Opening day.

Excitement and electricity were in the air, for today began the new season of the National Checker League. Each and every team was hopeful, their eyes set on unseating the World Champion Detroit Doublejumpers and claiming the crown for themselves.

It would take a lot of good checkers and maybe a few breaks to accomplish that, but the Pennant Race would soon be on.

No team was more optimistic than the Dallas Defiance, led by their new captain, a young lady who went by the name of Sunny Sunshine. She was a bit, shall we say, theatrical, but she had earned her team captaincy by showing skill and daring at the checkerboard.

Today, in the Dallas Checkerdrome, she would face Marvin J. Mavin, superstar leader of the aforementioned World Champion Detroit Doublejumpers.

The Checkerdrome was packed with a sellout crowd of over 50,000 rabid Dallas fans. Soon the players and umpires were introduced and the teams stood at attention in front of their dugouts for the playing of the National Anthem.

Then the players took the field, and the season was on!

But where's this Sunny lady? Marvin asked himself as he stood in front of first board, his playing position. His opponent seemed to be missing--- oh, you've got to be kidding me! he thought.

For here came Sunny Sunshine, riding a unicycle in from the outfield! The crowd roared its appreciation and Sunny waved and blew kisses and she made her way toward first board.

She rode straight up to Marvin, jumped down from her unicycle, and cast it aside as she offered Marvin a handshake.

"Pleased to meet you, Marvster!" she said. "Ready to get your pants handed to you?" As attendants cleared the field of the unicycle, Sunny laughed and slapped her knees, and the crowd laughed with her.

Marvin, for once, was speechless.

"Lost your voice, Marvster?" she asked as she did lively dance steps over to her side of the board. "Doesn't matter. Won't change anything. But you're going to look pretty silly without pants!"

Finally Marvin spoke. "Oh yeah, well you're going to ... "

"Ah, watch what you say, Marvster," Sunny interrupted, "wouldn't want to get charged with Misogynist Microaggression Offending, now, would you?"

Marvin stopped mid-sentence. MMO would be a very serious thing indeed, and could even tank his career. The National Checker League had become very careful about staying on the good side of the LTBO (Looking To Be Offended) Movement.

"Hey," he finally said, "how about we just, you know, compete over the checkerboard?"

"You're on," Sunny said, "that's just what I had in mind." She grinned. "But I'd still hang on to your pants."

Before Marvin could either attempt a reply or realize that he had best stay silent, the whistle blew and the call "Play checkers!" resounded through the stadium.

The game was a tough one and for the most part it went on in silence. Finally Marvin, playing White, felt he had an advantage in a very complicated and unusual position.

But at that moment, Marvin forgot himself. "Well there girl, looks like I just might win this one and keep my pants." Marvin, thinking he had been very clever, chuckled.

"What did you call me?" Sunny exclaimed. "Did you call me girl?" She stood up behind her board, hands on her hips.

Marvin replied, "Well, yeah, uh, I mean you are a ... you know ... "

Sunny interrupted. "After a remark like that you still think you're going to win?"

"Well, look here young .... um, person, I got eight men to your seven, even though you got a lotta kings ..."

"Men," Sunny said in a clearly derisive tone. "And Kings. It figures. You know what this game is called in French and German? Bet you don't because you're not exactly educated. It's called Jeux de dames and Damenspiel--- the game of Queens. So don't you ever call me girl or any sexist term again. From now on you'll either call me Ms. Sunshine or Queen Sunny, is that clear?"

"Uh, yeah. Clear as Sunshine on a Sunny day. Well then, Queen Sunny, watch this."

Marvin made his move. Sunny quickly sat back down and studied the board, a frown on her face.

---

What will happen next? Can Marvin pull off a win? How will Sunny react? Is Marvin in hot water?

Solve the problem as best you can and then click on Read More for the solution and some answers to these questions.

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It's here! Grandmaster Richard Pask's fifth and concluding volume of his Logical Checkers series is now available for free download here, or from the Richard Pask page as linked in the right-hand column. (Earlier download problems have been resolved.)

