Labor Day 2014 will be on Monday, September 1, and each year The Checker Maven takes the opportunity to join in honoring American workers, the men and women who work hard day in and day out to make America the great nation that it is. Whether you're a business executive, police officer, gardener, nurse, construction worker, or belong to any of the thousands of other occupations that make up the American workforce, you're worthy of our salute. In America, all honest work is respected, and rightly so.

Checkers was once the mind sport of the working class and many of the great masters were American workers. One of them was steelworker Asa Long, and today we present a position taken from one of his games.

Forms the Whiltier opening.

Book play up to here, where the KingsRow engine now gives 31-27 instead.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W32,26,21,14,13:B20,19,18,6,5.

You definitely have your work cut out for you in this one. Can you labor hard enough to find the White draw? When you've completed the job, clock out by clicking on Read More to see the solution.

Solution

If instead 21-17 then 18-22 wins a man at once. 32-28 is the only 'natural' seeming move, but then 20-24 21-17 24-27 and White still loses a man and the game.

What is White doing? Black now wins a piece.

Black is a man up and has a king to boot. What is White to do?

Drawn.

We feature this game not because Mr. Long was the victor, but because it is an example of checkers at its best ... played by working men. Mr. Long had the Blacks and the Whites were skilfully captained by John F. Horr of Buffalo, New York, in a match game that, fittingly, took place at the Detroit Union League Club back in 1923.