It's been a little while since we searched our admittedly disordered and dusty library for a Tom Wiswell gem, and we've frankly missed the pleasure and enjoyment that his problems infallibly deliver. Finally, this week we did a little reorganizing of our offices, and we happily came across a fine (and long-overdue) example of Mr. Wiswell's incomparable art.

Here, then, is a situation which is based on actual play.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK21,28,31:B4,19,K32.

The title of our article, which is congruent with Mr. Wiswell's title for the problem, is a pretty obvious hint. But nonetheless, the problem isn't necessarily all that easy.

Spend a little time trying to stack up the solution, but if your mental processes are blocked, clicking on Read More will cause the answers to tumble into your lap.

For our February speed problem offerings, we present two little cuties; a pair of rather easy problems with charming solutions, at least in our humble opinion. We hope you agree. Give them a try; but remember, our relentless timer won't allow you to solve them at a crawl! Fifteen seconds each is all the time you have.

Speed Problem One (rather easy)

Speed Problem Two (easy enough)

However, if you don't solve them in time there is no need to do a diaper change--- clicking on Read More will bring you the solutions without fuss, muss, or mess.

The one and only Willie Ryan, checker great, showman, and all-around character, would have been 100 years old this month, we're told. Who knows what he might have added to his many accomplishments had he not passed on far too soon? But in any event, in celebration of this milestone anniversary, we continue our series from what is arguably Willie's best book, Tricks Traps & Shots of the Checkerboard with an entry Willie calls Beeswax Block Buster. Here's what Willie had to say on the subject, way back in 1950.

"Early in my checkered career I took a strong fancy to the Old Paraffin opening, developing much new play on it, and with it defeating many prominent stars of the board. Eventually, my contemporaries got onto it, and I dropped the opening from my repertoire. Here is one Beeswax ambush that I used with wide and telling effect:

11-15 24-20 8-11 27-24---A 3-8 23-19 9-13---B 26-23 6-9---C 23-18 1-6 31-27 9-14 18-9 5-14 forming the diagram.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W19,20,21,22,24,25,27,28,29,30,32:B2,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,15.

A---Forms the Old Paraffin opening, nicknamed the Beeswax. When properly met, it is somewhat weak for white, though drawable.

B---If 9-14 is tried, continue with 22-17, 5-9, 26-23; now 1-5 is drawable. If 15-18 is taken, it can be nailed neatly by 19-15*, 18-27, 32-23, 11-27, 20-16, 12-19, 24-15, 10-19, 17-3, 27-32, 3-12, and white wins by stealing the piece on square 19.

C---This is where black goes wrong. The only move to draw is: 15-18*, 22-15,11-27, 32-23, 6-9, 25-22, 9-14; now 22-18 or 31-26 will draw."

But don't get "waxed" yourself! Try the problem and then click on Read More for a honey of a solution.

A reader recently asked us if we had a bibliography of checker-related fiction; we didn't, and so we decided to research the topic a bit. It was an interesting exercise; on the internet, we found out about Checkers restaurants, auto parts, taxicabs, hockey teams, and much more, but disappointingly little checker-related fiction.

Of course, there's the Sliders T4 story, certainly the best modern example. And we found references to a few more stories in old fiction magazines: Altruism and Checkers, by Jessie Bartlett Davis, in Poker Chips, #4, September 1896; She Played Checkers, by Sam Allison, in Western Action, Vol. 19, #6, May 1956; Back to Checkers, by Edward Leonard, in Western Story Magazine, Vol. 37, #1, August 25, 1923; and The Checkers Match by 'Gepruitt', found on Blogit, which will cost you about ten dollars for an access subscription. (Checkers, the novel by John Marsden, is about a dog, not our game of checkers.) In addition, we found the Chess N Checkers Restaurant in Allentown, Pennsylvania, hardly fiction, but a place we really must visit some day!

Still, wanting to give you a story to read and a couple of problems to boot, we dug through our own collection and found our single item of checker fiction, a short piece called A Midnight Encounter, attributed only to an author named 'Martin'. We hope you enjoy the story and the problems contained therein.

The game of checkers, to one who can comprehend its deeper mysteries, is one of the highest intellectual amusements. In my own estimation it occupies the first place, and chess owes its superior reputation to the complexity of its manceuvers rather than its opportunities for scientific play. But my intention is not to write a panegyric upon my favorite game, but to narrate a most singular event, which made an impression upon my mind that many years have failed to efface.

