Unofficial World Championship Checker Problem Composing Contest #51
2020-05-16 through 2020-06-30
So far 271 visitors have viewed this contest 646 times.

The ACF Website wishes a big congratulations to Mark Sokolovsky, the composer of Zigzag, which was voted the winner of
Unofficial World Championship Checker Problem Composing Contest #51.
Mark Sokolovsky won for the second time in two tries. His Zigzag, an intricate 5-piece giveaway, collected 4 votes, including votes by Gene Ellison and George Hay.

Tied for 2nd, each with 3 votes, were Close Encounter, a hidden, piece-down, killer lock, by Leo Springer (Netherlands), his 1st contest loss after 5 wins in 5 tries, and DC Traffic, a congested double corner situation, by Bill Salot. Lloyd Gordon and Kathy Wirthwein voted for Close Encounter.

Tie for 4th, with 2 votes each, were 2 sparklers: Hard Ryder, by Roy Little, got Gary Ellison's vote; Dark Shadow, by Ed Atkinson, received Liam Stephens' vote.

Trailing with 0 votes was aptly titled Fungus, a strategic correction by Jim Loy.

The contest had 266 visitors, 14 of whom voted.

The Voters' Ladder now stands like this:

1&2 tie - Mark Sokolovsky & Leo Springer (Netherlands) picked 3 winners in 4 tries (75%)
3 - Slava Gorin (Russia) 7 in 13 tries (54%)
4 - Liam Stephens (Ireland), 10 in 19 tries (53%)
5&6 tie - Gene Ellison 9 in 18 tries & Kathy Wirthwein 8 in 16 tries (50%)
16 others have either picked fewer than 50% winners or have voted in fewer than 4 contests.

The contest was introduced as follows:

These 6 settings, with uninviting titles by 6 different composers, each feature 4 or 5 Red pieces poised for potential escapes.

But your ingenuity, utilizing a variety of strategies, can engineer a decisive win for White in every case. An initial 2-piece numerical advantage is a key factor twice.

See them all animated here and cast your valuable vote here for the one you like most.

Get on the free ladder here, where you can wrestle with the best and not catch a virus. Just repeat your vote in an e-mail to the address under the diagrams. Try being a competitive evaluator by picking the winner. You will enjoy the challenge.
Zigzag
Composed By: Mark Sokolovsky
Current Votes:
White to move. White Wins
View Animation
Trunk*23 18A, 26-17, *25 21, 17-22B, *10 6, 22-15, *21 17, 13-22, *14 10, 5-14, *6 1, 15-6, 1-26White Wins
ANot 25 21, *26-19, 10 6, 19-23 or 19-24Draw
B2-7, 10 3, 17-10, *18 14White Wins
Hard Ryder
Composed By: Roy Little
Current Votes:
White to move. White Wins
View Animation
Trunk*26 23A, 30-26 *23 18, 26-10, *27 23, 20-27, *18 14, 10-17B, *9 13, 27-18, 13 8, White Wins
ANot 22 18, 30-32, 24 19, *32-27, 9 6 (19 15, *27-23, 15 8, *7-10, Draw), *27-23, 19 15, *11-16, 15 11, *7-10, 6 15, *16-19, 15 24, 20-27, 11 7, *27-31, 7 2, *31-26, 2 6, *26-22Draw
B27-18, *9 13, sameWhite Wins
Dark Shadow
Composed By: Ed Atkinson
Current Votes:
White to move. White Wins
View Animation
Trunk*4 8, 16-20A, *8 3, 7-11, *3 8B, 11-16C, *8 12, 16-19, *12 16, 19-23, *16 19, 23-26, *19 24, 27-31, *21 25, 20-27, *25 30White Wins
A16-19,*8 3, 7-11, 3 7 (or 3 8), 11-16, *7 11, 16-20, *11 16, sameWhite Wins
BNot 3 7, *11-16, 7 11, *27-31Draw
C11-15, *8 11, 15-19, *11 16, sameWhite Wins
Fungus
Composed By: Jim Loy
Current Votes:
White to move. White Wins
View Animation
Trunk*18 14, 10-15A, *8 11, 15-18B, *17 13C, 23-19, *31 26D, 18-23E,*11 16F, 19-12, 26 19, 12-8, *19 15, 8-3, *14 10White Wins
A6-9, 14 7, 9-13, *17 14, 23-18,*14 10, 18-15, *7 2, 15-6, 2 9, 5-14, *8 11, 14-17, *11 15, 17-21, *15 18, 13-17, *18 14, 17-22, *14 17, 22-25, *17 22, 25-29, *22 26, 29-25,*31 27, American Position without the Move.White Wins
B23-18, *17 13White Wins
CNot 11 16, *18-22, Draw; not 11 15, *6-9, Red WinsWhite Wins
DNot 31 27, *19 15, Draw; instead *31 26 forms T. Riley, Souter XII, v.12L, 1892
E19-15, *26 22, T. Riley, Souter XII, v.12M, 1892White Wins
FCorrects Riley's 14 10, *23-30Draw
DC Traffic
Composed By: Bill Salot
Current Votes:
White to move. White Wins
View Animation
Trunk*14 18A, 30-25B, *2 6C, 25-21D, *17 14E, 19-23F, *6 10G, 23-32, *18 23, 21-25, 14 9H, 5-14, 10 17, 25-30, *17 22, 30-26, *22 31White Wins
ANot 17 22, *30-25, 22 29, *28-32Draw
B5-9 (30-26, *27 24, WW or 28-32, *17 14, WW), *17 22, 28-32 (19-23, *2 7, 23-32, *18 23, WW), *27 24 (not 18 15, 32-23, 15 24, *9-14, 2 6 or 2 7, *14-18, 22 15, *23 19, Draw), 19-28, *18 23, 9-14, 2 6 or 2 7, 14-18, *22 15White Wins
CNot 17 14 (not 2 7, *5-9, Draws), 19-23 or 25-22Draw
D19-23 (28-32, 17 14 or 27 24, WW), *6 10, 23-32, *18 23, 25-30 (5-9, *17 13, WW), *17 22White Wins
ENot 17 13, *28-32 (not 19-23, *6 10, 23-32, *18 23, WW), 27 24, 19-28, 18 23, *5-9Draw
F21-25, 6 10 or 14 10 or 14 17 or 27 24White Wins
GNot 6 9 (14 10, 23-32, 18 23, 21-17 or 32-27, Draw), 23-32, 18 23, 21-17 or 32-27 firstDraw
Hor 14 17, WW, but not 14 18, 5-9 or 32-27, Draw; nor 10 15, 25-22 or 25-30
Close Encounter
Composed By: Leo Springer (Netherlands)
Current Votes:
White to move. White Wins
View Animation
Trunk*18 23, 26-31A, *22 18B, 19-26, *12 19C, 17-21D, *19 23, 21-30, *18 14, 10-17, 13 22White Wins
A26-30, *22 18, 30-21, 13 22, 19-26, *12 19White Wins
BNot 23 26, *19-23, 26 19, *16-23, *22 18, *17-21, 25 22, 21-25 or 23-27, Draw. Also at B: not 25 21, *17-26, 23 30, 10-14 or 10-15, Draw
CNot 13 22, 16-19 or 16-20Draw
D26-30 (17-22, 25 21 or 19 23, WW), 13 22, 30-21, 18 15 or 19 16 or 19 23 or 19 24White Wins
Please enter your original, unpublished, dual-free problems in future contests by sending them at anytime to:
Bill Salot
1006 Elmwood Drive
Colonial Heights, VA 23834-2905

or at wjsalot@comcast.net.