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.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win
W:WK10,13,K22,30:B5,21,23,K29

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

Solution

22-25 29x22 13-9 5x14 10x19 White Wins.

Our thanks go out to Josh and Lloyd Gordon, regular contributors in Toronto, Ontario, for sending us this position.

Bill Salot wrote to point out that literally any King move by White would win. Indeed, Black is in a very bad situation and it's not hard for White to obtain victory. We do like the quick shot as an effective way to wrap things up, but if you chose another path, you certainly weren't wrong.