Our new book is out and available on Amazon! The book is published as a non-commercial venture, as net proceeds, if any, will help defray the ever-increasing costs of Checker Maven web hosting so that we may continue to provide a no-cost public service for checkerists.

The book is a collection of some of the best stories appearing in this column over the past years, plus one brand new one, the title story, Mr. Darcy Plays Draughts. Why is Elizabeth suspicious when Mr. Darcy takes up a seemingly innocent interest in the game of draughts?

Read the book and find out. But we'll give you a hint right here by presenting a checker problem closely related to those that appear in the story (and no, we're not going to give any more than that away).

BLACK

WHITE
White to Move and Win

W:W32,22,K15,10:B23,21,13,2.

As always, solve the problem, and then click on Read More to verify the solution.

Solution

22-18* 23-26---A 10-6 2x9 18-14 9x18 15x31 21-25 31-26 13-17 26-30 25-29 32-27 17-21 27-24 29-25 30-26 25-29 24-19 29-25 19-16 25-29 16-11 29-25 11-7 25-29 7-3 29-25 3-7 25-29 7-10 29-25 10-14 25-29 26-30 29-25 14-18 25-29 18-22 White Wins.

A---Perhaps Black's best try. Other moves lose much more quickly:

13-17 10-6 2x9 18-14 9x18 15x13 21-25 13-17 23-26 17-22 White Wins.

21-25 10-6 2x9 18-14 9x18 15x29 23-26 29-25 26-31 25-22 White Wins.

We do hope you'll consider an order for our new book, which would make a great holiday gift for both checker fans and Jane Austen fans.

We've had a couple of inquiries about signed copies. These are unfortunately no longer available, as we aren't able to stock inventory.