Alex Moiseyev retained his 3-move World Championship title with a narrow win over Italian challenger Michele Borghetti in a match characterized by sportsmanship, great play, and much excitement. The final score was 7-6 with 27 draws.

Links to full details can be found on the American Checker Federation website (linked in the left-hand column). We are all grateful to John Acker for streaming the entire match live over the internet, providing hours of checker entertainment to many fans around the world.

PxHere CC0

Thanks to the fantastic work of John Acker, the current 3-move World Championship match between defending champion Alex Moiseyev of the United States, and challenger Michele Borghetti of Italy, is being streamed live from Cleveland, Ohio. Click on the ACF link on the left side of the page for further information. This is an event that is absolutely not to be missed!

Our offices are open again and we're returning to business as usual. We're glad to be back!

Our offices are closed until at least mid-summer; we'll be checking email from time to time but may not be able to respond as quickly as usual to your correspondence. Of course, our Saturday morning publication will continue without interruption, so you can count on a fresh new column every weekend, the same as always. Just look below for our latest article.

Our automated system was mis-programmed and published two articles today, including next month's installment of Checker School. It's our readers' lucky day, so enjoy the extra article while your editoral team scrambles to write another for the month of May!

With permission

What would you think about watching some videos to help improve your checker play? Wouldn't it be great to have someone talk you through a game played by the masters, or describe how to win a difficult ending? It'd be the next best thing to having a personal tutor.

We're happy to report that checker video instruction is alive and well on the internet! The YouTube media site contains a substantial and growing collection of instructional material, but one name stands out: Checkercycle, the creator of dozens of video tutorials of unquestionably high quality.

Now, we know who this gentleman is, and with the serious checkers crowd in America being a relatively small fraternity, you might know too. But we note that in his videos, Mr. Checkercycle's face is seldom shown, so we're not telling, even though the info he gave us in an email interview will surely give away this not so well-kept secret. Here's the discussion we had with this extraordinary man of checkers.

CM: You are clearly a knowledgeable player. Do you play tournaments? Have you won any titles or the like?

CC: I played in the NYC 2005 3-move and won 1st place in the minors. I was also in the 2007 Yonkers Open GAYP, taking 2nd place, and in the Jim Morrison Nationals in 2009, taking 3rd place in the majors.

CM: You must have a good checker library. Tell us about it, and how you obtained it--- a difficult thing these days.

CC: My first book was The Wonderful World of Checkers and Draughts by Tom Wiswell, which I got the from the library. I then got Straight Checkers Gold from Al Lyman, which had about eight books in the teaching program. I then started going to Checker Maven and Jim Loy's site, and as I found out more information thanks to these great sites, I started buying books from Amazon and ABE.com. My friends bought me books at the tournaments and I bought them also; we helped build each other's collections. I liked all the Tom Wiswell and William Ryan books. I like the Richard Pask and Robert Pike's books too. It is hard to get books and that is something I would like to change. I am happy that I will be able to buy the Basic Checkers at the National Tournament. The fact that it also supports the youth is such a beautiful thing and I would like to thank you for your hard work.

CM: What got you interested in making tutorial videos?

CC: One day I was showing my friend a game I played on the internet on a small magnetic board and he made a video of it. I thought how nice it would be on a big board, and because books are so hard to get, I could encourage others people to play this fine game. I kept on trying to come up with new ideas as I went along.

CM: How many videos have you made?

CC: So far I've made about 50 videos.

CM: How's the response been--- lots of viewers, feedback, etc.?

CC: At first I got very few comments but the ones I did get were positive. Then I got some more feedback, and I listened to what the players were telling me and asking me to do. I have to give them a lot of credit for their ideas.

CM: What's in store for the future for Checkercycle?

CC: I am looking forward to playing in the National Checker tournament on August 1st in Springfield, Illinois. The people I have met have been great. I had the pleasure of playing a 96 year old gentleman last year and meeting many great people. It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to more tournaments. I'd like to continue doing video and I'd like to improve my game along the way. I always want to help people play checkers and see the beauty of the game. I feel that exercise, checkers or chess and socializing is a good way to stay young and I have that 96 old gentleman who is still playing in tournaments as a fine example. (He did beat me in our contest that day.) He must have some great stories to tell and I hope I get to hear them.