Over 300 pages in length and filled with diagrams, the book provides the crowning touch to this unprecedented series of instructional volumes, designed to take the player from novice to expert, fully prepared for master level studies.

As a sample of the new book's content, here's an illustrative game leading to a problem position, with Mr. Pask's commentary.

Illustrative Game 150: 9-13 24-20; 10-14 22-18; 5-9 27-24; 6-10 25-22; 1-5?! (although impossible to criticize in general terms, analysis has shown that this should be avoided, with 10-15! preferred) 31-27!; 14-17 (10-15? 23-19; 14-23 27-18!; 7-10 26-23; 3-7 30-25 is a quick win scored by Pat McCarthy over Ken Lovell) 21-14; 10-17 29-25; 17-21 18-14; 9-18 23-14; 11-15 27-23; 8-11? White to Play and Win.

15-18 and the resultant 3 for 3 would have drawn. Can you find the White win? Of course, as would be expected in an advanced study, you may not find it easy. For the solution, download the book and refer to page 167.

Now that this landmark series is concluded, we plan to prepare and publish a comprehensive single-volume edition of all five parts of Logical Checkers, a mammoth book with over 1,000 diagrams and likely running above 800 pages. An electronic version will as always be provided completely free of charge. The trade paperback print edition is estimated to cost around $30.00, although that has yet to be finalized. The book will take quite some time to bring to press, but look for it in the latter part of 2021.

The Checker Maven thanks Grandmaster Pask for the honor of continuing to publish his work and for his unparalleled generosity in providing it to the checker playing public completely free of charge.

Saturday, September 10, 1955: It was the first Saturday after the Labor Day weekend. For Sal Westerman, a retired actuary in Bismarck, North Dakota, the day held special meaning, for at 1 PM, the Coffee and Cake Checker Club would resume its weekly meetings after the summer break.

Sal missed those get-togethers at the Beacon Cafe in the Provident Life Building. It was the highlight of the week for the elderly gentleman. Oh, he understood that during the all-too brief North Dakota summers, pretty much every organized indoor activity came to a stop so that people could enjoy the long hours of daylight and spend time outdoors. But he missed his club nonetheless.

His wife Sylvia sensed his eagerness and served an early lunch so that Sal could be on his way and not be a minute late. Sal walked much faster than usual from his home to the Beacon that afternoon, and arrived a full five minutes early.

When Deana, the proprietor and the best baker in a dozen counties, greeted him, he felt a warm flow of contentment. Looking to the back of the Cafe, he was even more pleased to see that a few of the boys (all of them at least 50 years old) were already in the big booth that the Club always used. Delmer, Dan, Wayne, and Larry were on hand, and look! even Tom was present.

There were greetings and handshakes all around, and by one o'clock two more members had arrived: Louie and Ron. It was a great gathering and Sal couldn't have been more pleased.

"Welcome back, boys!" he said. "I hope you all had a great summer and are ready for some checkers!" There were words of assent all around and Larry and Louie even gave out a little cheer. But it was Wayne who asked the inevitable question.

"What've you got for us today?"

"Oh," Sal chuckled, "a real nice one from Ed." Ed was Sal's checker penpal way out east in Pennsylvania. "Ed says you have to find 18 star moves to solve it."

"18 star moves!" Dan exclaimed. "That's darn tough!"

Behind her counter, Deana, sensed her moment. She was as good at marketing as she was at baking. "Zucchini chocolate chip bars today," she said. "Fresh and hot."

"Sounds great!" Sal said. "I'll be happy to have the boys buy me a couple when they can't win this one!"

"Says who!" exclaimed Tom. "Lay 'em out, Sal!"

Sal set up two checkerboards, one in the big booth and one in the adjoining booth. With such a great turnout, one board would hardly be enough. He arranged the pieces in the following position.

"Golly," Dan said, and then added, "gee."

"Since you have to find 18 star moves, I'll give you some extra time," Sal said. "How about half an hour?"

There was a great clamoring of disagreement. "An hour!" Louie demanded. "Play fair!"

"Okay, an hour. But not a minute more!" Sal looked over at Deana. "We're going to need a lot of coffee," he said.

