Hard Problem is actually the title of a play by Tom Stoppard that ran at the Scena Theatre in Washington, D.C., early this year. While the "problem" is about consciousness, not checkers, by all accounts it was a good show.

We hope we have a good show for you today as well, with a "hard problem" about checkers. Let's jump right in.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W23,19,18,15,14,11,9,K6,K2,K1:B28,K27,26,25,20,17,K13,12,5,3.

You'll need to maintain a high degree of consciousness to solve this one, and, regardless of possible metaphysical implications, you'll have to focus and apply solid over the board visualization skills. Try to solve it without moving the pieces; that will definitely be a mind-expanding experience. Then, when you're done, make a conscious decision to click on Read More to see the solution.

Solution

This one even took KingsRow longer than usual to solve; at a couple of points the computer thought it was a Black win until it searched deeper.

14-10 5x14 18x9 27x18 19-16 12x19 10-7 3x10 11-7 18x11 6x24 20x27 1-5 13x6 2x9 11x2 9-6 2x9 5x32 White Wins.

This is one of the best and most pleasing stroke problems we've seen in a while, and that's our conscious judgment.