Una senora llamada Irma Sierra vive en la ciudad de Guadalajara, y ella es la reina de damas en Mexico.

Or, to paraphrase, a lady named Irma Sierra (full name Irma Alicia Sierra Noriega) lives in the city of Guadalajara, and she is the veritable queen of checkers in the warm and charming country of Mexico.

Irma granted The Checker Maven an exclusive interview, and we're most pleased to share with you a little about one of the most colorful women in checkers. This column is the first in a projected series that we're calling Contemporary Women in Checkers. We hope you enjoy it, and we hope that in some small way we can help to encourage more women to take up the great game of checkers.

Irma's native language, of course, is Spanish, but she is completely fluent in English and we present her comments here virtually unedited. Brava, Irma, you are a linguist as well as a checkerist! Irma is also a wife, mother, and grandmother, and she balances these traditional roles with a busy travel schedule which includes checker tournaments whenever possible.

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Checker Maven: How did you get interested in playing checkers?

Irma: When I was 48, I started to use the computer for the first time, and a friend and I were playing checkers in Messenger, and we saw an advertisment: MSN Games by Zone. I went there and started to play checkers for the first time in my life. I kept playing because I fell in love with checkers...

Checker Maven: When did you learn the game?

Irma: There was a guy with the nickname Chumpchange in the social room of Zone, a very nice person, and he became my friend and taught me some moves.

Checker Maven: What lead you to becoming a serious checker player?

Irma: Well, when I started to beat some "guests" (those were the serious players in the social room in Zone) i decided to go to Kings Room where the serious players were. I had to beg to get a game, and there it was where I met my friends that invited me to participate in a tournament in Lebanon Tennessee, and I dared to go! Vonda Jones ("Bugs") and Ken Christan ("Redeyechecker") went to pick me up at the airport, and I had to remember how they looked just from the pictures I had seen on the NCCheckers site, they never saw me passing through until I saw them. It was very nice and fun!

Checker Maven: How is Mexico as a checker playing country --- are there many players and are there many good players?

Irma: Here in Mexico I didn't know anybody who played checkers, only my friend and I, but on the internet there are a few others and some are very good checker players, like Gilberto Cisneros. He went to the Nationals in Las Vegas in 2008, and there are I am sure others that I do not know. But you have to understand that in Mexico it is usual to play Spanish checkers, and not American checkers.

Checker Maven: Do many women play checkers in Mexico? What do Mexicans generally think about women checker players?

Irma: I don't know if many women play checkers in Mexico, but the culture here is different, not many get on the computer to play games, but I know one who is very good from Mexico City; she plays in Kurnik. And about what they think ... ha ha ha ... only my friends know there is a Mexican woman that plays checkers: ME! And they are impressed when they hear that I go to play checkers in US tournaments, but they think I am nuts! (The macho thing ... )

Checker Maven: Do you have any goals in checkers? How will you reach them?

Irma: My goal is to keep learning to play better. And I will get that playing in GoldToken, my super favorite place, and in Kurnik, with my friends that are always willing to teach me. Thank you all! And also going to tournaments to have lots and lots of fun!

Checker Maven: How would you encourage more women to play checkers? What should change in the world of checkers for more women to become serious players?

Irma: Well, there are very few women checkers players in the world, I think because traditionally it was a men's game and they never tried to play it, but they should!! Checkers is a beautiful game, and maybe it has something to do with patience to learn; it is not easy to be losing and losing, you know? And I would add the fact that some men don't take us as serious players ... the macho thing again?

Checker Maven: Do you enjoy tournament play?

Irma: I love to play live tournaments not just for the game, but also to meet all my checkers friends from GoldToken and Kurnik... I love them all!

Checker Maven: What are one or two of your most memorable moments in checkers?

Irma: Oh yes, when I beat Jan Bulstra in Ohio, he kept saying: oh Irma, oh Irma ... ha ha ha .... I loved it! Besides that, I have drawn at least one time to many Majors players, like John Acker, Teal Stanley, Ken Christian, Howard Gain, Leonard Hickman, Hollis McClard, Bill Shoffner and Howard Hoover...:and maybe I forgot some others? Another nice moment that I enjoyed a lot is drawing against Lindus Edwards in GoldToken.