"Gotcha covered," came the reply but the boys paid no attention. They were already deeply engrossed in Ed's problem.

---

We're certain you're glad the Club is finally meeting again, and no doubt you'd like one of those zucchini chocolate chip bars. Can you solve the problem and win one (virtually, of course)? Take as much time as you like. Put a pot of coffee on the stove and try to work it out; then click on Read More to see the solution and the conclusion of our story.

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Labor Day is another of those holidays that we, as Americans, enjoy celebrating. It's a great opportunity to honor the contributions of the vast numbers of hard-working members of our society who form the backbone of our nation. From CEO to technology professional to trucker to gardener, and all the many and varied other occupations, each and every one of you is important and deserves respect and recognition.

But in these Covid-19 days, many have fallen on difficult times as jobs have disappeared, businesses have closed, and there is more than enough hardship and grief to go around. We can only wish for a recovery that is as speedy as possible given the seriousness of the situation. We look forward to a future Labor Day when we all have reason to celebrate in happiness and prosperity.

We once again turn to Tom Wiswell, an American who lived through difficult days, too: the dark days of World War II. Mr. Wiswell used checkers as a means of helping to keep up our spirits, and we can use a little of the same today. He called the following problem "Imagination" saying that he could not imagine a good player without imagination.

Mr. Wiswell says that "ordinary methods" won't do here, so indeed use your imagination to labor away, and when you're ready, click your mouse on the (non-imaginary) Read More button to see the solution.

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You may never have heard of him, but Theodore "Ted" Bullockus was one of those well-rounded fellows who was good at both checkers and chess. Mr. Bullockus was born on May 29, 1917; we don't have any further information about his life and career, although he apparently was born in the Bronx, where his Lithuanian parents lived. Mr. Bullockus passed away on October 11, 2008, in Sun City, California (now part of the Menofee retirement community).

We could only find one grainy photo of this gentleman, taken during a chess tournament some years back. But he must have been quite capable. We located this checker study of his, based on a Wood Mail Tourney game (players unknown). Here's the run-up.

1.	9-14	22-17
2.	5-9	17-13
3.	1-5	24-19
4.	11-16	28-24
5.	16-20	32-28
6.	8-11	19-16
7.	12x19	24x8
8.	4x11	23-19
9.	11-15	19-16
10.	15-18	16-12
11.	10-15	26-23

26-22 would have drawn, but now Black has a win. Can you find it?

Match wits with Mr. Bullockus and see how you do. When you're ready, click on Read More to see the solution.

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It was Saturday morning and as usual, Tommy Wagner was sitting on Uncle Ben's porch for his weekly checker lesson. Uncle Ben wasn't really Tommy's uncle, but everyone called him that. Tommy had much potential as a checker player, and the kindly old retired checker professional had been tutoring him for several years.

But Tommy surely didn't look happy this morning.

A month had passed since Tina had caught Tommy at the movies with Letitia. Although Tommy had apologized, Tina was continuing to give him the cold shoulder, barely even responding to his greetings when they passed in the hallways of their central Florida high school.

Tommy, knowing his chances of getting a date with Tina were about zero, had called Letitia a couple of times, not realizing that if Tina ever found out, he might as well forget about Tina for the rest of his life. But Letitia, although receptive to Tommy's calls and polite enough, had refused multiple requests to go out with him, and finally Tommy stopped calling.

Tommy was feeling pretty down about the whole situation and his checker playing suffered. He had risen to Team Captain of the Junior Varsity team, no small feat for a 9th grader, but lately his performance had been well below his usual standard.

Uncle Ben noticed Tommy's diminished focus, and said, "Still having girl trouble, are you Tommy?"

"Yes, Uncle Ben, I sure am. I did what you said and apologized but it didn't really make a lot of difference, I guess."

"Didn't it? Do you mean that your apology was wasted?"

"Well, kind of ... I mean ..."

"You thought they would just forgive you and everything would be as it was."

"Yes sir, I suppose I did."

"Well, Tommy, there are two reasons to apologize. One reason is for them, and the other is for you."

