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

Solution

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W26,24,20,18,K8:B12,7,6,5,3.

12-16 20x2 3x12 2x9 5x30 Black Wins.

The win is trivial, but it's interesting that the fastest finish from this point is obtained by giving back Black's extra piece to gain "the move":

24-19 12-16 19x12 30-26 12-8 26-23 8-3 23-18 3-7 18-15 7-2 15-10 and it's over.

What's the bilingual pun? We're sure you've guessed it. The former Soviet Union's initials, in the Russian alphabet, were CCCP, which translated stood for "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics." We simply repurposed those initials in the English alphabet.

Okay, it is a little obscure!