CM: What do you think is in store for the future of the game itself?

CC: The game should continue to grow because of the internet, and the many devoted people from the ACF, and the people who help tell the stories and make the game so enjoyable like the Checker Maven. I know that it not easy with so many different games and with the popularity of chess. However I think checkers and chess are very good games and a lot of fun.

CM: Any advice to the up-and-coming generation of checker players?

CC: The next generation of checker players could really be outstanding, and with the help of computers, videos, checker sites and the support of the checker clubs, we could see the next masters be younger and be equal to the great players of the past. Only time will tell. The tools of learning the art of checkers are being happily shared with the young and not so young players . The beauty of the game, the fun of the game has always been there to enjoy for everyone.

CM: Anything you'd like to add, say, recommend, etc.?

CC: I started playing checkers when I was about 7 years old with my Dad, and we played for hours at a time. When I came out of the Army I continued to play checker games with him. I will always have that memory and will cherish it. The internet came along and gave me the chance again to play the game that I grew up to love.

Checkercyle's home page on YouTube can be found here, and we highly recommend that you go there and take the time to view the material he presents so effectively in his video presentations.

And now let's try a problem, taken from Checkercycle's video on the classic Payne's Draw. The position is shown below.

BLACK

WHITE
Black to Play, White to Draw

B:B13,K14,K15:WK22,K30.

Try it out and click on Read More to see the solution. Then be sure to check out Checkercycle's other great checker lessons. You'll be glad you did and we'll guarantee that you'll learn something.

Mililani Town Center, Mililani, Hawai`i

In an earlier Checker Maven column, we reported on what was then the upcoming unofficial Hawai`i State Checker Tournament, to be held at the Mililani Town Center in Central O`ahu. Today, we're happy to report further that the tournament was a grand success with an excellent organizational effort turned in by tournament director Geoffrey Pang.

The tournament took place on July 24, 2010, in the gazebo area of the Town Center. Nine adults and seven youth players turned out on a warm and sunny Hawaiian summer morning, with just the gentlest of cool breezes to accompany some very hot checker action.

Play took place in two sections, adult and youth; the format was single-knockout, random pairing, with each match played for the best of five games. The finals in each section were best of seven. Director Pang was aided by assistant tournament director Brandon Ho and a number of game referees. A Go-As-You-Please tournament open to all skill levels, the Director told players that the only real requirement was to have a good time and enjoy the games.

Keiki Division Championship Match

Action was fast and furious as with each successive round, the field got smaller, finally narrowing down to just two players in each section. It was time to play for the championship! The Keiki (children's) Section championship round came first. Championship contestants were Kobe and Prescott (in conjunction with our publication of photos, we only give first names for the protection of the children). After a spirited struggle, Kobe won the match, a $50 gift certificate, and the title of Unofficial Hawai`i State Keiki Checker Champion. Prescott won the title of runner-up and a $25 gift certificate.

Kobe is the Keiki Champion

The adult section finals took place between veteran player Harold Afuso and none other than your Checker Maven editor. Play went the full seven games with one win each and five draws. A sudden death phase then took place, and Mr. Afuso won the next game to become Unofficial Hawai`i State Checker Champion. With the title went a $100 gift certificate. Your editor was declared runner-up and received a very nice $50 gift certificate.

Harold Afuso, Unofficial Hawai`i State Checker Champion

And did the players have fun? If the photos in this column don't tell you that clearly enough, you can view our full, unedited set of photos here.

Director Pang describes himself simply as a checker enthusiast who wishes to promote checker play. Clearly, much time and effort went into this tournament, and Mr. Pang feels it was worthwhile. He is already planning next year's tournament, with an eye to working with the American Checker Federation to have the next tournament winner recognized officially as State Champion.

The Checker Maven thanks Mr. Pang for his efforts in promoting the great game of checkers in beautiful Hawai`i. We also want to thank the Town Center of Mililani for their civic-minded support of the tournament. Not only did they provide space and logistical assistance (at no charge), they donated $225 in prize money in the form of gift certificates. Hawaiian checker players certainly owe these folks thanks and patronage in recognition of their spirit of aloha.