Tommy continued to look confused. "I'm not sure I understand, Uncle Ben."

"You apologize to them because you did something to offend or hurt them, and they deserve to hear that you recognize that you did something you shouldn't have, and regret having done it. But you apologize for yourself so that you can do better in the future, and that can only happen when you accept the fact that you had gone wrong."

"Sure, Uncle Ben, but ..."

"... but you have to recognize that actions have consequences. If Letitia and Tina remain angry with you, or perhaps have lost faith and trust in you, then you'll have to accept that."

"I know, you're right, but it's so ... miserable!"

Tommy turned his head away. He didn't want Uncle Ben to see the tear in the corner of his eye.

"It can be miserable. But on the other hand you can't let it take over your life. You did the right thing by apologizing, and if there's nothing more you can do, you have to move on and try not to let it affect things that are important to you. One day, perhaps, your apologies may be fully accepted, but until then, you must deal with things as they are."

"You mean ... oh ... I haven't been playing very well lately, have I?"

"Honestly ... no, and no doubt your coach has noticed."

"Yes. He's talked to me. He told me I need to pull out of it and get my head together, although he doesn't know anything about Letitia and Tina."

"Well then ... nothing like some good hard practice. Are you ready for a challenge? Accompanied by some fresh lemonade?"

Tommy managed a smile. "Yes sir, I'm ready."

"Okay, young man. You just take a look at the position on the checkerboard while I pour us some refreshment."

Tommy did as he was instructed. Very shortly thereafter, Uncle Ben handed him a tall frosty glass. Tommy took a sip and then refocused on the checkerboard.

"This is a hard one, Uncle Ben. I think ... aha! That's the idea!"

"Show me, Tommy." Uncle Ben smiled inwardly. He knew there was nothing like a good mental workout to chase away worries. And he knew that, given time, Tommy would have internalized a difficult life lesson, and have become a better person by it.

---

We can't say if you've been on-track or off-track lately, but we can say that a mental workout is good for all of us no matter what the situation. Can you solve this one? Focus! With or without lemonade, give it your best effort and then click on Read More to see the solution, notes, a sample game, and numerous additional examples of the theme.

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In our last Checker School column, our friend Farmer Sneed got a checkerboard thrashing from Ned's father, Mr. Hatley, who said he owes his skills to knowledge of checker problems. Better that than the kind of thrashing you might get from the person above, who we'll merely call a "traditional" educator.

Today's column features a theme which the good farmer would do well to learn. It's really pretty simple and will be familiar to any skilled player. (Checker School features problems and themes with didactic value, often resulting in relatively less difficult solutions. "Didactic" may be a new word for Farmer Sneed, adding to the value of this lesson.)

We won't smash your knuckles with a ruler if you don't get this one, and in fact we're sure you'll find the win. When you're ready, smash your mouse (not your ruler) on Read More to see the solution.

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Marvin J. Mavin, star professional checkerist and Captain of the World Championship Detroit Doublejumpers, was on top of things this year.

He dutifully reported to training camp in August, which was once again at a lakeside resort in Northern Michigan near the town of Au Train. But this year he made sure he was in good shape, both physically and mentally.

The previous summer, Coach Ronaldson had been tough on Marvin, making him run extra miles along the lake and watching him closely to be sure he didn't break any of the team's strict training rules. Marvin wasn't about to go through that again, so he trained over the summer break, going jogging with his girlfriend Priscilla, playing tennis with his friend Brian, and keeping sharp with tough matches against the top-flight King of Checkers computer program.

During the first week of camp, Coach Ronaldson noticed the difference. Marvin's usual irreverent attitude was even missing. The Coach was pleased and didn't feel the need to single out Marvin for special 'attention.' But privately the Coach wondered if the 'new' Marvin was a temporary thing.

Toward the end of the second week of camp, Coach found out.

It was in the evening after a hard day of training and the customary team dinner, a time when the players had precious leisure time. Coach was in the resort's lounge, studying from the latest book by Dr. Reginald Pastor, when Marvin came up to him.

"Coach? Can I ask you something?"

Coach Ronaldson looked up. "Yes, what is it, Marvin?"

