"Sal, I really think you ought to agree with me."

Those words were spoken by Sylvia Westerman, Sal Westerman's wife of many decades.

It was mid-November of 1955 and the Westermans were in their modest home on North 13th Street in Bismarck, North Dakota. It was a Saturday and the Westermans were having a soup and sandwich lunch at just about noon; Sal would soon be off to the weekly meeting of his Coffee and Cake Checker Club and Sylvia would be joining her knitting group at the home of a neighbor.

The Westermans had been discussing Thanksgiving plans, and with the holiday less than a week away, they still hadn't decided what to do. Or, at least, Sal hadn't decided. Sylvia most certainly had.

"Joyce can't come this year," Sal said, "so can't it just be the two of us at home?" Joyce was their daughter, who was a lawyer and had moved to Washington D.C. to work for a very prestigious Washington law firm.

"Joyce can't come most years," Sylvia pointed out, "and we've had a quiet Thanksgiving a lot of times. This year most of our friends are out of town or have other plans, so ... "

"I hear the restaurant at the Patterson Hotel puts on a great Thanksgiving dinner," Sal quickly said.

"I'm sure they do," Sylvia replied, "but that's not the same as a home cooked meal and besides it would be frightfully expensive. No, Sal, the Patterson is out, and we're going to Dickinson. It's decided."

Sal tried not to groan audibly. Dickinson, a town about 90 miles west of Bismarck, was where Sylvia's sister Phoebe lived, and Sal and Phoebe did not get along--- to say the least. Sal tried his best for his wife's sake, but Phoebe offended Sal in the worst possible manner--- he thought Sal's checker hobby was a waste of time, and didn't hesitate to tell him so, often saying that Sal was lazy and spent time on checkers rather than help around the house "like a decent husband ought to do." Phoebe herself had been single all her life but had definite opinions about husbands, even never having had one.

"How about you go, and I'll take the train down to Minneapolis. They're having their annual Thanksgiving weekend tournament. That way we'll both be happy," Sal said. But Sylvia's reply confirmed that it was hopeless."

"You and I are going to Dickinson, and that's my last word on the subject. We'll go down there on Wednesday afternoon, and we can come home on Sunday morning. Surely you can deal with four nights in Dickinson."

Sal wanted to say that it wasn't Dickinson that he had any trouble with, it was Phoebe. But Sylvia knew as much and, once in a while, expected him to grin and bear it.

There weren't too many more words exchanged between the couple. Sal sort of grunted, which Sylvia took as assent. Sylvia seemed to be about to say more, which Sal knew would be admonishments on being nice to Phoebe and so on, but he stood up and quickly said, "Time to go to the club, dear." And after that, he had his jacket, gloves, and hat on and was out the door in record time.

The 10 minute or so walk to the Beacon Cafe, where his club met every Saturday afternoon between Labor Day and Memorial Day (except for major holidays, like Thanksgiving weekend). The weather was slightly damp and overcast and it was cool rather than cold, at about 25F, which Bismarck residents considered relatively mild for November.

Walking calmed Sal down a little, but still, his stress must have been visible, for when he entered the Cafe--- an uncharacteristic five minutes late--- the proprietress, Deana, took one look at him and said, "Having a hard day, Sal?"

Most of the other club members had already arrived. The "boys" as Sal called them were all but one of them at least fifty years of age. Today Larry, Wayne, Dan, Delmer, Young Blaine, Ron, and seldom seen Theo were present. All of them were looking in Sal's direction, wondering what he would say.

"Oh, it's nothing," Sal said as he made his way to the back of the Cafe where the big booths were located. "Nothing at all. Well, nothing much. Ah, okay, a little something but I wouldn't worry about it."

It was clear that all of the boys, not to mention Deana, were curious. But no one pressed Sal, at least not at first. Everyone talked about what they were doing for the holiday. Wayne would be going to the farm out in Wilton for a big family gathering. Dan had relatives in the western part of the state and would be visiting there. Ron and Larry were having small family dinners. Young Blaine and his new wife, Young Moira, would be going up to Minot. Even Deana chimed in, saying she was closing the Cafe for the weekend and going out east to the family farm in Gackle.

Finally, it was Deana who brought it up. "Well, your turn, Sal," she said, "we all know something's bothering you and it's not hard to guess it's about Thanksgiving."