Games weren't recorded, but we noted that the 9-14 Double Corner opening was seen frequently (and rather surprisingly). We looked through our library and found a game that was quite similar to one that we recall being played in the tournament. We'll give you the run-up to the diagram below and then ask you to finish the game by finding the winning path.

9-14 23-18 14x23 27x18 12-16 18-14 10x17 21x14 6-9 14-10 7x14 22-18 14x23 26x12 11-15 25-22 8-11 29-25 1-6 24-19 15x24 28x19 6-10 22-18 4-8 25-22 9-13 31-27 2-6 27-23 11-16 30-25 5-9 18-15 10-14 25-21---A

A---22-18 was necessary here for White to draw.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W32,23,22,21,19,15,12:B16,14,13,9,8,6,3.

Now, picture yourself in Hawai`i at the Mililani Town Center gazebo. It's about 11 AM, the temperature is around 84 F, and there is a soft breeze off the mountains. It's your move. You're playing for the state championship and a very nice first prize award. And once you wrap up the game, you know you'll head back to the south shore for a cool drink, a swim in the Pacific, and a relaxing couple of hours on the beach. So let's get on with it!

2nd Round Action in the Adult Division

Cinch the win, then click on Read More to check your solution. And if you couldn't make the tournament this year, plan a Hawaiian vacation for tournament time next year. You won't be disappointed!

Bernard Spragg Wikimedia Commons CC0

Our containers have been offloaded and unpacked, and the relocation of our main Checker Maven office from Santa Fe to Honolulu is at least relatively complete; there's always more to do and we wonder if anything like this is ever really quite finished. It took a little longer than expected, which again is not a big surprise, but we're happy to be here and to have a long and complex move behind us.

As we've said before, our parent company, Mr. Fred Investments, couldn't continue to maintain two locations for a subsidiary that was never intended to make a profit (and surely doesn't!). This has been our second downsizing, but it's been, we hope, without sacrificing content or quality. And now, with the economy beginning to come back at least somewhat, we look forward to a bright future. Thanks for staying with us.

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During the coming week, The Checker Maven is relocating full-time to Honolulu, Hawai`i.

Our Santa Fe offices closed permanently on February 26, 2010. Business will resume in our Honolulu office on March 8 at partial capacity; we expect to be back to full operation before the end of March.

We will of course publish a new column each Saturday morning during the transition, without interruption or delay.

daryl_mitchell CC BY-SA 2.0

We've had a great run in Santa Fe, but it's time to move on and consolidate in the interests of reduced costs and efficiency.

Catch you soon at our Honolulu office.

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Easy-Peasy AI license

This week The Checker Maven marks five years of continuous, uninterrupted, on-time publication. It's a milestone reached by just the smallest fraction of web sites, and we take what we believe is justified pride in our achievement.

Our original business plan called for ten years of publication. We're halfway there, and G-d willing, we'll travel the rest of the distance, and perhaps even continue on past that point. We can't predict the future, so we'll just keep publishing, one week at a time, for as long as fate and fortune allow.

Some very big changes are coming, but hopefully you won't notice them. No, we're not going to change our format (though we've thought about it); we know you like the familiar appearance of our weekly columns and we aren't going to "modernize" our look or create confusion by moving everything around. Neither are we going to abandon our weekly Saturday morning schedule--- you've told us how you look forward to the weekend and your Saturday cup of coffee with The Checker Maven.

But we are going to close our Santa Fe office, and transfer all of our operations to our Honolulu location. This will happen around March 2010. Like so many companies in America these days, our corporate parent, Mr. Fred Investments, is "reducing its footprint" as they say, and the bottom line is that we can no longer maintain two office locations for an operation that produces only very limited indirect revenue.

We're grateful to you, our reader, for staying with us for so long. The Checker Maven would be pointless if no one ever visited our pages. But you do visit, several thousand of you each and every week, and that keeps us going. Thank you to every one of you for five great years, and here's to the next five!

And now, as a special fifth anniversary feature, we present a new work of checker fiction, a 3,000 word short story entitled "Once Again to Knighton." We hope you enjoy it.