"The Last Song" can mean a lot of things; the end of a concert, maybe even the end of a career; or more metaphorically, the end of a relationship, an era ... the list goes on, and it's a bit too melancholy for our tastes. But in the world of checkers, we're looking at a much better interpretation for today's column.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W10,20,30,31,32:B2,12,17,18,19.

We're going to hear, or at least see, the last song from Mr. G. M. Gibson, the author of our recent few Checker School "snappy" problems propounded by our friend Skittle to the aspiring neophyte Nemo. We'd rate this one as a little above average in difficulty; the theme is one we've seen a few times before.

Don't let this be your last song; whether you solve it or not we hope you'll keep coming back to visit with us and that you'll keep on playing checkers. When you've sung the last verse (i.e., come up with a solution), let your mouse sing out on Read More to see how it's done.

Solution

32-27---A 19-23---B 31-26! 23x32 10-6! 2x9 26-22 17x26 30x5 32-27 5-1 27-23 1-6 23-18 6-10 18-23 10-15 23-27 White Wins---C

A---Or 30-26 18-23 32-27! 23x32 10-6 2x9 26-23 19x26 31x6 and now the win is the same as in the main line.

B---19-24 is no better.

C---White wins. If 23-27 then 20-16 12-19 15-31. If 23-26, then 15-18 and Black is trapped.