August in most of the Northern Hemisphere brings some of the hottest weather of the year. We know that here in our Santa Fe offices, located in New Mexico's high desert country, it's hard to think about moving very fast in the blistering heat of summer. But nevertheless, we invite you to "beat the heat" with our August speed problem, an offering that isn't so easy and is perhaps a little over the top for speed solving.

Taking all this into account and allowing for the summer heat, we'll give you extra solving time. In fact, we'll go so far as to allow you three minutes to find the solution. Generous, aren't we?

When you're ready, click on the link below to display the problem and kick off the red-hot Javascript timer. Come back and click on Read More when you're ready to see the solution.

August Speed Problem (moderately difficult; 3 minutes)

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The Fourth of July, as we know so well, celebrates America and recalls the story of the brave band of patriots who, back in the 1770s, brought our nation into existence and gave life to the American dream. We've said before, and we'll say it again, that we're unabashed patriots ourselves, and personally owe much to America.

Celebrating the Fourth of July is something we love to do, and we'd like to once more carry that over to The Checker Maven and present a checker problem from the dean of American problemists, the legendary Tom Wiswell.

Mr. Wiswell's problems are not known for being easily, but they are worth the effort taken to solve them, and they never fail to delight. Diagrammed below is today's selection.

White is a man up, but Black has a king and will quickly get the man back. How can White win this one? The solution is amazing. Don't give up too quickly; you'll be richly rewarded if you do solve it. When you've drummed up your answer, click on Read More to see the revolutionary solution.

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We thought we had completely run out of puns on the word "stroke" until the one above finally came to mind. Now, the Checker Maven offices have a strict no-pets policy, but it's hard to resist the charm of the photo above.

Today's problem is indeed a stroke, but is gentle in that it's less difficult than usual. We invite you to practice your visualization skills on the diagram below.

When you've worked it out to your satisfaction, stroke the Read More button to see the solution.

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"Hey there, Sweetie!"

The raspy voice cut through the thick Florida air and Tina's arms and face burst out in goose bumps as she involuntarily shuddered. It was that horrible boy Joey again, pestering her as he did nearly every morning. No doubt he would ask her out for lunch ...

"Wanna go for lunch with me, Sweetie?"

Tina kept her head up and her eyes straight ahead as she walked by, refusing to answer. As she passed Joey's position, he blew a lungful of cigarette smoke in her direction. Tina's eyes started to water and she couldn't help but cough.

"Wassa matter, Sweetie, got a cold and lost your voice?" Joey started to chuckle, self-amused.

"Joey, you are a disgusting boy, and if Coach Hovmiller catches you smoking, he'll throw you off the checker team ... and good riddance, too! I just think I'm going to report you this time!"

"Aw, Sweetie, you done that before and it didn't do nothing. It was your word against mine and ole Hovmiller couldn't take no kinda action. Why dontcha just go for lunch with me and kiss and make up?"

"Joey, I'm going to wipe that grin off your face! Just wait and you'll see!" Tina strode along the path as quickly as she could and soon reached the safety of the school building. Inside, breathing hard and on the verge of tears, she balled her fists and proclaimed, "I'm going to fix that boy good!"

Tina knew that Joey had cheated his way on to the checker team, and continued to cheat to keep his place. Coach Hovmiller, although a rather stern leader, had yet to catch on to Joey's tricks.

But the school day passed as it always does, and soon it was three o'clock and time for team practice. Today Coach Hovmiller had scheduled the next round of the team board placement tournament. And, wouldn't you know, Tina was paired up with Joey. Tina sighed when she saw the posting on the wall chart. Why couldn't she be matched with Tommy Wagner, or even that nice boy Kevin? Tina smiled a little when she thought about Kevin...

"Sweetie! Hey, Sweetie! You ready for some action?" Joey snickered as he said the last words.

"Don't you be fresh with me, Joey!" said Tina, "or I'll ... I'll...."

"You'll what?" replied Joey. "Turn me in to the Coach like you said this morning? Oooh, I'm so scared! Hey, let's play our game. Tell ya what, how's about winner gets to ...."

"Oh, you just keep quiet, you awful boy!" said Tina. "Let's play our game and get it over with!" Without further discussion, they sat down at their assigned table and began to play. Tina had the White pieces; Joey lead off with Black.

1.	10-14	24-20
2.	6-10	22-17
3.	11-15	17-13
4.	1-6	25-22

A weak move; 28-24 is much better.

5.	14-18	23x14
6.	9x25	29x22
7.	8-11

Black is somewhat better off here.

7.	...	27-23
8.	4-8

This gives up the advantage; 15-19 would have kept a comfortable lead for Black.

8.	...	23-18
9.	15-19

The tide turns in White's favor. 12-16 would have kept things even.

9.	...	32-27
10.	10-14	18x9
11.	5x14	22-17
12.	6-9	13x6
13.	2x9	17x10
14.	7x14

After the exchanges, White might have a win.

14.	...	26-22
15.	11-15	22-17
16.	14-18	17-14

17-13 was more accurate. White lets her lead slip quite a bit.

17.

9-13

27-24

14-9 would have been better. White has completely dissipated her advantage.

18.	8-11	14-10
19.	18-23	10-6
20.	23-27	6-2
21.	27-32	2-6
22.	32-27	6-10
23.	27-23	10-14
24.	3-7?

12-16 was correct here.

24.	...	30-25
25.	12-16?

23-27 would have been better.

