

Solve this one, click on Read More to check your solution, and then visit the contest page!

[Read More]

There are transpositions in music; music in one key is transposed into another. It's something that's familiar to all music students.

There are also transpositions in mathematics; the one shown above is from the branch of study known as group theory. We won't try to explain it here as it's more than a bit out of scope for a checker column.

What is in scope of course, is a transposition in a checker game. Transpositions are common in the openings, when one opening line, whether through a different order of moves or other means, transposes, or changes, into another opening line. (The concept can of course be generalized beyond openings.)

Jim Loy has put together a comprehensive booklet of opening transitions, and has generously offered it for free publication on our Checker Maven website. You can download the book here.

As an example, and today's problem, here's a landing known as the Pioneer, which can be reached by transposition from six different ballots.

White now plays 29-25. If Black follows with 4-8, he falls into a losing position known as Dunne's Loss, as shown below.

What should Black have played instead?

Your task is to correct the losing move (not so hard) and to work out the White win, rather an advanced challenge, but instructive nonetheless. So see how well you can do, then click on Read More to see the winning play.

[Read More]

Tommy Wagner had made Varsity on his high school team in central Florida. Except it wasn't quite as simple as all that.

In our last story, Tommy, as a freshman, was ready for spring tryouts. He had an outstanding record as Captain of the Junior Varsity team, and he did well in the tryouts and also during training month in August. Coach Schann had named him to the Varsity team in view of his progress.

But that was the Varsity second team. The first team consisted of a titled Master and four Experts, and Tommy, though now at the very top of Class A, fell somewhat short. Tommy ended up on third board on the second team, and it meant he wasn't a starter and would only fill in as a substitute for first team.

Of course, he played in the second team matches, and got to play a couple of times as a first team sub during the fall, but as Christmas vacation rolled around, he was feeling a bit down. Second team matches didn't get anything like the attention that the first team got. No playing in front of big cheering crowds. No being something of a local hero in the high school halls.

It was Saturday morning, and Tommy had arrived a few minutes ago at Uncle Ben's place. Now, Ben wasn't really Tommy's uncle but everyone called him Uncle Ben. In fact he was a former professional checker player, who had some years ago wrapped up a great career and retired to Florida. He now did a little tutoring of promising young players.

Tommy went for a lesson at Uncle Ben's nearly every Saturday. They would sit out on Uncle Ben's front porch, usually with a pitcher of Uncle Ben's wonderful homemade lemonade, and study checkers for a couple of hours. Uncle Ben was a great coach, and often taught Tommy lessons that went beyond checkers and into coaching for living.

Today Uncle Ben could see that Tommy was despondent, and rather than starting out with a checker problem for Tommy to solve, Uncle Ben poured out the lemonade and decided to just chat for a little while.

"So what is it, Tommy? What's on your mind? You've made Varsity, that's a big accomplishment for a young player. Not everyone makes it at the start of sophomore year."

"I know, Uncle Ben," Tommy replied, "but it's third board on second team, and I only got to play twice in league competition, as a last minute substitute on fifth board when coach decided to give me a little experience. I want to be on the first team and play all the matches."

"Well, Tommy, it seems like we've had similar discussions before, about earning things and being patient."

"I know, Uncle Ben, the first team players are all better than I am. I get it, I really do, but I just want to play. When I was on Junior Varsity, at least I got in a lot of time on the board."

"So, what do you think it will take for you to move up to first team? What do suppose Coach Schann is looking for?"

"For me to improve? I mean, that has to be it, I have to get better, I guess, good enough to compete with those Experts and Masters on first team."

"Exactly, Tommy. Your coach will move you up when you're ready, no sooner and no later. Things don't come to us just because we wish for them. They come because we work for them. Do you know, when I first made it to the Major Leagues, when the Houston Huffers called me up, I sat on the bench for quite some while? I'd get to play every so often but the top players got the glory. I was a sub, just like you are. It wasn't easy, but I kept practicing and working, even though I had already made the Big Show. Then, one day, I got my chance, and I never looked back."

"Gee Uncle Ben, you think I can do that too?"

"Of course you can, Tommy. You worked your way up to Captain of Junior Varsity and then you earned yourself a spot on Varsity, even if it isn't as a first team starter. So you've got what it takes, and I suspect that by the latter part of the season you'll be playing more often. But only if you keep up your studies--- and maintain a positive, can-do attitude."

