"Whitney" is a common surname and a not-uncommon first name in the English speaking world. There are the famous Pratt and Whitney aircraft engines, for one thing. There is also J.C. Whitney Auto Parts, an old and famous institution still very active today.

Something else that is old and famous, and active today for sure, is our game of checkers. This month's problem in our Checker School series is attributed to a different Whitney--- one G. Whitney, to be exact. While analyzing Mr. Whitney's position, we turned up something new and interesting, and so we've modified things a little.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W29,27,20,18:B12,11,10,5.

Black definitely has a win here. In the problem as originally published, Black missed the win and after Black's errant move, the terms of the problem became "White to Play and Draw." In the solution section, we'll show you the original situation, but for now we're asking you to find the Black win. It's sort of like original auto parts and modified high-performance parts.

When you've found the winning line of play, rev your mouse on Read More to see the run-up to this position and how Black can get it right--- or get it wrong.

Solution

Here's the solution to the problem shown in the main article text.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W29,27,20,18:B12,11,10,5.

12-16 27-23 10-15 18-14 15-18 Black wins.

And here's the position as given in the original publication. See note 4 below. Black has played 5-9, missing the 12-16 win. (Numbered notes are by the Editor using the KingsRow checker engine; lettered notes and commentary are from Ben Boland's Famous Positions in the Game of Checkers.)

Position after 5-9
G. Whitney
BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W29,27,20,18:B12,11,10,9.

29-25, 10-15---A, 25-22, 15-19, 22-17, 9-13, 17-14, 13-17, 14-10, 17-22, 10-7, 19-24, 27-23, 12-16, 7-3, 22-26, 18-14, 26-30, 23-18, 30-26, 3-8, 26-23, 8-15. Drawn---5.

Game: 11-15, 23-19, 8-11, 22-17, 4-8, 17-13, 15-18, 24-20, 11-15, 26-22---1, 15-24, 28-19, 7-11, 22-15, 11-18, 30-26, 2-7, 26-23, 8-11, 23-14, 10-17, 21-14, 9-18, 19-16, 12-19, 27-23, 18-27, 31-8, 3-12---2, 25-22, 7-11, 22-18---3, 6-9, 13-6, 1-10, 32-27, 5-9---4. Forms above position. G. Whitney. Old 14th, Var. 7, Lyman's Problem Book.

A---10-14, 27-23, 14-17, 25-21, 17-22, 21-17, 9-13, 23-19, 22-26, 17-14, 26-31, 19-15, 31-26, 15-8, 26-22, 18-15, 22-18. Drawn.

The above position by G. Whitney may be found as No. 386 in Lyman's and No. 539 in Gould's Problem Book.

1---Play drifts away from "book" as 28-24 is better than this relatively weak move.

2---The position now evaluates to a draw.

3---This move loses. Correct would have been 29-25.

4---Although this move sets up a nice problem, 12-16 would have won for Black.

5---23-19 20-11 19-17 to a draw.