The occupation of busboy is often regarded as a humble one, but The Checker Maven respects work and ambition in every form, and we'll wager that many a successful person once did this or a similar job. Everyone has to start somewhere, and they deserve credit for being willing to take on such a job as they work their way up. The next time you go out to a restaurant or cafe, give the busboy a smile and a kind word.

We don't know if the author of today's Checker School offering, J. S. Busby, was himself ever a busboy, though he might have been, nor do we know if the busboy in the photo is himself a checker player, though he might be. In any event, the following study is both interesting and practical. It's taken from Ben Boland's Famous Positions in the Game of Checkers.

J. S. BUSBY
BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W32,22,21,20,17:B14,12,10,9,1.

We'd rate this one as difficult, and there are a couple of star moves for White, but you can solve if you try. See if you can carry it away, and then dish your mouse onto Read More to see the solution, detailed notes, and no less than four sample games.

Solution

As always in this series, lettered notes are by Ben Boland and numbered notes are by the editor, using Ed Gilbert's KingsRow computer engine and 10-piece endgame database.

32-27, 9-13, 27-23, 1-5, 23-19, 5-9, 20-16---S, 10-15, 17-10*---1, 15-24, 16-11, 24-27, 10-6, 27-31, 6-1, 12-16, 11-7, 16-19, 7-2, 19-23, 2-7, 23-27, 7-11---E,3, 27-32, 11-16, 32-27, 16-19, 27-32, 19-23, 31-27, 23-26, 27-31, 26-30, 32-27, 1-5. White Wins---2.

Game: 11-15, 23-19, 8-11, 22-17, 11-16, 24-20, 16-23, 27-11, 7-16, 20-11, 3-7, 28-24, 7-16, 24-20, 16-19, 25-22, 9-14, 29-25, 4-8, 17-13, 8-11, 22-17, 5-9, 26-23, 19-26, 30-23, 11-15, 25-22, 15-18---A, 22-15, 10-26, 31-22, 6-10, 13-6, 2-9. Forms above position. J. S. Busby.

Game: 10-15, 23-18, 6-10, 24-20, 12-16, 27-24, 1-6, 32-27, 10-14, 22-17, 14-32,31-27, 32-23, 26-1, 9-13. 25-22, 7-10, 17-14, 10-26, 30-23, 3-7---B, 24-19, 8-12, 7-10, 25-22, 10-14, 28-24, 2-7, 1-6, 7-10, 6-8, 4-11, 22-18, 13-17, 18-9, 5-14. Forms position at S, colors reversed. T. McLaren.

Game: 11-15, 22-18, 15-22, 25-18, 12-16, 18-14, 9-18, 23-14, 10-17, 21-14, 6-10, 29-25, 10-17, 25-21, 17-22, 26-17, 8-11, 17-14, 4-8, 24-19, 16-23, 27-18, 11-16, 28-24, 1-6, 31-27, 8-12, 30-26, 6-9, 26-23---C, 2-6, 24-19, 7-11, 32-28, 6-10, 14-7, 3-10, 27-24, 9-13, 24-20, 10-14, 18-9, 5-14, 28-24, 13-17. Forms position at S, colors reversed. R. Martins vs. McCaughie.

Game: 9-13, 22-17, 13-22, 25-18, 11-15, 18-11, 8-15, 29-25, 5-9, 25-22, 9-14---D, 24-20, 7-11, 22-17, 4-8, 28-24, 12-16, 32-28, 8-12, 26-22, 6-9, 17-13, 3-7, 13-6, 2-9 24-19, 15-24, 28-19, 9-13, 27-24, 14-17, 21-14, 10-26, 31-22, 7-10, 30-25, 1-5, 25-21, 10-14, 22-18, 13-17, 18-9, 5-14. Forms position at S, colors reversed. F. Tescheleit.

A---Loses, 2-7 would have drawn.

B---16-19, 23-7, 3-10, 29-25. Drawn.

C---Loses; 27-23 draws.

D---4-8, 24-20, 9-13, 23-18, 8-11, 27-24, 6-9, etc. Drawn.

E---7-10 allows a draw here; 7-10, 27-32, 1-5, 9-14*, 10-17, 31-26, 5-9, 32-27, 9-14---F, 26-30*---G, 14-18---H, 30-25. Drawn. N. H. Clark and A. J. Mantell. Compare to the T. Noble draw, where the move is different

F---9-6, 27-23, 6-10, 26-30, 17-14, 30-25, 22-18, 25-22, 10-15, 13-17, or 22-17. Drawn. N. H. Clark.

G---If 27-24, 14-10, 24-19, 17-14, 26-19, 14-18. White Wins. L. S. Head.

H---If 14-9, then 30-26, etc. Drawn.

1---19-10 only draws.

2---The White King's maneuvering to square 30 had a point: It keeps Black from playing 31-26 after White's 1-5. Black now loses a piece after 9-14 5-9.

3---As shown in note E, on 7-10 Black is able to pitch a man to jam up White's forces and gain the draw. It's another fine illustration of the subtlety of checkers.

The above game by John S. Busby was first published in the "Draughts Player's Weekly Magazine" Game No. 74, May 22, 1886, Vol. 3. It was later copied into "The Board," Game No. 135, where it was termed "Busby's Famous Position."