In one of Tom Wiswell's many fine books, Mr. Wiswell published a number of situations which he referred to as "checker brilliancies." We have to agree with him, as in these settings, the winning player invariably comes up with a move or a sequence that is, well, brilliant, both in concept and execution.

Today, we challenge you to match wits with James P. Reed, in a game played back in 1889 against Charles F. Barker. The move Mr. Wiswell calls "Barker's Blunder" allowed Mr. Reed to find an astounding win. Here's the run-up and the game position:

A---24-20 can be played here.
B---This move doesn't lose, but it could be argued that 11-15 or even 10-15 is better.
C---This is the "blunder" that loses.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W13,15,18,23,26,28,30,31,32:B2,4,5,6,7,8,11,16,17.

Can you match Mr. Reed for brilliance and find the winning move? We'll warn you, it's really something and takes a truly skilled player to find. How about correcting Mr. Barker's "blunder" and instead demonstrating a draw?

Work it out and then click on Read More to see if your play really shines.

Solutions

D---A truly amazing move. If you didn't see it, don't feel bad about it!
E---The alternative jump also loses: 7-14 18-9 6-14 23-18 14-23 26-3 White Wins.

Instead of 12-16 (the "Blunder") Willie Ryan (a brilliant player in his own right) demonstrated that Black should have played 6-9, leading to the following draw: