Unofficial World Championship Checker Problem Composing Contest #53

[Bill Salot]

[pdn][/pdn]Contest 53 is underway on the contest page!

Some checker moves are so strange, so abnormal, and so counter-intuitive that they are seldom made. You could spend a long career in checkers and never see the move featured in this problem quartet. Two are draws, and two are wins, but all four settings are shockers. Only one diagram has a King.

See them animated, and cast a vote there for the one you deem best.

Please let us know if any other problems, published or unpublished, make the crazy maneuver in this contest. The only other such problem of which we are aware is No. 13 in Lyman's Problem Book (1881), a 2x2 by M. Wardell.

Also, if you tell us which entry got your vote, we will put you on the Voters' Ladder, which recognizes and compares our most astute judges of checker problems.

Send all messages to the address under the diagrams.

[Bill Salot]

The “Unfamiliar Maneuver” featured in this contest might be called the “*32 27 Unforced Double Corner Block Release”. A Red man in the Double Corner Dog Hole on Square 28 is blocked by a White man on Square 32. Then White Wins by making the dumbest-appearing, star move ever, deliberately releasing the block by *32 27 to win!

The number of settings known so far that demonstrate this maneuver can be counted by the thumb and fingers of one hand. Four of the settings were in this contest. If you can find or create another, please publish it or forward it to Bill Salot and we will publicize it.

Never Be Shy, by Leo Springer (Netherlands), was voted best of all by 7 voters, including Ingo Zachos (Germany), Lloyd Gordon (Canada), Liam Stephens (Ireland), George Hay, and Kathy Wirthwein. It was Leo’s 6th win (or tie for 1st) in 8 tries. He tied for 2nd in the other 2.

Buttercup, by 21-time winner, Roy Little, was 2nd with 3 votes, including Gene Ellison’s.

Invincible, by 2-time winner, Mark Sokolovsky, was 3rd with 2 votes, respectively by Slava Goren (Russia) and 14-time winner, Ed Atkinson, who was unable to create an entry on this theme

Reinforcement, by 11-time winner, Bill Salot, was last, with 0 votes for the 6th time.

The contest had 139 visitors, 12 of whom voted. That was the fewest votes since Contest 39, June 2018.

The International Voters’ Ladder now stands at:
1 – Leo Springer (Netherlands), picked 3 winners in 5 tries (60%)
2 – Liam Stephens (Ireland) 11 wins in 21 tries (52%)
3 & 4 tie - Kathy Wirthwein, 9 wins in 18 tries (50%); Wilma Wolverton 3 wins in 6 tries (50%)
5 - Slava Gorin (Russia), 7 wins in 15 tries (47%)
6 – Gene Ellison, 9 wins in 20 tries (45%)
7 – Richard Marlowe, 2 wins in 5 tries (40%)
8 – George Hay, 8 wins in 21 tries (38.1%)
9 – Lloyd Gordon (Canada), 6 wins in 16 tries (37.5%)
13 others have either picked fewer than 37.5% winners or voted in fewer than 5 contests.

[Ingo_Zachos]

I can't wait for the next round

[George Hay]

Congratulations to Leo Springer for the winning entry with seven votes for Never Be Shy. Who would have thought!
The Double Corner Block Release 32 27 (or 1-6) to let the man out of the dog hole is nothing less than brilliant!

All the problems of Lyman's Problem Book, containing the original Block Release problem, was posted by Jim Loy in the Positions
section of the ACF Forum.

https://www.usacheckers.com/forum/viewt ... f=5&t=4130

The original Block Release problem (No. 13 by M. Wardell) is copy and pasted below:

[Event "Lyman, #13, M. Wardell"]
[Black ""]
[White ""]
[Result "1-0"]
[Setup "1"]
[FEN "B:W30,9:BK27,1."]
27-23 9-5 23-18 30-25 18-14 25-21 14-10 21-17 10-7 17-14 1-6 5-1 6-9 14-5 7-10 1-0

No. 13 is an ingenious 2x2 problem indeed!

--George Hay