We checked into our past columns, and we haven't published something called an "easy stroke" since 2010, and to find another, you'd have to go back to 2005.

Every five years just doesn't seem like quite enough, does it? Today, it's surely time for an "easy" stroke, and we offer you one below.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W23,22,18,17,14:B26,K25,K24,10,7,6.

What's that you say? It doesn't look "easy" at all? Actually, if you find the "key" move, the rest pretty much plays itself. Well, pretty much!

Tap this one home ... find that first little move, and then click on Read More to check your solution.

W. J. Wood was a player, problemist, and leading checker editor for many years way back when. The problem below dates back to the 1920s and it's really a good one.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W32,17,14,11,10,K3:B28,K22,19,5,4,2.

We said it was good, not easy. White is in immediate danger of losing a piece. How can the game be saved? Can White find his way out of the woods, or at least out of Mr. Wood's predicament?

Don't lose your way; find the amazing solution if you can, and then click on Read More to check it out.

January, in much of North America and Europe, is the time for winter sports, such as speeding along on a pair of skis. We must admit that not much skiing goes on near the The Checker Maven offices in Honolulu; a plane trip to Colorado or some other similar location would be required.

But checkers is available everywhere, and you don't need a $600 plane ticket to try out a checker speed problem, such as the one found in the link below.

When you're ready, click to start the Javascript timer. It's all downhill from there!

January 2015 Speed Problem (Medium, 10 seconds)

When you're done, come back and click on Read More to see the solution.

The New Year will soon be welcomed in, with great parties and joyous celebration--- and, we must admit, an occasional overindulgence. So our New Year's problem is usually an easier one, to take into account the possibility that some readers may have ... a headache.[1]

Without further ado, then, here's the setting.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W28,K9,K8:BK30,16,14,10.

Here we go again: Black is a man up, why isn't it an obvious win? But a closer look shows that White has two kings and the Black men on 10, 14, and even 16 look vulnerable. How will Black win it?

Can you solve it, or does it just give you a headache? Try it out and then click on Read More for instant relief.

[1] If you are of age and choose to enjoy adult beverages, please don't drive. We urge our readers to stay safe and not endanger themselves or others.

The holiday season is upon us, and whatever holiday you celebrate, The Checker Maven wishes you the best of the season. May you enjoy family and friends, peace and contentment, not only during this special time but in every day to come.

Checkers can be a part of our celebrations, too, and we've selected a problem suitable for the longer leisure hours of the holidays. (That's another way of saying it isn't all that easy.)

Here's the setting, as published almost 90 years ago.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W32,30,20,18,14,6:BK31,23,21,17,10,8,7.

Well, you say, what's so hard? Black is up a piece and has a king! Oh ... wait ... White is about to get a king, and that Black man on 10 is looking a little shaky ... maybe the Black win not so easy after all.

It will take quite some visualization skill to solve it, but we're certain you'll find the result pleasing.

When you've given it your holiday best, click on Read More to see the solution.

This week The Checker Maven reaches the unbelievable milestone of 10 years of continuous on-time weekly publication, with no missed issues and no missed deadlines.

Originally, we had planned to stop here; our business plan called for 10 years of publication and beyond that, we didn't know. But we're going to try for another five years, and G-d willing we'll be able to do it. If we get that far, it will truly be the end of the line.

The last several years have been a struggle, with eyesight difficulties placing greater and greater limits on what we can do, but happily we've been able to keep going.

We're also thankful that we've kept our core readership. We only have about half the readers that we did at our peak, but we still have thousands every week and we still can claim to be the most widely read "straight checkers" publication anywhere.

We also lay claim to having written more checker fiction than anyone else, ever, and though it's not a crowded field, we still think we've done pretty well.

Although we don't get a lot of correspondence--- checker players aren't big on that--- we are happy to have heard from nearly every corner of the world (we're still waiting for Antarctica and the Space Station to check in, but they're about all that's left).

It all comes down to our readers, though; without you, there would be no point and we wouldn't have lasted a year. We hope you'll keep coming back every Saturday morning, and we hope you'll find something that you like. It's been quite a journey, and we owe it all to you. Thanks for staying with us for so much longer than we ever would have expected.

Below, please find our 10th Anniversary problem offering. It's a lead-in to our next serialized story, due to begin some time next year.

One Thousand
BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W32,30,27,26,24,22,21,18,14,10:B20,17,16,13,11,8,7,5,3,1.

When you're ready, click on Read More to reveal the action-packed solution.

We say it year after year, and we'll say it again. We love the Thanksgiving holiday, with its American spirit, its interdenominational theme, and its emphasis on family, gratitude, and peaceful celebration. We hope your Thanksgiving will be filled with happiness and become the source of great memories for the years ahead.

We won't break our habit of turning to great American problemist Tom Wiswell for our Thanksgiving week problem, either. Mr. Wiswell, in addition to being a great checkerist and problem composer, epitomized the best of what makes America what it is.

Mr. Wiswell called this problem "All's well that ends well" and that seems most fitting.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W15,18,23,26,27,29,31:B2,6,8,10,12,13,17.

Solve Mr. Wiswell's intriguing problem, then treat yourself to our usual Thanksgiving recommendation: a little more of that delicious pumpkin pie.

"Push 'Em Back" is a rallying cry urging your team of choice to defend the goal line in the game of American football. The Checker Maven staff are certainly not football fans, but we thought of this expression when reviewing the problem presented below.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK30,K28,27:BK20,18,K12.

It's definitely on the easier side, and the title provides a rather large hint. You're invited to tackle this one; don't punt on it. Find the solution and then click on Read More to check your answer.

"Make haste slowly" is a saying that comes from the original Greek σπεῦδε βραδέως (we hope your browser displays Greek characters properly) but is better known in the Latin translation, festina lente.

We've always found the concept of "making haste slowly" to be rather interesting. What does it mean, exactly? Does it admonish us to hedge our bets? To proceed directly but with caution? To hurry up and wait?

Adages are often like that; they can mean any number of things.

This month's speed problem may perhaps clarify "making haste slowly," at least from the point of view of the game of checkers. While you need to solve the problem within the time limit of 20 seconds, you will have to carefully visualize and work out the sequence of moves, and that will take the typical checkerist a little time (though certainly not all that much time).

Click below to display the problem and start the clock, then come back and click on Read More to verify your solution.

November Speed Problem (Not so hard; 20 seconds)

Yes, the photo is blurry. That's because the train is going at about 357 miles per hour, setting a record for the fastest ever. It's the French Train Grande Vitesse and it's a marvel of rail technology.

This month's speed problem is also the fastest ever; though very easy and far from a checker marvel, it's a test of checker intuition. The trick will be to spot the solution within the allowed time limit. This is a "solve at a glance" problem for a player with even moderate experience.

But if you're a newcomer to our game of checkers, you may take a little longer to see how it's done. That's fine, too; it's the process of looking for a solution that's important.

Here we go: click below and think fast! Then come back and click on Read More to see the easy answer to our "fastest" ever speed problem.

October Speed Problem (Very easy; 5 seconds)