It was Saturday, February 12, 1955, and Valentine's Day was just two days away.

But in Bismarck, North Dakota, on Saturday afternoons between Labor Day and Memorial Day, the Coffee and Cake Checker Club met at the Beacon Cafe in the Provident Life Building. Led informally by elderly Sal Westerman, the club solved problems, talked and played checkers, and enjoyed fabulous baked treats made by the proprietess, Deana Nagel.

All of the "boys" in the club, save one, were over 50 years of age. Most had been married for many years, except for Young Blaine, a relative newlywed, and Louie the Flash, who despite being about 55 years old went from girlfriend to girlfriend over and over again.

The weather was overcast with the temperature in the 40s, which was rather mild for a Bismarck winter, and there was a goodly sized gathering at the Cafe. In addition to Sal, there was Dan, Wayne, Louie, Young Blaine, Delmer, Larry, Ron, Spooler, and even Old Frank, who didn't attend all that often.

Over their first cup of coffee the boys talked about Valentine's Day. For once, Sal had laid in a gift for his wife Sylvia in advance of the holiday. Most of the boys had done the same, and while the group liked to tease Young Blaine, he too was on top of things.

Surprisingly, it was Old Frank who still hadn't shopped or made plans. Now Frank, who was indeed the eldest, being older than Sal by a few years, had been married for something like 60 years.

"I've run out of ideas," he said simply. "So many Valentine's Days, so many gifts, I just can't think of anything new. And with tomorrow being Sunday, I don't really have much time. But I'm sure Mabelle will understand."

"You think so?" asked Wayne. "Tell me, have you ever missed a Valentine's Day?"

"Well, I did once or twice, I suppose ... "

"And how did that work out for you?" Wayne continued.

Old Frank hesitated and then stammered, "Uh, um, uh ... "

"Not so well?" Dan chimed in.

"Okay, all right, the one time Mabelle was kind of upset. And the second time she was really angry and made me cook my own meals for a week."

"So you suppose the third time's the charm?" Delmer asked. "Or will it be strike three, you're out? Do you really want to risk it?"

"Um, I guess not ... " Old Frank said.

Sal then said, "Okay then, here's what we'll do. I have a nice little problem for all of you today. Let's get into it, and when we're done, Old Frank will still have a couple of hours before A.W. Lucas closes. I have a feeling that any gift will be far better than no gift, even if it's something you've given many times before."

"She does like bath oil," Old Frank mused, "although I've given her that a good dozen or more times."

"Then get some bath oil," Sal said. "It won't take long and you can still come back in time for some of Deana's treats."

"Valentine heart cookies today," Deana called out from behind her counter. "Baked fresh today!"

Sal then laid out the problem shown below on a couple of the checkerboards in the big booth occupied by the boys at the back of the Cafe. The tradition was for Sal to buy the treats if the boys could solve the problem, and for the boys to buy for Sal and his wife Sylvia if they couldn't solve it.

"You have until 2 PM," Sal said, "as we want Old Frank to have some time to do his shopping."

The boys, including Old Frank, had for the moment set aside thoughts of Valentine's Day and were busily engaged with the checker problem.

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This column will appear on Valentine's Day, 2026, and we don't know if you've "taken care of business" so to speak, should that apply to your personal situation. But no matter what, you can still solve the problem and then click on Read More to see the solution and the rest of our story.

Solution

Two o'clock came around and, speaking for the boys, Larry said, "No luck this time."

Sal smiled. "Okay then, here's how it goes. It's a great example of practical endgame technique." Sal played out the following moves.

1.

...

26-23*

All other moves lose.

2.	14-10	23-19*
3.	10-14	20-16*
4.	14-9	16-11*
5.	9-14	11-7

Or 11-8. Variations are possible from here on.

6.	14-9	7-2
7.	9-14	2-7
8.	14-9	7-10
9.	9-5	10-14
10.	5-1	14-9
11.	1-5	22-17
12.	5x14	17x10
13.	21-25	10-15*

Careful! 10-14 only draws.

14.	25-30	19-16*
15.	12x19	15x24
16.	30-25	24-27

White wins with the opposition.

"Now," Sal went on, "off you go, Old Frank! We'll save you some treats for when you get back."

Old Frank rushed out of the Cafe; it was only a short walk to the A.W. Lucas Department Store. The boys continued to discuss Sal's problem and play some skittles while enjoying the Valentine bars and more coffee.

Within less than an hour Old Frank had returned. He was out of breath and red faced but quite excited. "Guess what, boys?" he said, "they just got in a new shipment of European bath oil and it was even on sale!" He paused for a moment, then continued, "Well, kind of on-sale. Two ounces for ten dollars, instead of the regular price of fifteen."

"Wow, ten bucks?" Louie the Flash said. "That's a good half a day's wages!"

"Yes Louie, it is," Old Frank replied, "but you know what? Mabelle deserves something nice and it's worth every penny. I'm looking forward to seeing her expression when I give it to her. That will be something that's priceless."

The boys continued their checker play and checker talk until closing time at five o'clock. There would be more checker fun in just another week.

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Today's problem was submitted by regular Toronto based contributors Lloyd and Josh Gordon, who derived it from their original over the board play.