Bismarck, North Dakota, is a cold weather city to say the least, and January is the coldest of all the months of the year. So the members of the Coffee and Cake Checker Club, which met on Saturday afternoons from just after Labor Day until just before Memorial Day, were very surprised when a visitor walked into their venue, the Beacon Cafe, on a very cold Saturday in January 1955. (Regular readers know that it's always 1955 at the Beacon Cafe.)

It was a few minutes after 1 PM and the "boys" who made up the club (all but one of whom were at least 50 years old) had gathered as usual in the big booths in the back of the Cafe. On seeing the new entrant, Sal Westerman, the Club's unofficial leader, stood up.

"Newboy!" he exclaimed. "Is it really you?"

The young visitor smiled, "Indeed it is, Sal!"

"Newboy" was actually a skilled checkerist named Bob Bertollin, whom Sal had played against during a major summer checker tournament in Las Vegas. Sal and Bob had tied for third and fourth in that high level event.

"I had no idea you were coming to Bismarck," Sal said. "What brings you here?"

"Just passing through on my way to Minneapolis," he said, "and as I knew about your club, I thought I'd stay overnight before continuing on tomorrow morning."

Sal smiled. "You're more than welcome to be here," he said. "Let me introduce you around."

Today Delmer, Wayne, Larry, Dan, Mike, Ron, Young Blaine, and Louie the Flash were on hand and they all shook hands and greeted "Newboy." Then Sal continued, "Tell you what, Newboy. You're a young and upcoming checkerist, and so is Young Blaine here. How about the two of you play a game while the rest of us kibitz?"

Young Blaine, upon hearing this, had kind of a wary look. "I don't know, Sal, you've said what a good player Newboy is; I don't think I'd have a chance."

Sal chuckled. "Tell you what, Young Blaine, how about this. I'll back you up. If you can win or even draw against Newboy here, I'll buy all the treats today."

Newboy quickly spoke up. "No Sal, I'll buy no matter what as long as Young Blaine here plays a game with me. Seems only right to thank you for your hospitality."

"Very nice of you, Newboy," Sal said, "so how about it?"

The rest of the boys urged Young Blaine on and he soon agreed. "Why not?" he finally said, and everyone cheered.

Deana, the proprietess of the Cafe and an award winning baker, not to mention a great marketer, casually mentioned that today she had freshly made chocolate macadamia bars. "A friend of mine brought me back some mac nuts from Hawai`i," she noted, "and the treats are extra-special today."

Deana then poured more coffee for everyone although Newboy actually requested hot tea. Then the game began with all of the boys watching closely.

Black: Young Blaine
White: Bob "Newboy" Bertollin

1.	12-16	24-20
2.	8-12	28-24
3.	3-8	23-18
4.	16-19	24x15
5.	10x19	21-17
6.	11-15	...

Sal and a couple of the boys frowned just a bit but tried not to let Young Blaine see their reaction to this move.

6.	...	18x11
7.	8x15	...

Newboy knew he now had a win.

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What should Young Blaine have played instead of 11-15? And how is Newboy going to win it? A word of warning; the solution is long and requires precise play.

Although as always you'll need to supply your own treats, give this a try and then click on Read More to see the solution and the brief conclusion of our little story.

Solution and Conclusion

White has a long win which however requires careful play. Of course Newboy, as a high level player, was up to the task. While many variations are possible, it went this way.

7.	...	17-13
8.	4-8	25-21
9.	6-10	13x6
10.	2x9	22-17
11.	8-11	17-13
12.	1-6	29-25
13.	19-23	26x19
14.	15x24	25-22
15.	9-14	22-18
16.	14x23	27x18
17.	10-15	18-14
18.	12-16	21-17
19.	15-18	30-25
20.	6-10	25-21
21.	18-22	13-9
22.	22-25	9-6
23.	25-30	6-2
24.	16-19	32-28
25.	30-25	17-13
26.	10x17	21x14
27.	25-22	20-16
28.	11x20	2x11

Black has no good moves. White did a masterful job of keeping control over the board.

29.	22-17	11-15
30.	17x10	15x6
31.	5-9	6-10

White Wins.

"Good game," Young Blaine said as he and Newboy shook hands again. "I did my best but you're the better player."

"Not for long, I don't think," Newboy replied. "Your move 6. 11-15 lost, but it's a very natural move and I had to work quite hard to convert the position to a win. 6. 9-13 would have kept you on the drawing path."

The boys congratulated both Newboy and Young Blaine and then talked checkers and played skittles until nearly closing time at five o'clock. Newboy and Sal played a few fast games and pretty much scored evenly. Newboy thanked everyone for an afternoon of checker fun and in turn the boys wished him a safe trip to Minneapolis on the morrow.

It was very cold and very dark outside when the boys left the warmth of the Cafe, but they were all in high spirits.