At the time of this occurrence I was about twenty, and enthusiastically fond of checkers, in which I had attained such proficiency as to conquer all players in my own New England village. A signal victory over an old sea-captain, who alone disputed my supremacy, determined me to make a journey to England and cultivate my talents under the instructions of the London masters. That I did not carry out this design is owing to the following remarkable adventure:

A short time before my intended departure, I was seated in an old country inn on one of the dullest and rainiest days it was ever my fortune to see. I had been playing checkers with mine host, but found him such a mere tyro, that there was no sport in beating him. I therefore dismissed him and proceeded to solve a problem of Sturges; but the old master of checkers had constructed so difficult a position that I could see no solution to it; but I scorned to refer to the book for assistance. Suddenly happening to look up, I perceived a tall old man gazing upon me with an air of triumph. Seating himself opposite to me, he solved the problem with a few simple moves, and offered me the choice of men.

I looked at him with some surprise, and beheld a really handsome man, although much beyond the prime of life, with a grave, studious sweetness of look. I moved 11 to 15 and the struggle commenced. The game occupied nearly an hour, for I was determined to do my best against this strange antagonist, and played with great deliberation. He moved apparently without a moment's thought, but so skillfully, that in several instances only the greatest concentration of my power enabled me to save my game. At length the following position was brought about:

BLACK (Myself)

WHITE (Stranger)
White to Play and Win

W:W10,11,K15,18:BK2,K4,13,K29.

Here, it being my antagonist's turn to move, he uttered a low, musical laugh and said: "Sir, you have played this game very prettily, but you will now lose every one of your pieces in just eight moves." Of course he was right and I was beaten.

We fell to conversation upon the game, when the stranger related anecdotes and displayed problems that filled me with amazement. The colloquy was so interesting that I should never have desired it to cease, had not the stranger broken off, exclaiming: "Favor me, sir, with one more game, for my time is short, and I have not played for many years."

Again we engaged. The game was most absorbing, and I had strong hopes of victory. I was surprised at myself, and my adversary no longer played with the careless rapidity of the former game. With beating heart I sternly determined that I would win, if any skill would enable me to do so. At length this was the position:

WHITE (Myself)

BLACK (Stranger)
Black to Play and Win

B:W32,29,K16,K13,K12,K5:B27,K23,22,K15,6,K3.

Here, considering my superiority in kings, I thought myself sure of victory; but my rival, whose turn it was to play, said mildly. "You lose every one of your pieces, sir, in just nine moves."

The nine moves followed, and I again yielded to superior skill. I asked the name of the stranger.

"Joshua Sturges, friend. Farewell, with thanks."

He was gone with the first streak of dawn, and I gave up my voyage to England and my game of checkers.

But this need not be the end for you; clicking on Read More will show you the solutions to the problems.

The holidays have ended, leaving us perhaps a bit weary from all the merry-making and festivities. And so, we'll start the year out with a pair of speed problems taken from actual play, that will give us some entertainment without taxing our tired heads too terribly much. We rate both problems as "easy" but in fact they are most likely "very easy." Still, in the spirit of post-holiday rest, we'll allow a full 15 seconds for each and go "easy" on you.

January Speed Problem #1 (easy)

January Speed Problem #2 (easy)

If somehow you find this all just too much for so early in the year, you can always click on Read More to clear things up at once.

Marvin J. Mavin, the famous captain of the National Checker League's Detroit Doublejumpers, was in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for a New Year's Eve exhibition match with the Colorado Springs Cross Stars, a top team in the AAA Pacific Checker League. The match was a benefit fund-raiser for disadvantaged youth and Marvin took great pride in taking part.

Robby "The Rocket" Murry and Marvin J. Mavin

Marvin, playing first board for the Doublejumpers, was pitted against the Cross Star's Captain, Robby "The Rocket" Murry. After a friendly handshake and a short exchange of pleasantries, the game began, and played out as follows.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W13,14,19,20,21,22:B5,6,7,11,12,K26.

It seems that our hero Marvin has once again managed to get himself into trouble, with The Rocket's king behind Marvin's men and seriously threatening them. The big crowd at the sports arena, though obviously partisans of their home town player, had come to see Marvin play, and was, to say the least, surprised. After all, though The Rocket was a strong AAA player, he wasn't a major league star like Marvin.

There was almost dead silence as Marvin considered his move. Marvin, characteristically, was fidgeting in his chair and muttering to himself. What exactly he was saying couldn't quite be made out by the crowd, although a few of the fans in attendance thought they heard the phrases "some New Year's Eve this is gonna be" and "I need a beer."