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To conclude, we'd like to present two games played by Irma. The first is a live tournament game, and the second, which we've turned into a problem for you, the reader, to solve, was played on the GoldToken internet game site. Annotations are derived from analysis with the KingsRow computer engine. Both games illustrate Irma's well-honed ability to instantly capitalize on an opponent's error.

Black: Jan Bulstra
White: Irma Sierra

1.	9-13	24-19
2.	11-16	22-18
3.	10-15

In this unbalanced 3-move ballot favoring White, 8-11 is the only move to draw at this point. The move played is a probable loss, and Irma takes full advantage.

3.	...	19x10
4.	6x22	25x18
5.	1-6	28-24
6.	16-20	29-25
7.	8-11	24-19
8.	11-16

6-9 or 7-10 could have been played here, but the position is pretty much lost for Black.

8.	...	18-14
9.	4-8

Going further astray. 6-9 was a better option in a bad situation.

9.

...

25-22

Irma continues to play very accurately.

10.	7-10	14x7
11.	3x10	22-18
12.	6-9	18-14
13.	10x17	21x14
14.	9x18	23x14
15.	16x23	27x18

White has a commanding position in the center. It's only a matter of time.

16.

13-17

Off the mark. 2-6 would be a better choice.

16.

...

26-23

26-22 would have forced a quicker finish after 17-26 30-23 and Black soon runs out of moves.

17	. 2-6	18-15
18.	17-22	23-19
19.	6-9	14-10
20.	9-13

This is the end of the recorded game; Black resigned a few moves later. The game might have continued as shown.

20.	...	32-27
21.	5-9	27-24
22.	20x27	31x24
23.	9-14	24-20
24.	14-18	20-16
25.	18-23	16-11

White Wins.

Black: Irma Sierra
White: "Kokomo" a.k.a. Bill Shoffner

1.	11-15	22-18
2.	15x22	25x18

White opts for the Single Corner.

3.

10-15

8-11 or 12-16 are more common lines but this move can also be played.

3.	...	18x11
4.	8x15	29-25
5.	4-8	25-22
6.	8-11	24-19

23-18 is common here, though the text move is quite good.

7.	15x24	28x19
8.	9-14	22-18

The computer suggests 27-24 or even 30-25, but White's move is fine.

9.	6-10	18x9
10.	5x14

The game is being played very accurately by both sides.

10.	...	26-22
11.	11-16

One could argue that 11-15 is slightly more accurate, playing into the center.

11.	...	22-18
12.	1-5

This returns to a computer book position!

12.	...	18x9
13.	5x14	31-26?

We're asking to solve two problems here. First, correct White's 31-26. What should Kokomo have played instead? Second, find the winning line of play for Black after White's 31-26. How can Irma win the game?

When you have your answers, click on Read More to see the solutions as well as the actual conclusion of the game.

[Read More]

The following announcement is reproduced with the kind permission of the American Checker Federation. As always, this promises to be an exciting match with checkers played at the highest grandmaster level.

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The World 3-Move Title Match between Alex Moiseyev (USA, champion) and Ron King (Barbados, challenger) will be played Oct. 5-15, 2009 in Medina, Ohio, with Oct. 10th as a rest day. Match is 40 games (as needed). Referee is Steve Holliday.

The Rodeway Inn Medina Conference Center, Medina, Ohio, is located on 2875 Medina Road on the Northeast corner of I-71 interchange with state highway 18 (exit 218, just south of where I-71 and I-271 merge). Hotel is a quarter-mile from interchange. Room rates are $49.95 (single or double) per night plus tax. Seven-day rates (no pro-rating) are available for $149.95 plus tax (approx. $169). Phone number for Rodeway Inn is 330-725-4571. Please indicate you are there for the checker match to receive the discount.

For additional info, contact:

Richard Beckwith

(440) 516-1284

e-mail: beckwith24@msn.com

A major checker documentary is in the works. No, we are not kidding! It will be called King Me and you can read all about it on the King Me web site.

