PICRYL CC0

On Memorial Day we give honor to those who made the ultimate sacrifice and recognize all who served. The world is not a peaceful place, unfortunately, and there are others who would happily take away our freedoms and impose their will. This weekend The Checker Maven extends its appreciation to those who day in and day out have protected and continue to protect our way of life even at great personal cost.

Our own observations have been that many checker players tend to the patriotic side and here at The Checker Maven it's no different. We've often said that we are unapologetic patriots. Times have been difficult lately; we won't say more than that but we do not waver from the idea of patriotism as wanting what's best for one's country, and if things are not as they should be, we work to make them better.

We've also frequently said that a checkerist who was a true patriot was Tom Wiswell, who served in the Army during World War II. So let's look at something of his. It's from a game he played once upon a time against James Ricca. Mr. Wiswell had White and was to play and draw.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W12,15,16,25,30,31:B3,7,8,9,18,21

The solution to this one is fairly long and will require thought, but the situation is a practical one. Give it your best and then click on Read More to see the solution.

Solution

The following solution and notes are by Mr. Wiswell. Variations are possible and can be explored on your computer.

31-26, 9-13, 26-22, 18-23, 22-18, 13-17 (23-26, 30-23, 21-30, 15-10, drawn), 15-10---A, 7-14, 18-9, 8-11, 16-7, 3-10, 9-6 (or 12-8), 10-14, 6-2,14-18, 2-6,17-22, 6-10, 22-29,10-14 18-22, 14-17, 22-26, 17-22, 26-31, 12-8, 23-27, 8-3, 27-32, 3-7, 32-27 7-10 (7-11, 29-25, Black wins), 27-23, 10-14 (now Fourth Position) 23-19, 14-10, 31-27, 10-14, 19-15, 14-9, 15-10, 9-13, 27-23 13-9 23-19, 9-13, 10-6, 13-17, 19-15, 17-14, 6-1,14-9, 15-10, 9-13, 10-14, 13-17, 14-9, 17-13, 1-6, 13-17, 9-13, 17-14, 6-1, 14-18,13-9, 18-23, 9-14, 23-27, 1-6, 27-32, 6-10, 22-26, 14-18, 26-31, etc, drawn---B.

A---18-14, 23-26, 30-23, 21-30, 23-19, 30-26,14-9, 26-23, 9-6, 23-18, 6-2,18-20, 2-4 and Black wins with either 20-16 or 20-24!

B---An end game from 9-13, 23-18, 12-16, and well worth your study.

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