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"The Grand Old Game"

STRAIGHT CHECKERS
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• • 174 3-Move Deck
• The Great-Willie Ryan

WHAT IS HARDER-CHESS OR CHECKERS Neither is harder. They are both-difficult-elegant games. There are more possible positions in Chess than in Checkers.
It has been written that a network (how many is that?) of "Super Computers" could solve Checkers in 2 weeks! I suppose that is to imply that chess would take at least a month or two.
Dr. Marion F. Tinsley, the greatest checker player, ever-said it this way: "Chess is like looking across an ocean. Checkers is like looking down a well." In neither case can a solution be seen, in most cases.
Dr. Tinsley was on the Ohio State Chess Team, as a young man, but choose Checkers as the game he could most likely become a Grandmaster at. Irving Chernev, Chess Grandmaster, had an opposite opinion. In 1982 he wrote a book about his 1st love-Checkers. ("Complete Encyclopedia of Checkers") In it, he stated he did not think he could accomplish the Grandmaster status, with Checkers, like he thought he could with Chess.
In watching the "Deep Blue-Gary Kasparov" Chess match, the commentators made mention of the game of Checkers being "mastered" by the "Chinook" computer.
Not so.
Checker Grandmaster Don Lafferty had this to say about that comment.

" They must have a pipeline to heaven. The only ones who have mastered this game, reside there."

The "debate", which is harder, Chess or Checkers, will always continue. When facing an opponent across the board, you have to play what you can see, not what is in a library or database. Said the chess player: "We play chess, we can't analyse it." Said the checker player: "We analyse Checkers, we can't play it."

Checkers is one of the oldest of board games, with Chess and Backgammon, later forms. "Draughts" (pronounced "Drafts") was the original name, and still is in much of the world, the name "Checkers" applying mainly to the U.S. and the "English Version." Checkers is played on an 8x8 board, as is Chess.

Various ways to begin the game (Openings) have names-some simply because of their popularity, and others because of the difficulty in playing them!

Some are:

*THE ALMA *THE ARYSHIRE LASSIE *THE CROSS *THE OLD 14TH *THE BRISTOL THE BRISTOL CROSS *THE DOUBLE CROSS *THE GLASGOW
THE NEMESIS THE OCTOPUS *THE PIONEER *THE PAISLEY BUST *THE EDINBURGH SINGLE *THE SINGLE CORNER
*THE SKULLCRACKER *THE WHITE DOCTOR THE WHILTER *GEMIMI *GEMIMI II *THE INFERNO *THE BLACK WIDOW
THE WILDERNESS

RON KING WINS 2001 GAYP NATIONAL TOURNAMENT IN LAS VEGAS.
Report furnished by Mac Banks.

The Las Vegas ty was a great success, and enjoyed by all. Tim Laverty, who was the referee said he was sending you a complete report when he got back.
We had 100 players in the tourney! 47 in the minors, 32 in the majors and 21 in the masters.
Ron King won the Masters with 28 points with Alex. Moiseyev second on honor points with 24 so he gets the chance to challenge Ron for the go-as-you-please title again. Jack Francis finished third and also had 24 match points.
In the majors, Steve Jones came in first with Joe Swartz second.
In the minors, Richard Callahan came in first. The minors was as strong or stronger than the majors as all the young kids who play on the Internet played in the minors. Michael Heckert for example came in with 22 points. The youngest player there was only 11 and John Post who was only 14 had 16 points! Several of the 17 and 18 year old players had 20 to 22 points and the winner Richard had only 26. Both Dennis and I played in the minors and we both had 22 points.
I had to play off brand stuff such as the white doctor to get off go-as-you please as the kids would have won as they knew every move. Also we had a few women to play. One of the women came as far as Australia to play.
After the ty. Alex. challenged Ron King for the 3 move title and that challenge will take place starting on 10 Dec. 2001 and it looks as if Charles Walker will host that ty. at his place. Ron and Alex. have agreed to play the 155 deck. There are 144 openings as you know approved for mail play and 11 barred openings but in this ty. all could be drawn!! Also, when the U. S. team goes to England in the fall, George Miller will see if he can get the 155 deck approved for his association and if he does then Les says the U. S. will follow their lead. George Miller was there and played in the Masters and he had 20 points. Lowder told Les Balderson that he would not be going to England and Alex. may not go. It just depends if his boss will allow him to be out of work that long as he will need two weeks off in December for his challenge.
By the way, I played John Post and I went 1216, he went 2420 and then I went 1015 so I was playing the weak side of the Skunk and I won with the weak side. He took the correct 2218 swap and then I took the 8-12 defense and then he went with the strong 2724 and I went 3-8 and he went 2419 and I swapped 9-14 and later on I beat him. Also, I took the white doctor against him and beat him. Additionally, I took the man down loss in the cross to beat him. In case you don't know this line: 1115, 2318 8-11, 2723, 1216!! 2419.1524, 2812, 1014, 2217, 7-10, 2522, 4-8, 1713, 1116, 2217, 8-11, 3228, 1620 etc. This line is no good by mail as it is a publish loss but it is very good across board as several master players in the past have lost with the checker advantage much like the loss in the white doctor. The kids were great if you stayed on publish play but didn't know the 3 movers. Well, once again sorry for not being able to send you a report earlier but hope this makes up for it.
Your friend, Mac Banks

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12/5/2001-

12-02-2001. The Unites States defeated the British Team in the recently concluded-"7th Int'l Match. The U.S team traveled to England to play these games. The match was played from Oct-8 thru 12, 2001. The score was an impressive 62 wins, 24 defeats and 114 draws, for the U.S.
The history of these matches began in 1905, when the 1st Int'l match was played and the Brits trounced the U.S mightily. The U.S has won all matches, since 1905.
A more complete report and individual scores can be seen on the Irish Draughts site-URL given above, then go the news section.

How many positions are possible in Checkers?
500, 995, 484, 682, 338, 672, 639.Translated it is:500 quintillion, 995 quadrillion, 484 trillion, 682 billion, 338 million, 672 thousand, 639..... Source-the pages of Ed Trice

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