In 1989, the Chinook project began with the goal of building a computer program capable of winning the human prescription medicine World Checkers Championship. The reigning human champion was almost perfect, having rarely lost a game in over forty years. To do better required the computer to be perfect. In effect, one had to solve checkers. Little did we know that our quest would take 18 years to complete. What started out as a research project quickly became a personal quest and an emotional roller coaster. This talk, by the creator of Chinook, is about the interplay between people and technology, the story of man versus machine for supremacy at checkers. To appreciate this story, no detailed knowledge of computer science or checkers is needed.