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For the last several months our monthly Checker School columns have been featuring "gem" problems. Whether or not they were all truly "gems" is for you, our reader, to decide, but we have one last entry in the current series to present to you today. It's by S. J. Pickering and apparently first made its appearance in the old (and excellent) checker magazine Elam's Checker Board.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK8,15,22,K26:B1,7,20,K27

White has two kings to Black's one and has a centralized position. Should be easy, shouldn't it? But checkers is subtle and complex, and the win may not be so simple.

Does this one sparkle for you? Can you appreciate its facets? See if you can solve it and then let your mouse shine on Read More to see the solution and notes.

Solution

The published solution (with original lettered notes) indeed puts the problem into the gem category, and also represents play most likely to be taken by human competitors.

22-18---A 7-10 ---1 15x6 1x10 8-12---3 20-24---B 26-31 27-23 18-15 10x19 12-16 24-28 31-27 23x32 16x23 White Wins---2

A---Compare Wyllie's Black on 4, 12, 24; king 23; W. 11, 20, 31; king 7---W. to play and win---Lyman's Problems. See p. 17, "Familiar Themes."

B---27-31, 26-23, 20-24, 23-27, 24-28---C, 27-32, 31-26, 12-16, 26-31, 16-19, 31-26, 19-24, W. wins---Several, E.C.B.

C---31-26, 27-20, 26-23, 18-15, 10-19, 12-16, or 20-16, W. wins, Several, E.C.B.

1---Getting his man out of trouble by swapping it off.

2---A very ingenious win.

3---Correspondent Bill Salot points out an alternative win with 26-23 10-14 *23 32 14-23 *32-28 23-26 8-3 or 8-11. White Wins.

The computer solution differs but is still clever.

8-12 27-32 22-18 7-10---3 15x6 1x10 12-16 20-24 26-31 32-28 16-19 White Wins. Black must lose a piece.

3---1-6 18-14 32-27 26-22 27-32 15-11 7x16 12x19 32-27 22-18 27-32 18-23 32-28 23-27 28-32 19-23 32-28 27-32 20-24 23-18 White Wins.