Every year we say the same thing: we love celebrating the Fourth of July, America's birthday. We are proud to be American patriots, and invite our American readers to celebrate along with us.

Similarly, every Fourth of July we turn to a man who served America with honor and distinction, Mr. Tom Wiswell. This year, we present a situation from one of his matches with Millard Hopper, yet another patriot and, like Mr. Wiswell, a champion go-as-you-please player.

Here's the situation.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Draw

B:W32,30,27,25,24,22,17,14:B18,15,10,8,7,5,3,2.

It's quite a complex situation but the draw is there and you can work it out with some effort. Find the solution and then celebrate by clicking on Read More to check your answer and to see the transcription of the full game.

Solution

Here's the complete game; the problem position occurs after White's 12th move. Millard Hopper had Black and Tom Wiswell had White. The game was played in front of over 200 spectators at a department store in Connecticut. Checkers was once a big attraction!

Perhaps slightly weaker than some alternatives such as 25-22.

Definitely not as good as 27-23. White is letting Black get a bit of a lead.

Loses the lead. 8-12 was correct.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Draw

B:W32,30,27,25,24,22,17,14:B18,15,10,8,7,5,3,2.

There's more than one way to do it; 2-6 is the computer move but the actual game move is fine.

A clear draw. Use your computer to explore the many variations on this solution ... and then go out and celebrate the 4th!