Today we present the seventh and final volume of Grandmaster Richard Pask's 21st Century Checkers, comprising the 12-16 ballots. 21st Century Checkers will surely be the definitive reference for many years to come, and The Checker Maven is proud and privileged to be able to offer Mr. Pask's work, absolutely free for the taking thanks to Mr. Pask's boundless generosity to the checker-playing community.

Looking forward, Mr. Pask contemplates an "omnibus" which will be comprised of all seven parts in a single book, to be entitled Complete Checkers; it will be available most likely later on in 2016 as a free downloadable electronic version. We are also contemplating a printed edition, which of course cannot be free, but will be offered on a non-profit basis, with all proceeds above costs being donated to support youth checkers.

Meanwhile, volume seven can be downloaded here or from the "Richard Pask" page linked in the column on the right. And to get you started, here's a fascinating position taken from the book. The run-up is as follows:

1.	12-16	22-17
2.	16-20	17-13
3.	11-15	25-22
4.	8-11	24-19
5.	15x24	28x19
6.	11-15	19-16
7.	4-8	29-25
8.	8-12	22-17
9.	12x19	23x16
10.	15-19	25-22

We have now reached {v14, #2096 in the book}

11.

9-14

27-23

A losing move. Detailed computer analysis shows 30-25 to be a narrow (and very hard to find) draw, but can you find the Black win here?

This problem is certainly in the grandmaster category. But we urge you to try it anyhow. Doing the analysis will surely develop your skills, and when you click on Read More and view the solution, you'll learn something no matter what your current skill level. Advanced problems are a great challenge for top players and a source of inspiration and education for the rest of us.

[Read More]

Saturday morning dawned sunny and cold. It was the kind of morning made for staying in bed late and snuggling under warm blankets.

But at about 8 AM Andrew was out of bed, nudging Samantha. "Come on, sleepyhead, there's a busy day ahead! I want to get to Lindyville when the library opens at ten!

Andrew figured Lindyville to be about an hour's drive, given the likely snow-packed condition of the two-lane road that lead there from Lake City.

"Look, I know you're tired out from yesterday's excitement ..."

He ducked the pillow that Samantha threw at him, but didn't see the second one coming, and it hit him square in the face.

"Excitement," Samantha muttered, throwing the covers aside and getting out of the bed. "Dusty basement records rooms and a drive through town highlighted by a tour of the Lake City Sausage Factory. Even your old checker magazines would top that."

"Glad to hear you're showing an interest," Andrew said, rubbing his face. "Waffle House for breakfast?"

"Like there's a choice?" Samantha went into the bathroom and closed the door.

They arrived at the Lindyville Library at about 11 o'clock. "Let me handle this," Samantha said. "You haven't done very well with Miss Victor so far, and she doesn't know me."

"Okay," Andrew said. "I want to see if I can find the site of the old checker club, so I'll just pick you up here in about an hour."

Samantha got out of the rental car and waved as Andrew drove off. Then she turned and faced the Library entrance.

The building was a lot larger than she had expected. Lindyville's population was under two hundred but this looked like a decent-sized library and it was in a rather new-looking building on a generously sized lot.

Samantha pulled open the glass door and entered. The interior was divided into three rooms, two of them quite large, all of them lined with bookshelves around the walls and tables and chairs in the middle.

To her left was what was obviously the checkout and reference desk. And Samantha had no trouble at all recognizing Miss Victor, who was favoring her with a cold glare.

"Haven't seen you here before," Miss Victor said. She was exactly what Samantha had expected: a rather large middle-aged woman with florid features and dark hair pulled back into an untidy bun. Her voice was low and rough. Definitely a smoker, as Andrew had pointed out.

"I'm not from around here," Samantha said.

"Don't have to tell me that," Miss Victor said.

"I ... I'm just visiting."

"Don't get many visitors in Lindyville. None of them come to the Library, either."

"Well, let me be the first!" Samantha said, affecting a bright tone.

It didn't work.

"Must be here for a reason," Miss Victor said. "You didn't just sort of end up here."

It's time to take this on, Samantha thought. She walked over to the desk and faced Miss Victor.

"Yes, I'm here for a reason," Samantha said. "I came here with Professor Lopez from the University of New Mexico."

Miss Victor's eyes flicked. "Him," she said. "He doesn't listen very well."

"That's as may be, Miss Victor," Samantha said. "But we're doing research, and I would think that as the town's librarian, you'd want to be helpful. Now, surely you know something about the old Lindyville Checker Club. What can you tell me?"

