Every year we express our delight when our favorite family holiday, Thanksgiving, rolls around on the calendar. What's not to like? It's uniquely American in origin, it appeals to all faiths and creeds, and it's a great time to show our gratitude for the things we have in our lives, and there are more of those than you might think at first glance.

On special occasions we like to turn to Tom Wiswell. Today we present one of his traditional "coffee and cake" problems, developed years ago over that very same pair of treats with Milton Loew. Mr. Loew at the time was just 16 years old and already the U.S. Junior Champion. Here's the position, which came from one of Mr. Loew's tournament games.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:WK19,K11,5:BK32,28,K24,12.

White is a piece down and is under attack. But Black has some problems, too. Can you win "coffee and cake" from your checker friends with this one? It's not as hard as you may think. Give it a try, and be thankful that you can always click on Read More to see the solution.

Solution

19-23---A 24-27---B 23-19 27-31 19-23 Drawn. Black can make no progress. A great illustration of why not to get a man stuck in the "dog hole" (square 28 in this case).

A---Not 19-15? which loses. White must keep a grip on the double corner.

B---If Black tries the exchange with 24-19 then 23x16 12x19 11-15 19-23 15-19 23-26 19-23 26-31 5-1 31-27 23-19 etc. and despite being a man up Black can only draw.

And now, how about continuing the Thanksgiving tradition with some coffee and cake of your own?