This column will appear on Christmas Day, 2021, and whatever holiday you celebrate, in whatever way you celebrate it, The Checker Maven wishes everyone the best of the season. Even in these days of extreme political correctness, we have no hesitation to say "Merry Christmas to one and all," and if you find that friendly wish offensive, that's on you.

On major holidays we like to present problems from great composers of a bygone day. Today, we feature a prize problem by the great Fausto Dalumi. The problem was first published back in 1929, going on a hundred years ago.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK13,18,19,23:B5,K28,K31

White is a piece up but winning a won game isn't always easy. We think you'll really enjoy the challenge of this problem. Solve it with good cheer and then merrily click on Read More to celebrate the solution.

Solution

18-14 31-26 23-18 28-24 19-15 26-22---A 14-10 24-19 18-14 22-26---B 15-11 19-15 11-7 15x6 7-2 6-1 2-6 1x17 13x31 5-9 31-26 9-14 26-22 White Wins.

A---24-19 13-17 19x10 14x7 to a White Win.

B---22-18 15-11 18-9 13-6 to a White Win.

A very pleasing solution that illustrates good technique for scoring a difficult man-up win.

And once again Merry Christmas to one and all!