In our game of checkers, one of those things has, at least for us, brought to mind a couple of items, one of which is a problem with the terms shown below, Black to Play, White to Win, our latest entry in our ongoing Checker School series.

How are we supposed to know how Black is going to play when we're trying to win with White? Add to that, the diagram is shown on the Black side as our convention is to orient the board to the side which is on move.

However, there is a saving grace in that it's a very nice little problem, attributed to a noted Colorado problemist of bygone days, L. J. Vair. Yes, it's one of those, but it's worth the relatively minor annoyance.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play, White to Win

B:WK10,13,K17,K23,32:B5,12,K22,K29,K31

Don't yourself be one of those; solve the problem and then click on Read More to see the solution and notes.

Solution

22-25---A 17-21 25-30---B 32-27 31-24 23-26 30-23 21-25 29-22 13-9 5-14 10-28 12-16 28-24 White Wins.

A---31-27, 17-26, 27-18, 32-27, 29-25 (or 12-16) 26-23, 18-22, 13-9, White Wins.

B---25-22, 23-26-C, 22-18, 26-22, 18-25, White Wins.
Alternatively 31-27, 21-30, 27-18, 10-14, White Wins.

C---Or 13-9, 5-14, 10-26, 31-22, 32-28, 12-16, 28-24, 16-20, 23-27, White Wins.