What would you play in this position? Match wits with Marvin, and then click on Read More for the rest of the story.

The Checker Maven sends its best New Year's wishes to all of our readers!

Whatever holidays you celebrate, everyone loves this time of year when the very air seems filled with magic. As our holiday offering to you, we present a problem from a little booklet called Modern Magic, published long ago and featuring the miniatures of S. J. Pickering. Here's our holiday situation:

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Draw

W:W22,K20,K3:BK31,K13,K11.

White's enjoyment of the holidays looks as though it's about to be spoiled, as he appears to be in a very un-festive predicament, with his king on 3 trapped and his man on 22 at risk. Can you pull off some magic of your own and save the season for White? Earn yourself a cup of holiday cheer by solving today's problem. There's no danger, though, of spoiling your own seasonal enjoyment, as clicking on Read More will, as if by magic, bring the solution to you.

The Checker Maven wishes the best of the season to one and all.

Abilene Texas is cowboy country, partner, you just better believe it. The home of many a Hollywood showdown between the guys in the white hats and the guys in the black hats, Abilene is practically synonymous with the Wild West.

It's perhaps less well-known but every bit as important (at least to us) that Abilene has a history of great checker shootouts too. We recently came across the results of the 8th Semi-Annual West Texas Tourney, held on Washington's Birthday in 1935, and surely Abilene rocked and reeled that day, not from gunshots, but from the excitement of high-class competitive checkers.

We've chosen a situation from a game between a Mr. Geo. R. Gristy, of Eastland Texas (playing White) and Mr. A. H. Tate of Olden Texas (playing Black).

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W32,30,24,21,K15:B13,14,16,23,K22.

Believe it or not, there's only one winning move. Everything else draws or loses. Here Mr. Gristy played 24-20, allowing Mr. Tate to come up with a spectacular draw.

Can you win this unexpectedly difficult shootout? Can you figure out what Mr. Gristy should have played to win with the White side (instead of 24-20)? Can you show how Mr. Tate cleverly drew after 24-20?

Fight for the solutions, and then shoot back in time with us to Abilene Texas, 1935, to see the full game, explanatory notes, and the surprising answers. All it takes is a simple click on Read More.

With this issue, The Checker Maven celebrates two full years of uninterrupted, on-time weekly publication, something that we believe no other internet checker webzine has ever accomplished. Over the past 24 months, we've seen our weekly readership grow from a handful to several thousand, as The Checker Maven has become a Saturday morning staple for many a checker enthusiast. By any measure, it's the world's most widely read checkers and draughts publication.

For our part, we're grateful to all of you for making us a success far beyond anything we would have ever believed possible, and we hope to be able to continue to publish for a long time to come.

To celebrate the day, we'd like to go back to our favorite "coffee and cake" theme. This is an idea created by none other than Willie Ryan, about a problem that you'd set up for your checker pals and bet them coffee and cake that they can't win it. Well, today's coffee and cake problem gives them a fighting chance. It isn't really that difficult if you can see the winning method, so you might actually have to pay up on this one.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK22,19,18:B21,11,10.

Our thanks to Brian Hinkle, to whom we owe coffee and cake many times over, for sending us this problem. Solve it, check your solution by clicking on Read More, and then treat yourself--- to coffee and cake, of course.

It's Thanksgiving Weekend in the United States, a very special and very American holiday, and a weekend on which many people travel long distances to be home with family. Whether you've been able to stay close by, or have yourself journeyed on that long road home, The Checker Maven wishes you the all best of this, our favorite holiday by any measure.

For Thanksgiving Weekend, we bring you a special installment of Checker School with an instructive pair of situations from Ben Boland's classic reference, Famous Positions in the Game of Checkers. Here's the first one, and it illustrates today's theme of traveling far to reach your goal:

BOWEN - WYLLIE
WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W29,K25,5:BK23,K22,1.

Black can win this position, just barely, but it requires a lot of clever maneuvering and a good dose of patience. Are you methodical enough to work it out? Can you visualize far enough ahead to find the solution without moving pieces on a board? It's quite a challenge, and indeed a long road home.

Here is a much easier one, which arises from a variant of the tougher one above:

J. STURGES
WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W17,5:BK10,1.

The solution is very neat and not all that difficult to find. Can you do it?

Whether you in fact find your way, or remain lost, clicking on Read More will guide you on the path to Ben Boland's solution, descriptive notes, example games, and entertaining comments.