"Nothing. Can't tell you nothing ... er, anything."

"Surely you've heard of it? Surely you know about the murder?"

"That's an old, old story, long done and gone. What are you, one of them ... er... those ... big city troublemakers, trying to make our town look bad? People don't care for that, you know. Outsiders stirring things up, I mean."

There was an awkward silence. "Well, if you can't help me," Samantha finally said, "do you at least have a reference section? You know, someplace where I can do a little research?"

"Library's full of books," Miss Victor said.

"I meant, you know, the history of Lindyville ..."

"Look around. You're bound to find something. Now if you'll excuse me I have work to do." Miss Victor looked down and started turning the pages of a copy of Vogue.

"I thought your job was ... never mind." Samantha walked off toward the bookshelves.

History is bound to be here somewhere, Samantha thought. I wonder what call number is for local history? No use asking the librarian, that's for sure.

Samantha somehow found herself looking at 790s bookcase. 794.1, books on chess ... 794.2 ... checkers! Maybe there would be something here. Let's see ... Lee's Guide ... Churchill's Compilation ... Checker Magic. The books all looked pretty old and worn, and nothing about a Lindyville Checker Club.

She absently pulled a book from the shelf and leafed through the pages. She replaced it and pulled out another. As she did so, a tattered photocopy fell to the floor. Samantha bent down and picked it up.

It was just a handful of pages stapled together. The title was typewritten. Cudworth's Problem Book, by Bill Cudworth. There was a typewritten note on the cover as well. "Replacement of Lost Original from Lindyville Checker Club".

Had Samantha hit the jackpot? That librarian had to have known about this. Why didn't she say anything? Samantha was starting to get suspicious.

She stole a glance at the checkout desk. Miss Victor was deep in her "work." With a quick motion, Samantha folded the photocopy in half and stuffed it into her purse. Then she replaced the book she had pulled out, and strode nonchalantly toward the exit, keeping her purse on the side of her body away from Miss Victor.

"I'll be leaving now," she said brightly. "Thank you for all your help."

Miss Victor looked up briefly. "Don't like troublemakers," she said to Samantha's back.

About fifteen minutes passed, when, all of a sudden, an expression of horror came over Miss Victor's face. Moving very quickly for someone of her girth, she got out of her chair and sped across the room to the third aisle from the end, reaching the 794.2 section in seconds. She pulled a book from the shelf and flipped through the pages.

"It's gone!" she exclaimed. "How could I forget about the copy!" She ran toward the exit. "That little thief ..."

The bright sunlight struck her eyes as she pushed the door open and looked up and down the road, but Samantha was nowhere to be seen.

---

Today's problem can be solved in two different ways. Perhaps you can find them both, but give yourself full credit for finding either one. This is a classic endgame, one that it would do you well to know how to win.

See if you can win it, then click on Read More to see the solutions.

[Read More]

This column will appear on January 2, 2016. You've had Friday off from work, most likely, and you've hopefully shaken off any New Year's Eve excesses, had your fill of football games, and are ready to settle down to a little checkers to get the new year rolling.

Today we present a full game based on the Single Corner opening. It comes from master play from an earlier day. There are two parts to our checker problem. First, here's the whole game, without commentary.

11-15 22-18 15x22 25x18 12-16 29-25 9-13 25-22 16-20 24-19 8-11 19-16 4-8 16-12 11-16 18-14 10x17 21x14 6-10 22-17 13x22 26x17 8-11 30-25 11-15 23-19 15x24 28x19 16x23 27x18 1-6 25-21 10-15 18x11 7x16 31-27 16-19 32-28 2-7

When originally published, this was correctly left as a Black win (with White to play). Now, the first part of our problem is to demonstrate the win. If you're any sort of advanced player, you'll be able to do this easily enough. If you're a non-expert, it's an excellent exercise in winning a won game.

The second part of the problem is much harder. Can you go back into the game and find out where White went wrong? Again, experts will realize quickly that this line in the Single Corner is not so common. But there's one move that can definitely be said to lose. Can you correct the play?

You'll need to get out your board for this one; we recommend that instead of a computer, as we don't want you to be tempted to simply look at computer analysis.

Will this start the year off right? Only you can say. See how you do and then click on Read More to see the solutions.

[Read More]

We hope that your holiday season is going well, and that it is filled with everything you might wish for. Our holidays definitely include time for checkers, and today we'd like to turn to someone who was without doubt one of the greatest American players of his day, Samuel Gonotsky.

