Checkers Puzzle for 24 October 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 5 men on 5, 19, 21, 27 and 30; Red has 3 men on 10, 11 and 20. Black has 2 more men than Red. Both sides have a man across the middle. Black has 8 legal full turns to compare: 0 capture lines and 8 quiet choices. A capture chain is one turn, even when the piece changes direction. Look at its final landing square before committing to the first jump.

Solution: 5-1. Black plays 5-1, crowning on 1. After this combination, Black has 4 men and a king and Red has 3 men. The game continues from this position. One continuation from the search is 10-14 1-5 14-18 5x23 11-16 19x12 20-24 27x20.

Alternative 27-23: one sample line is 27-23 20-24 19x28. Black's 19x28 removes the man on 24. The board then has 5 men for Black and 2 men for Red. Alternative 19-15: one sample line is 19-15 11x18 5-1. Red's 11x18 removes the man on 15. Black crowns on 1. The board then has 3 men and a king for Black and 3 men for Red. Compare these sample lines with the solution and check other legal replies before judging the resulting position.

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