Professionally produced by Think Media Studios, the movie is being filmed on location in South Africa, Barbados, Canada, and the U.S. Crews will be at the 2009 U.S. Nationals in August.

No checker fan will want to miss this one. Be sure to follow the film's progress on the website linked above, or on the American Checker Federation site.

We've had a few inquiries about our new, downsized and down-costed Santa Fe location, so to better illustrate, we've shown above a (rather poor) webcam photo of your editor's desk. The offices are not much different from those at the old location; they're just smaller and the building itself is somewhat older, and certainly in a part of town substantially further down the prestige ladder. What a difference a half a mile can make!

The larger question, of course, is as yet unanswered: in this economic downturn, how long can we keep offices in both Santa Fe and Honolulu? While we don't yet have a timetable, it seems likely that one or the other will close in the next year or so. Time, fortune, and the wishes of our parent company, Mr. Fred Investments, will ultimately tell the tale.

The current state of the economy affects everyone, and The Checker Maven is no exception.

We don't spoil your reading experience by publishing advertising; we will never, ever charge a subscription fee; and we neither solicit nor accept donations. Everything is paid for internally, and it's no surprise that with the economy as it is, our available funds are down substantially.

So, as a cost-saving measure, we made the decision to move our Santa Fe offices half a mile or so to smaller quarters in a less expensive area. Our staff count will remain the same, and most importantly, regular Saturday publication of The Checker Maven will continue without interruption or reduction in quality or quantity of content.

This week the Checker Maven completes four years of on-time regular weekly publication, with not a single missed edition. It's yet another waypoint we never knew we'd reach, but it's a certainty that our unprecedented success is owed completely to our thousands of regular weekly readers.

While no one can say what the future will bring, it's our intention to keep on publishing for as long as we're able, and, if all goes as planned, you'll find a new edition of the Checker Maven online for your checker pleasure every Saturday morning for many years to come. Thank you one and all for your support and encouragement.

And now, in celebration, we present below a new short story starring a new character: Benny, of Newark, New Jersey, way back in the 1940s. We hope you enjoy today's checker tale.

The Checker Maven notes with great sadness the passing of legendary checkerist Richard L. Fortman, on November 8, 2008, in Springfield, Illinois, at the age of 93. Though we never met Mr. Fortman in person, we exchanged emails with him at times, and he honored us a few years back by permitting us to publish his latest Switcher analysis in our columns.

Mr. Fortman might well have been the last of the great men of the heyday of checkers. As those days have passed, so too have its champions. Mr. Fortman was a master player, analyst, and writer; but above all he was a gentleman and the best of ambassadors for our game. A man such as Mr. Fortman cannot be replaced. A page has been turned in the history book of checkers, never to be turned back again.

The world of Marvin J. Mavin is featured often in the columns of The Checker Maven, and today, in this extra edition, we're providing you with all the details. How did it happen that (at least in Marvin's world) checkers became America's number one sport, eclipsing baseball and football by large margins?

At long last, you can read the full background story. Click on the link to find out about Marvin's World.

In order to serve you better, we've upgraded the software (Nucleus CMS) that we use to run our site. After a few moments of bug-fixing panic, everything now looks fine from our end, but if you experience any problems please help out by letting us know. You can reach us at webmaster@checkermaven.com.

By the way, we can't help but take this opportunity to editorialize a bit. The Checker Maven relies greatly upon free, open-source software (often abbreviated as FOSS) such as Nucleus CMS. We hope you'll join us in supporting the FOSS movement.

Our site hosting performance has gone down low, and The Checker Maven has become too slow!

For the last little while, you've probably noticed that it can take a while to surf over to The Checker Maven. This is an issue with what is properly known as page loading time, and there have been some real problems. It's cost us a lot of readers as, after waiting for a while, they decide to go elsewhere or think our site is out of service.

We've tried working with our hosting company, but frankly, they've not been helpful. We think, though, that we've worked out the nature of the problem, and have put a fix in place. We'll know over the next few days if the fix has corrected the situation.

Meanwhile, we apologize if you're having problems with our site and thank you for your patience.