Whatever holidays you celebrate, The Checker Maven wishes you the best of the season and hopes you enjoy this special challenger, our holiday gift to you.

Black

White
White to Play and Draw

W:W5,9,11,15,20:B2,4,K17,K18.

White may be a man up, but Black has two kings and a strong position. Can you provide some holiday cheer for the White side?

In the spirit of giving, here's a hint: the natural-looking 5-1 loses. Can you tell why?

Click on Read More to unwrap the solution.

Solution

5-1 may look good, but after 4-8 11-4 18-11 1-6 17-14 9-5 2-9 5-1 9-13 etc. Black wins the game.

Instead, try this holiday shocker:

9-6! then after 2-9 15-10 18-15-A 11-7 15-6 5-1 Black must give the man back no matter what he does, for instance 6-2 1-6 2-11 6-22 Drawn.

A---If 6-14 then 10-7 17-22 7-3 14-17 3-7 etc. Drawn.

Composed many holiday seasons ago by Arthur Hipkine.