It was a beautiful fall afternoon in October, 1955, in Bismarck, North Dakota. The first weekend of the month had gone by, meaning all the yards had been raked up and made ready for winter, as was the unofficial but strict rule in Bismarck. Saturdays would now be a time for leisure with no more yard work until the first weekend in April.

That was certainly the case for Sal Westerman, the leader of the Coffee and Cake Checker Club, which met on Saturday afternoons from Labor Day to Memorial Day at the Beacon Cafe in the Provident Life Building. Sal loved his Saturday afternoons at the Beacon and eagerly looked forward to them.

Today, though, he was wondering if he should go at all. His wife, Sylvia, wasn't feeling well and Sal thought about staying home.

Sal said as much to Sylvia but she wouldn't hear of it. "No Sal, you go," she said, "it's only a few hours and I'll be fine. I'm only running a slight fever and I can take a couple of aspirin if I need to."

Sal wasn't so sure. Sylvia had had a high fever the previous evening and it was a difficult night for both of them. But Sylvia was insistent.

"I'll call you and check once or twice," Sal said.

"All right dear," Sylvia said, "but I may be sleeping so don't worry if I don't answer, okay?"

So at about quarter to one Sal started the ten minute walk to the Beacon Cafe. It was a pleasant walk on such a nice day, but he couldn't get Sylvia off his mind.

Sal arrived a few minutes ahead of the one o'clock meeting time. A couple of "the boys" as Sal called them (even though all but one of them was over the age of 50) had already arrived. Dan and Delmer had taken seats in the big booth at the back of the cafe. Sal said hello to the proprietess, Deana, and then joined the boys. Soon after Wayne, Larry, and Louie the Flash arrived, followed by Ron and Tom.

The group chit-chatted for a little while but after ten minutes or so Sal got up and quietly asked Deana to use the phone. "Sylvia isn't doing so well today and I need to check in," he explained, "but I don't want the boys to know."

"Sure thing," Deana said, "you can use the phone in my office."

Sal made his call and Sylvia answered on the second ring.

"I'm doing fine," she reassured Sal when he asked. "I'm just trying to rest," she said in just a bit of a sharper tone.

Sal hung up and went back to the booth.

"So, we're waiting for you, Sal," Wayne said. "What have you got for us?" The tradition was that Sal would bring along a checker problem and if the boys couldn't solve it, they would buy treats for Sal and Sylvia; otherwise Sal would buy for the group.

"Okay boys," Sal said, "here you go." He set up the following position on a couple of the checkerboards that were arrayed on the booth's table.

Just then Deana announced that today she had caramel apple cheesecake bars on offer. "Made with the best of this year's apples," she added.

The boys nodded approvingly but they were already deep into working on the day's checker problem.

Sal normally would sit and watch the boys as they tried various approaches to winning the position. But today he was fidgety and restless. About a dozen times during the next hour he thought to call Sylvia again, but he didn't want to wake her and neither did he wish to keep bothering Deana to use the phone.

Finally Sal called "time" and asked the boys how they had done.

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We certainly hope no one in your family is ill and nothing disturbs your Saturday enjoyment. Solve along with the "boys" and see how you do, then click on Read More to see the solution and the rest of our little story.

Solution and Conclusion

"We couldn't get it," lamented Wayne. "Show us, Sal."

Sal demonstrated the following play.

*17 14, 23-18---A, *14 10, 6-15, *12 16 (zugzwang), 19-23, *16 19, White Wins.

A---22-18, *14 10, 6-15, *12-16 (fewer hold more), White Wins.

"Treats are on us," said Dan, "but you don't seem to be quite yourself today, Sal. Is everything okay?"

Sal finally admitted that Sylvia was ill and he was concerned. He reassured the boys it wasn't anything serious but nevertheless it was on his mind.

"Sorry to hear it, Sal," said Louie the Flash. "Maybe you should go home early? We'll send some extra treats along with you. I'm sure one of those apple pie squares will have Sylvia feeling better in a hurry."

By then it was about three o'clock. The boys usually stayed on until nearly closing time at five, and Sal hated to miss a moment. "I'll hang on for a bit," he said.

Skittles games started up. Sal lost one to Delmer and then another to Larry. When he was losing against Dan, he finally said, "It's not my day; I'm just not in focus. I think I'll take Louie's advice and head on home. It's four o'clock and I'll only miss an hour."

The boys encouraged him and after good-byes, Sal reluctantly left and hurried home.

When he arrived, Sylvia was at the kitchen table with a pot of tea. She had put on a bathrobe, brushed her hair, and was looking quite chipper. "You're home an hour early," she said to her husband. "That's pretty unusual on club days!"

Sal, evidently relieved, replied, "I was worried but I didn't want to call again."

"Oh, I told you, a little more rest was all I needed. By tomorrow I'll be back to 100 percent for sure. I'm sorry that you missed some of your club time. There was no need."

"Yes there was, dear," Sal said. He went and put his arms around her shoulders. "Some things are much more important than checkers."

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Today's problem was provided to us by Mr. Bill Salot. The composer is the late grandmaster problemist Ed Atkinson. He titled this composition Checkerboard Dinner. We hope you enjoyed it during today's visit to the Beacon Cafe.