Tina's heart leapt. Could it be? Yes... if she just moved here and then after that she'd move there. It looked like it would all work out! Satisified with her plan, she made her move.

If you were Tina, would you be able to teach Joey a much-merited lesson in this position? Don't be intimidated; work out the solution and be sure to click on Read More for the correct answer and the unexpected conclusion to our story.

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This year's baseball season is well underway, and we're certain that old-time checkerist Harvey L. Hopkins would be horrified. Mr. Hopkins, you'll perhaps recall, was an attorney in Chicago in the late 1800s, and published a checker pamphlet called Home Checker Companion: Our Boys at Home.

We've teased a lot in our columns about Mr. Hopkins' pedantic, moralistic approach to checkers; we've even made him a part of the back-story to the alternative reality of Marvin J. Mavin's world. In his little booklet, he put forth the thesis that going to baseball games was a rather unsavory activity, perhaps even leading to a life of crime! How much better it would be if "the boys" stayed at home and played checkers, under close parental supervision, to be sure.

We can't deny that staying home and playing checkers is a good thing. Neither can we deny that parental supervision is equally good. But as fans ourselves, we have trouble with Mr. Hopkins' theory about the evils of baseball. Still and all, it's a fact that Mr. Hopkins was a skilled checkerist, and today's problem (which Mr. Hopkins attributes to Ralph D. Banks) is a clever and instructive study.

It's a common occurence: Black, being a piece up, should win handily, but his position is cramped and demonstrating the win over the board is necessary. Can you do it, solving by sight alone? Never mind that ball game, you've got a checker problem to work out! Do your best and then click on Read More to see the solution.

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May Day, the first of May, has its presumable roots in the ancient fires of Beltane, but is today celebrated in a number of different ways. In England, May Day is a substantial civic celebration, with traditions such as the Maypole, the May Queen, and much more.

In France, it's customary to give a lilly-of-the-valley to your lady of choice.

In Germany, Walpurgisnacht is celebrated on May Day Eve (Faust, anyone?).

May Day is also a Roman Catholic holiday. And finally, May Day is celebrated by the international labor movement as a day of the worker, and in some countries, military parades are held.

While we don't in any way accord with the philosophies of these aforesaid countries, most of whom repressed and exploited the worker while pretending to act in his interests, we think a checker problem that Tom Wiswell originally called "Victory" is appropriate. On May Day, the ancient traditions celebrated the victory of light over darkness, with the advent of spring and the coming of longer days. And we note that in the end, when the Communist system collapsed some years ago, the worker really was the victor---1.

So here's our celebratory problem, and as usual for a Tom Wiswell piece, it's a dandy. It's anything but easy, but it's worth the effort.

1---The Checker Maven makes no apologies for its pro-democracy position.

March on to victory, but if it rains on your parade, click Read More to see the delightful solution.

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We're not talking today about the city of Denver, as attractive and appealing as that modern metropolis might be. Instead, we're talking about John Denvir (and neither do we mean the late popular musician who called himself John Denver). John T. Denvir was a well-known checker player and author in the early 1900s, and was, to put it mildly, a man of controversy. He did publish a number of checker instruction books, and today's two-part problem is drawn from one of them.

First, look at this position arising from a Single Corner opening:

White has drawing moves here, and it's not so hard to find them. We invite you to give it a try.

One way not to draw is with the seemingly clever 20-16, which results in this position.

Can you find a win for Black at this point?

If you don't find the solutions, you needn't travel all the way to Denver to see how it's done; clicking on Read More will transport you immediately to the answers.

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Spring has come to the northern hemisphere, and our rather impressive long jumper in the photo above is literally springing into spring as the outdoor season arrives. But even with our irrepressible urge to get out of the house and into the fine fresh air, we know you still have a little time to keep up with your game of checkers.

In this week's column we help you do just that, with a nice speed problem that will give you a little practice without keeping you inside for too long. We rank it as "medium" on the difficulty scale and allow you ... one minute. After all, the sunshine and blue skies are calling you!

Click below to show the problem and start the clock, then click on Read More to check your solution.

April Speed Problem (medium; 60 seconds)

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A very complex-looking double crossing is to be found in the model railway section pictured above. We wonder, though, if it's equal in complexity to today's checker problem, which, most appropriately, arises in a line of the Double Cross opening. The Double Cross, arising from 9-14 23-18, has a bit of shall we say a checkered reputation, with 23-18 being at best a weak reply to 9-14. Nevertheless, it's completely playable if you know what you're doing, but there's plenty of opportunity to go astray.

But for now, let's jump right into our position, in which White has indeed strayed from the narrow path.

Can you find the Black win, or will you get all crossed up? Don't be cross about it; clicking on Read More brings you the solution, the run-up to the position, and the usual explanatory notes.

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There's an old maxim well known in formal project management practice: "Faster - Cheaper - Better: Choose two." Or, in the words of that yesteryear Cambridge, Massachusetts salesman known simply as Cheap Al: "You can't have all the goodies for nothing."

This month's speed problem indeed calls upon two of the three attributes mentioned in our title, namely, faster and better. Although the problem is quite easy, you'll need to be fast and rather a better player to solve this one within the very brief allowed time. Of course, "cheaper" doesn't enter into the picture as The Checker Maven always has been and always will be a free publication. Sorry Al, but maybe you can have all the goodies for nothing!

Click on the link below to show our problem and start the unforgiving JavaScript clock.

March Speed Problem (very easy)

When you're done, clicking on Read More gives you a faster, cheaper, and better way to see the correct solution.

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