"Well, I'm ready to do what it takes, Uncle Ben."

"Very good. So let's work extra hard today. Here's a problem for you to study, and we'll do several more when you get this one. It might turn out to be a long morning, but we've got lots of lemonade."

Uncle Ben set up the following position and Tommy, who at times needed a reminder that patient hard work precedes success, dug right in.

---

If we don't miss our guess, you, our reader, aren't a second team Varsity player at a local high school, although one never knows. But you're here because you're a checker fan, and you've likely long ago learned that mastery of checkers doesn't come overnight. Can you solve Uncle Ben's problem? See if you can, and then click on Read More to see the solution, notes, and numerous additional examples of the theme.

[Read More]

April 15, the normal due date for income tax returns in the United States, falls on the day of publication of this column. However, being a Saturday, returns won't be due until the next business day, or Tuesday, April 18 (Monday, April 17, 2023 is a holiday in Washington, D.C.).

Marvin J. Mavin, the superstar captain of the champion Detroit Doublejumpers in the National Checker League, had yet to file his taxes, and his fiancee, Priscilla Snelson, wasn't pleased or amused.

Priscilla was the CEO of Rust Belt Holdings, a Detroit based multinational conglomerate, and a team of Certified Public Accountants completed her income tax filings every year. She had a compensation package which ran to about $5 million a year base pay, which doubled with bonuses and stock options, and strived to pay the minimum amount of tax, hence the highly qualified team of experts in her hire.

Marvin was visiting at Priscilla's condo that Saturday afternoon, and of course he was fully occupied solving checker problems in the latest issue of All Checkers Digest. Or at least trying to solve them, as Priscilla was definitely on Marvin's case about his not filing his income taxes as yet.

"Marvin, you make fully half as much money as I do, with your $5 million a year 10 year contract with the Doublejumpers. Why don't you have your own team of accountants? Or just hire mine, they'd be glad to help."

"Yeah, for about $50,000 they would. I don't need those guys."

"They're not all guys. They're about half women, and very talented, and you do need them. In fact I've already ... "

"Aw, Prissy, geez. I just use good old LightningTax, you know, on line, and for like a hundred and fifty bucks everything gets done in half an hour and then I can get back to my magazine. See, look, here's one by that guy Ed in Pennsylvania that I'm working on."

Priscilla walked over to the Italian leather couch where Marvin was sitting, pulled his magazine out of his hands, and threw in onto the quartz crystal coffee table. "You pay probably twenty times the tax you ought to pay. And don't call me Prissy!"

"Aw, honey, like, I ain't got nothing to deduct. My paychecks go into that there Blackguard account and they put some in my checking, and it's sorta real easy. I don't need to worry about nothing."

"Sure. You own a beat up old Volkswagen, you rent a grungy apartment in a terrible neighborhood, you don't have any investments other than that one Blackguard index fund, which by the way I set up for you, and ... you earn a great deal but you just don't care about your money!"

"Yeah, 'cept, I, like, you know, got enough and stuff and I don't need nothing."

"Well, let me tell you, fiance of mine, when we get married your attitude will be a big liability because then we'll have to deal with joint filing, and things are going to change. Big time. I won't let you waste our money like you're doing now. Do I make myself clear?"

"Ah, yeah sure, whatever you say." Marvin reached for his magazine but Priscilla pulled it off the table and tossed it across the room.

"Now, Marvin, you will be doing your taxes right now. As I was starting to say earlier, I've made arrangements for you. Sylvia Yang is coming here and she'll arrive momentarily. She's a senior partner at FatFingers, the accounting firm I use. You'll treat her with respect and deference and you'll do exactly what she tells you to do, immediately and with no argument or discussion."

"Right now? But you didn't tell me nothing about that and I was busy with my magazine. There's that real good problem ... "

"You'll have a really bad problem if you don't listen."

Marvin, through long experience, knew when arguing would just make things worse, and at that moment, the intercom sounded. It was the doorman of Priscilla's condo building.

"Ms. Snelson, there is a Ms. Yang to see you."

Priscilla pressed a button on the intercom. "Thank you, Jackson, please send her up."

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Priscilla pulled the door open an in swept a woman dressed smartly in business attire, carrying a leather briefcase with gold hasps. She went immediately to the conference room (Priscilla had a very upscale condo), sat at the table, took a laptop from the briefcase and started it up.