"Checkers first," Sal said. "I've got a nice problem for you boys ... "

"Come on, Sal," Young Blaine interrupted, "we're all friends here. Tell us what's going on."

Sal, in the middle of setting up his checker problem, stopped. "All right then," he said, "it's about Sylvia insisting on going to Dickinson for Thanksgiving with Phoebe."

Now, everyone knew about Phoebe, and Sal's trials and tribulations in that department. They all were sympathetic but they did stop short of outright disagreeing with Sylvia, even outside of her presence. Again, though, it was Deana who spoke up.

"You know, Sal," she began, "as much as I want you to be happy, Sylvia's got a point. She ought to be able to spend a holiday with her sister once in a while."

"But do I have to spend it with her?" Sal asked. "Phoebe could care less if I were there ... oh ... right ... she'd have a lot to say if I don't show up, wouldn't she, and it would make Sylvia uncomfortable." Sal thought a moment longer. "Of course," he continued, "she'll have a lot to say if I do show up!"

Everyone laughed, but Deana said, "I'm sure you're right Sal, but you know what the right thing to do is, too."

That pretty much wrapped up the discussion, and Sal finished setting up his problem. Deana announced that the pumpkin muffins were hot and fresh, and Sal said he was looking forward to the boys buying some for him and his wife, as was the tradition if the boys couldn't solve Sal's problem. Sal, in turn, would buy if the boys did solve it.

Sal said that 45 minutes ought to be enough time but the boys, already deep in study, likely didn't hear him.

---

If you live in the US, what are your Thanksgiving plans? We hope they are pleasant ones and don't involve difficult relatives or stressful situations. But regardless, for the moment see if you can solve Sal's problem. Click on Read More when you're ready to see the solution and the brief conclusion to our story.

Solution and Conclusion

When Sal called time not quite an hour later, the boys admitted that they couldn't solve it, so, while Deana served up trays of pumpkin muffins, Sal demonstrated the following play.

(Beyond the first star move many variations are possible; you can explore them on your own.)

1.	11-15*	26-22
2.	15-19	22x15
3.	19x26	15-11
4.	7x16	20x11
5.	14-18	11-8
6.	6-9	13x6
7.	2x9	24-20
8.	26-31	27-24
9.	9-13	8-3
10.	10-14	3-7
11.	31-26	...

13-17 only draws; try it with your computer.

11.	...	7-11
12.	18-23	24-19
13.	23-27	19-15
14.	26-23	15-10
15.	23-18	10-7
16.	27-31	7-2
17.	31-26	2-7
18.	12-16	...

26-22 only draws!

18.	...	11-8
19.	16-19	8-11
20.	19-23	7-2
21.	23-27	2-7
22.	27-32	7-2
23.	32-27	20-16
24.	27-24	16-12
25.	24-19	12-8
26.	26-22	2-6
27.	22x29	6-9
28.	18-15	11x18
29.	14x23	...

To a Black Win.

"A long tough one, Sal," Wayne said, and the others nodded in agreement. "But a great demonstration on how to win a won game. We kept trying 10-15 on the first move and couldn't come up with anything but a draw. Then we saw 11-15 was better but we just didn't find our way through."

Checker talk and checker play went on until the Cafe's 5 PM closing time. The Club would meet again in two weeks, after the holiday weekend was over.

Sal, bearing muffins bought by the boys, made his way home carefully in the evening darkness. On arrival, he found Sylvia in the kitchen preparing dinner. He gave her a hug and said, "Dear, I'll be happy to go to Dickinson with you. And I've brought you pumpkin muffins, too."

Sylvia, more than a little surprised, turned to Sal with a smile. "I know you really don't want to, sweetheart, but it's nice of you to say that, and I'll try to make it as pleasant as possible, okay?"

Sal didn't want to spoil the mood, especially as there was a wonderfully smelling beef stew cooking on the stove. "Thank you, dear," was all he said, "I'm sure it will work out just fine."

After all, it would only be three days and four nights. Maybe three really long days, but Deana had a point about doing the right thing.

---

Today's problem was published in 1908 in The Canadian Checker Player (CCP) and comes from a game played earlier between Jordan and Heffner. CCP thought 11-15 would only draw and published incorrect analysis to that effect. Of course modern computer engines such as KingsRow often find resources that mere humans do not! We hope you didn't find this one to be too long and difficult.