1. Nevada: d) Wyoming. Utah and the Great Salt Lake separate the two states. In 1960, Nevada and Wyoming ranked next to each other in population (49th and 48th), but since then, Nevada has risen to 35th while Wyoming has dropped to last.
2. Vermont: a) Maine. Here's how you can remember whether Vermont or New Hampshire is the one on the left: VermoNt (since "New Hampshire" has no 'V' in it, the trick doesn't work the other way around).
3. Colorado: a) Arizona. Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah are the Four Corners States, but Arizona and Colorado only meet at a corner (ditto for New Mexico and Utah).
4. Michigan: a) Illinois. Lake Michigan separates the two states. Michigan also borders the province of Ontario.
5. Nebraska: b) Minnesota. Nebraska's other northern neighbor is South Dakota, which, along with Iowa, separates the the Cornhuskers from the Gophers.
6. Alabama: c) Louisiana. Mississippi and some water separate the two states, which have mirror-image postal abbreviations (AL and LA). *Bonus trivia question: what's the only other mirrored pair of states?
7. Montana: c) Washington. Idaho separates the two and is Montana's only other U.S. neighbor. The Big Sky State also borders British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
8. Maryland: b) New Jersey. As tiny as Delaware is, it keeps New Jersey and Maryland apart. Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are also the four states whose borders are defined by the Mason-Dixon line.
9. Tennessee: d) West Virginia. Tennessee and its northern neighbor Kentucky each touch eight other states, with Missouri and Virginia being adjacent to both.
10. Minnesota: b) Michigan. Lake Superior and Wisconsin are between Michigan and Minnesota.
11. Texas: b) Kansas. Oklahoma separates the two states, but not by much. The Sooner state's panhandle is only 34 miles from north to south and could have been part of Texas if the state had not rejected it in 1845 because slavery was illegal there.
12. Ohio: c) New York. The northwest corner of Pennsylvania keeps the two states apart. Lake Erie washes up on the shores of all three states (as well as on Michigan).

* Bonus trivia answer: Minnesota (MN) and New Mexico (NM).

Please allow me to segue from checkmates to trek mates. In each of the following questions you be given a state and will need to find the state that you can NOT walk across a land border to (touching corners and water boundaries don't count in this quiz).

U.S. State Mates Questions

1. Nevada:

   a) Arizona
   b) Idaho
   c) Oregon
   d) Wyoming

2. Vermont:

   a) Maine
   b) Massachusetts
   c) New Hampshire
   d) New York

3. Colorado:

   a) Arizona
   b) New Mexico
   c) Oklahoma
   d) Utah

4. Michigan:

   a) Illinois
   b) Indiana
   c) Ohio
   d) Wisconsin

5. Nebraska:

   a) Iowa
   b) Minnesota
   c) Missouri
   d) Wyoming

6. Alabama:

   a) Florida
   b) Georgia
   c) Louisiana
   d) Mississippi

7. Montana:

   a) North Dakota
   b) South Dakota
   c) Washington
   d) Wyoming

8. Maryland:

   a) Delaware
   b) New Jersey
   c) Pennsylvania
   d) West Virginia

9. Tennessee:

   a) Arkansas
   b) Missouri
   c) North Carolina
   d) West Virginia

10. Minnesota:

    a) Iowa
    b) Michigan
    c) South Dakota
    d) Wisconsin

11. Texas:

    a) Arkansas
    b) Kansas
    c) Louisiana
    d) New Mexico

12. Ohio:

    a) Indiana
    b) Kentucky
    c) New York
    d) West Virginia

Can you figure out this week's secret answer for four points (one point for each category answer)?

Category Questions:

Math & Science	What does a person suffering from algophobia fear?
Entertainment & Food	Who directed The Producers, Twelve Chairs, High Anxiety, and Life Stinks?
Literature & Arts	What author's book The Body was the basis for the 1986 movie Stand By Me?
Sports & Games	Which Major League Baseball team's mascot is the Phanatic?
Geography & Nature	What country is the largest in Africa and has Khartoum as its capital?
History & Government	What Greek aristocrat drew up the first written laws in 621 B.C.?

Category Answers:

History & Government	ALIEN	In 1798, U.S. President John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien Act gave him the power to extradite any alien he considered dangerous.
Entertainment & Food	TONTO	Jay Silverheels played him on the television show from 1949 to 1957.
Math & Science	RUST	The scientific name is ferric oxide.
Sports & Games	AXEL	No other jump takes off from a forward edge.
Geography & Nature	JAKARTA	The harbor city had just under nine million people by 2004 estimates.
Literature & Arts	MARLOW	The captain's character gains complexity with each novel.

Quiz Quilt Answer: WALTON (Last letters going up)

Ben was the other son on "The Waltons" television show. The three daughters were Mary Ellen, Erin, and Elizabeth.

c) Wrestling

They are leg holds.