"Well, Coach, maybe you noticed that this year for me is a lot different than last year."

"Yes, it would be hard not to notice. Frankly, I'm a little surprised but quite pleased with your preparedness, and especially with your positive attitude."

Marvin grinned. "Gee, thanks, Coach, I was hoping you'd say that, so I was wondering, if like, maybe, you know as a sort of reward, well ..."

Coach frowned. He had an idea what might be coming, and he didn't like it. "Get to the point, Marvin."

"Okay, you know, Sunday being our day off and stuff, like maybe we could go into town for a couple of beers?"

Coach sat up straight, his frown deepening. "Tell you what, Marvin. Solve this problem in five minutes or less." Coach indicated a problem in the book he was holding.

"Uh, sure coach ..." Marvin scratched his head, looked puzzled, and then grinned. "Black to play and win, right? You're kiddin' me. Easy. Black is two pieces ahead ..."

"Yes, Black to play and win. Now show me, if you think it's so simple."

Marvin, now a little uneasy at the Coach's sharp tone, thought for a couple of minutes. "Oh wait ... heh heh, well Coach, maybe it ain't all that easy ... "

A few more minutes passed. "Aha!" Marvin exclaimed, and then began to show Coach the solution.

---

If your Coach challenged you with a problem like this, could you solve it in five minutes? Well, we won't hold you to any particular time limit; take as long as you like and then click on Read More to see the solution and the conclusion of today's story.

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In North America, August is typically the hottest or at least one of the hottest months, but it's pretty much the last month of the summer vacation season. In some European countries, August means "les vacances" and cities such as Paris are depleted of residents (at least in non-Covid years).

Is it just too hot to play checkers in August? Maybe, maybe not. When it's really hot out, spending some time indoors in air conditioned surroundings may be a nice option. But at any rate, today we have a speed problem that will only occupy you briefly, allowing you to get back to your summer activities without delay. We rate it as "very easy" and present it in accord with our goal of having something for everyone. For the novice, this is a nice exercise. For the expert, see if you can spot the fastest solution in under three seconds.

Solve it at top speed, without overheating, and then click your mouse on Read More to see the cool solution.

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It was July, 1955, and the summer heat had invaded Bismarck, North Dakota. Known for its cold and prolonged winters, those who didn't live there never realized that summer on the prairie, though very short, could be intensely hot, with the mercury rising above 100 degrees on some days.

Sal Westerman, the informal leader of Bismarck's Coffee and Cake Checker Club, found himself missing the club's weekly meetings at the Beacon Cafe. The club took a summer break between Decoration Day and Labor Day. The cafe itself closed for about six weeks as the proprietor, Deana, enjoyed summer with her parents on the family farm near Gackle, in eastern North Dakota.

Sylvia, Sal's wife, had talked Sal into renting a small cabin near Lake Sakakawea. It was a bit cooler up there, with breezes off the lake, and a simple lifestyle with few intrusions. Sal had to admit he enjoyed the long, lazy summer afternoons, and although he wished he could be at the Beacon, he had a stack of checker magazines to keep him busy.

One Tuesday, after doing a little fishing in the morning when it was cooler, Sal and Sylvia were relaxing in wicker chairs on the shaded veranda of their cabin. Sal had a copy of All Checkers Digest on his lap and Sylvia was doing some knitting. It was a peaceful scene.

"Anything good in your magazine?" Sylvia asked.

Sal figured she was just making conversation, as he replied, "Yes, they've got this three-by-three problem from Brian in St. Louis, that's really kind of fun. I think I've almost got it."

To Sal's surprise, Sylvia said, "Oh? Let me see!"

Sal, puzzled, handed his wife the magazine, saying, "It's this one here in the middle of the page."

Sylvia frowned a bit. Something like four or five minutes passed, with Sal looking on in bewilderment.

"Oh, here's how you do it," Sylvia said, a big smile on her face. "It's not that hard, you know!"

---

Did Sylvia actually solve one of Brian's problems? Can you solve it? Take four or five minutes, or as long as you wish, and then click on Read More to see the solution and the rest of the story.

[Read More]