Checkers Puzzle for 13 September 2026 — Black to move

The idea

A breakthrough brings a man to the far row and crowns it as a king. The new king can move along open diagonals in either direction and capture from a distance, which can change the position substantially. Crowning alone does not guarantee a win: the king may face an immediate capture, or the opponent may have active kings of their own. Look for a clear route to the promotion row, then inspect the reply from the resulting board. On this site crowning ends the turn, including a capture chain. A newly crowned piece cannot continue jumping until a later turn.

Black to move. Black has 6 men on 8, 21, 27, 28, 30 and 31; Red has 3 men and a king on 1, 4, 5 and 29 (king on 29). Black has 3 more men and 1 fewer king than Red. Black has a man in Red's half of the board against 0 coming the other way. Black has 8 legal full turns to compare: 0 capture lines and 8 quiet choices.

Solution: 8-3. Black plays 8-3, crowning on 3. After this combination, Black has 5 men and a king and Red has 3 men and a king. The game continues from this position. One continuation from the search is 5-9 27-23 9-13 30-26 1-6 23-19 6-9 21-17 13x22 26x17. Here the task is completed by a single quiet step from 8 to 3. Black gains a king without removing a red piece, while Red already has a king. Compare what the newly crowned piece can reach with what it could do as a man. The displayed follow-up is a continuation to explore, not an extra sequence required to solve the puzzle.

Alternative 28-24: one sample line is 28-24 4x11 24-19. Red's 4x11 removes the man on 8. The board then has 5 men for Black and 3 men and a king for Red. Alternative 30-26: one sample line is 30-26 4x11 28-24. Red's 4x11 removes the man on 8. The board then has 5 men for Black and 3 men and a king for Red. Compare these sample lines with the solution and check other legal replies before judging the resulting position.

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