Happy holidays to one and all from The Checker Maven. We hope this holiday season will be everything you might ever wish it to be.

The holiday season here in Honolulu is bustling; it's one of the busiest times of the year for tourism, and airfares and hotel prices reflect this. If you're thinking of visiting Hawai`i some day (and we hope you are), but you'd like to do so on a budget, we definitely recommend September or October as a much more economical choice of seasons.

Whether your holidays are bustling, laid-back, or somewhere in between, we know you'll enjoy a fine checker problem to add to your festivities. You might want to settle in front of a crackling fire with a hot drink, in some climates; in others you might take the diagram to the beach with you and study it while catching some sun. However you do it, we know our selection of a Tom Wiswell problem is bound to please, even if it's more than a little on the challenging side.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W12,14,15,16,17,21,23,32:B2,3,4,7,K22,28.

So, what's the big deal, you might ask, White is two pieces ahead and should win easily. But all is not so simple. There's a big Black king in the middle of the White forces, and White is going to have to work for this one. Mr. Wiswell tells us that White will have to make no less than five "star" moves to bring home the victory.

Can you give the White forces a holiday present, or will they have to go without? Don't give up too soon; this one is well worth your time. When you've got your solution in hand, click on Read More to check your results.

Solution

14-10---A,2 22-13 10-6 2-9 15-10 7-14 16-11 13-17 23-18 etc., White Wins---3.

A---If 15-11, 22-13 23-19 13-17 14-9 3-8!---Drawn---1.

1---12-3 17-13 3-10 13-24 to a draw.

2---If 17-13, 7-10 15-6 (14-7 essentially same) 2-27 32-23 to a draw.

3---14-23 21-5 23-26 5-1 26-30 1-6 30-26 6-10 26-22 10-14 and White wins with the move.

That was quite a problem. White went from two pieces up to one piece down in order to regain the piece and then win with the distant opposition. If you solved this one, you deserve a little more holiday cheer. And if you didn't solve it, then have a little holiday cheer anyhow!