Did you stay up to see the clock strike twelve this past New Year's Eve? If you're like most of the Checker Maven staff, who are, after all, a little older than they once were, ten o'clock is already a late hour and waiting up for the stroke of midnight is a difficult task.

So instead, let's deal with not a clock stroke, but a checker stroke; that intriguing specimen of a checker problem that, like yogurt and opera, you either love or hate. And, since by now you've surely recovered from possible New Year's Eve revelry, we're setting out a position that is especially bewildering. Just take a look below.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:WK2,8,K9,13,14,20,23,24,25,27:B1,4,6,7,K11,12,17,18,26,K32.

Of course, we expect you to solve this one completely from the diagram --- no setting up the board and moving the pieces! When you've clocked your solution, take the time to click on Read More to check your answer.

Solution

25-22 18x25 23-18 32x23 24-19 23x16 18-15 11x18 2x11 16x7 9x11 18x9 13x6 1x10 20-16 12x19 11-7 4x11 7x7 White Wins.

Whether you're a fan of stroke problems or not, there's no denying that fireworks of this sort are pretty spectacular!