"Mr. Mavin?" she called. "Over here, please, we must start at once."

Marvin slowly got up from the couch, took a longing glance at the checker magazine lying in disorder in the corner of the living room, and entered Priscilla's conference room.

"I'm Senior Partner Yang," the woman said. "Don't bother attempting to shake hands, there is no time to waste on pleasantries."

"Uh, okay, yeah ... "

"Sit down, Mr. Mavin. The first thing I need from you is a retainer check, and you'll need to sign our retainer agreement. I think $25,000 will be sufficient to start, and we'll bill you for the balance later on. So if you would kindly get out your checkbook ... "

"Uh, I ain't got it with me."

Ms. Yang gave Marvin a deprecating glance. "Oh, really? You're that unprepared? All right then, we'll take a credit card for a three percent upcharge. You do have a credit card, don't you?"

Marvin shrugged his shoulders and got out his 10 year old duct-tape wallet. He had a feeling that the next few hours wouldn't be very pleasant.

---

It seems to happen often. Poor Marvin doesn't get to solve an interesting checker problem, and instead needs to follow Priscilla's directions. Or else.

Now, you may not have a $5 million per year 10 year contract with a professional checker team (or do you?), but you can work on today's problem at your leisure. That's something, at least!

When you're ready, you can click on Read More to see the solution. We promise not to bore you with the details of Marvin's afternoon as Senior Partner Yang from FatFingers completes his income tax returns. Suffice it to say that a fun day was not had by all. Or at least not by Marvin.

[Read More]

We did a minor software update to the site today, 2023-04-13. Please let us know if you find anything that isn't working correctly.

Cutting your lawn very short, perhaps too short for the good of the lawn, is often referred to by a term which is now considered politically incorrect and offensive to some. The word in question supposedly shouldn't be used any longer.

But an alert reader pointed out that, in our republication of Willie Ryan's Tricks Traps & Shots of the Checkerboard, we omitted an entry called Scott's Sc*lp*r. We're remedying that omission with today's column and have renamed it Scott's Close Shave, which we hope will make the LTBO ("Looking To Be Offended") crowd happy.

Let's let Willie give an introduction in his own words.

"The feature performers in this draughts drama were Robert Jackson and A. B. Scott, two of England's foremost players at the turn of the century. Sir Scott, who handled the white pieces, was a sagacious specialist in the management of weak, off-color, or radical moves, which in most cases he had carefully analyzed and prepared in advance. It is evident from Champion Scott's fine play in the game below, that he was thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the formation into which he lured his opponent, enabling him to spring the hair-raising finale at the diagrammed stage."

Willie's analysis of this game is uncharacteristically flawed. The KingsRow computer engine uncovered some very interesting play. Here's the complete run-up, with notes.

1.	11-16	24-20
2.	16-19	23-16
3.	12-19	22-18
4.	8-11	27-23
5.	11-16	20-11
6.	7-16	25-22
7.	4-8	29-25
8.	8-11	31-27---A
9.	10-15	21-17---1
10.	9-13	27-24
11.	5-9---2	25-21
12.	1-5	32-27
13.	2-7---B,3	30-25
14.	3-8	18-14*
15.	9-18	23-14
16.	6-10---4	Forms diagram.

Lettered notes are by Willie Ryan. Numbered notes are by your editor.

A---A powerful attacking move developed by Robertson, Martins, and Wyllie.

B---With this move, Jackson passed up his last chance to draw, but who would ever believe that his choice was to be invalidated in the manner shown? The correct continuation at B is: 6-10, 17-14, 10-17, 21-14, 13-17---5, 22-6, 15-31, 24-8, 31-24, 28-12, 2-27, yielding a draw. John Robertson.

1---Willie didn't note this, but the move appears to lose according to KingsRow.

2---2-7 would have kept a stronger advantage but Black may still have a win.

3---Turns a probable win into a possible loss. Willie's analysis isn't quite correct. See note B above.

4---A mistake that loses at once. 6-9 would have given Black better chances although he's still in a possible loss.

5---This move is hard to understand and throws away the win. 3-7 is correct here. Perhaps the spectacular exchanges diverted Willie's attention.

---

Do you see the White win from the diagrammed position? Work it out and then click on Read More to check your the solution.

[Read More]