Willie Ryan, possibly the only checkerist ever to achieve anything close to "rock star" status, takes us back to his youth in this month's installment from Tricks Traps & Shots of the Checkerboard. Let's listen as Willie tells us about a trap he learned in those early years. Editior's note: the photo above is definitely not Willie Ryan!

"When I was just a boy of 13, I learned this trap on the Defiance opening by John Drummond, which enabled me to win more than a few games. The basic germ or idea utilized in this example is known as the "Brooklyn"--- a tactical device that has almost as many variations of application as the versatile in-and-outer.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W31,30,26,23,21,20,19,15:B14,12,10,9,8,3,2,1.

A---The old and somewhat difficult Andrew Anderson defense. A better defense for white is: 22-18, 15-22, 26-17, 11-15, 24-20, etc., as given in my book, Scientific Checkers Made Easy.

B---To the gallows! The correct play here is: 31-27, 8-11, 18-15, 11-18, 21-17, 14-21, 23-5, 2-6, 27-23, 10-15, 19-10, 6-15, 20-16, 12-19, 23-16, 15-19, 16-11, 19-24, 26-23, ending in a draw."

Young or old, one thing is certain: clicking on Read More will show you the snappy and pleasing solution.

Solution

"Continue: 1-6*, 26-22, 9-13*, 22-18---C, 3-7, 18-9, 13-17, 21-14, 6-13, 15-6, 2-27, 31-24, 7-10, and black wins.

C---If 30-25 is moved, then proceed with 14-17, 21-7, 2-27, 31-24, 6-10, 25-21, 8-11, 22-18, 13-17, 21-7, 3-10, and black wins."