Mr. Gonotsky suffered from poor health made worse by his reputed lack of interest in taking care of himself, and a perennial lack of money. Had he lived beyond his twenties, who knows what checker mountains he might have climbed?

Today, let's look at one of his relatively few problem positions.

This one will require some thought, so maybe it's one to try to solve with that cup of coffee after dinner or a slice of leftover mince pie. It's up to you how to go about it, but the main thing is to enjoy. When you're ready, click on Read More to see the solution.

[Read More]

(Editor's Note: The next installment of The Lindyville Checker Club serial will be delayed until January 9 so that we may accommodate today's special column.)

This week the release of the seventh film in the immortal Star Wars saga is big news. Star Wars promotions and features are everywhere, and The Checker Maven is joining in with our own entry.

In checkers a star move is the only move possible in a given situation to obtain a win or a draw, as the case may be. In today's problem, Black can get a draw only by making five consecutive "star" moves. Star Wars indeed!

Black has a tough position, but the force is with him and if he navigates the "star" wars he can obtain a draw.

Is the force with you? Can you "force" a draw by solving the "star" wars? "Do. Or do not. There is no 'try'"--- Jedi Master Yoda.

When you're ready, force your mouse onto Read More to try out the solution.

[Read More]

A couple of Checker School installments back, we presented a position attributed to the great champion James Wyllie, "the Herd Laddie." Unsurprisingly, many other positions and studies are ascribed to this great master of days gone by.

Today's entry differs greatly from the previous presentation. Whereas that solution tended toward the subtle, this one leans more to the spectacular. Mr. Wyllie, obviously, was expert in every facet of the game, from the most delicate wins to the most bombastic strokes.

We've given you enough of a hint already, and you'll probably find this problem to be somewhat on the easier side.

Show your wiles and be Wyllie by finding the solution and then clicking on Read More to see the solution, sample games, and explanatory notes.

[Read More]

We meant "CCCP" to stand for "Clever Canadian Checker Problem" since we found today's speed problem in the pages of an old edition of Canadian Checker Player. But our art department came up with a bilingual pun, and we thought it was pretty good. (Extra credit if you can explain it on your own.)

The problem really isn't so hard. But the holiday season is approaching, and we're feeling extra-generous, so we're giving you 15 seconds to solve it. When you're ready, click on the link below, then come back and click on Read More to check your solution.

December 2015 Speed Problem

[Read More]

This week marks the eleventh anniversary of non-stop, no-fail weekly publication of The Checker Maven. Many thanks to all our loyal readers. We hope you'll find enough here of interest that you'll want to stay with us in the weeks and years to come.

This is Thanksgiving weekend, definitely our favorite time of year, when the wonderful Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated in the United States. It's a great family time, with food--- lots of it--- and festivity and reflection on the many things for which we all can be grateful.

On such occasions we like to feature a Tom Wiswell problem. Mr. Wiswell, a great checker champion, checker writer, and American patriot, represents for us the spirit of America and the spirit of the American holidays.

This year we've picked out a problem that is a real dandy.

White is a piece up, but Black has a king and the White win is yet to be demonstrated. It's a practical problem but not necessarily an easy one.

So, see how you can do. Take your time; it's a holiday weekend and some leisurely checker enjoyment is most appropriate. When you're done, click on Read More to see the solution. Then, do as we invite you to do every year at this time--- help yourself to another slice of pumpkin pie.

[Read More]

In the offices of The Checker Maven, we're learning new things all the time, and in seeking a theme photo for our extended "Kelso" series, we came across "Dr. Bob Kelso," who is pictured above. Apparently, Dr. Kelso is a character in a television series about which, we must admit, we know nothing (we definitely prefer checkers over television).

Fortunately, there's always more to learn about checkers, too, and today we'll be looking at a slight variation on the Kelso from that shown last time; just a single move changes, but in checkers that can make all the difference. This is a continuation of Variation 2 on Capers in the Kelso as found in Willie Ryan's classic Tricks Traps & Shots of the Checkerboard. Here's the run-up without annotation; see the previous columns in this series for complete notes and discussion.

1.	10-15	22-18
2.	15x22	25x18
3.	11-15	18x11
4.	8x15	21-17
5.	4-8	17-13
6.	9-14	29-25
7.	6-10	24-20
8.	1-6	28-24
9.	8-11	32-28
10.	14-17	25-21
11.	10-14	23-19
12.	7-10	27-23

Can you doctor the play enough to find the moves needed to draw? The cure is rather complex. But fear not, healing is at hand by clicking on Read More for the full solution treatment.

[Read More]