The Vidor World Checkers Festival is coming up in a matter of days, and we kid you not, it is probably the biggest checker event in the history of the game. Just have a look below at what's on tap.

Thanks to the efforts of Watson Franks and his colleagues, supported by the city of Vidor, Texas, this will be an event that will go down in history. And look who's playing!

That's right, a first ever match between Team USA and Team South Africa, with some of the biggest names in checkers taking part!

It's not too late to plan a trip to Vidor, which can be reached from nearby Beaumont Airport in a matter of minutes. But if you can't be there in person, many of the events will be live-streamed.

The checker community owes a huge thank-you to Watson, his team, and the City of Vidor. Here's a shout-out from The Checker Maven for your efforts to revive and grow the great game of checkers!

In today's column, we present English draughtsman Ken Lovell, a high level player who has done much to promote draughts (checkers) in the UK. Ken has offered our readers a unique book of his, Draughts Books of the 20th Century, an 86 page compilation, with commentary, of listings of a very large number of books published during the subject time period. Get your free copy here.

Ken was gracious enough to answer our interview questions.

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You have had a long and very distinguished career in playing and promoting draughts. How did you get interested in draughts?

My first serious interest began when as a teenager I found a copy of Derek Oldbury's Move Over in a local library.

Are there any player(s) whom you consider to be a particular inspiration, or mentor?

My dad taught me how to play when I was very young and we had many enjoyable games.

What are a couple of moments in your career that are particularly memorable or noteworthy for you?

Although I've never won any national tournaments I did manage to win the English Amateur Championship in 1985 and the English Matchplay Championship in 2018.

Tell us a little about Ken Lovell the person, of which Ken Lovell the draughts player is a part.

I belong to the Black Country, a small area in England which was at the heart of the industrial revolution.

My working life consisted of a brief period at a grammar school as a chemistry teacher, followed by 26 years as a colour technologist in the plastics industry, from which I was able to take early retirement in 1996.

I'm single but have a lady friend.

Apart from varieties of draughts (Anglo-American, International 10x10 and Canadian) my interests include studying French and Latin, secularism, book-collecting, steam railways, photography, local history and Scrabble.

There are skeptics who think draughts is on an irreversible decline. What would you say to them and what do you see for the future of the Anglo-American style of draughts?

Sadly l would have to agree with them as far as Great Britain is concerned. We are managing to hold national tournaments with generous prizes, but the EDA (English Draughts Association) is struggling and the club scene is virtually dead. In contrast, our game is thriving in other parts of Europe and on other continents--- we can only hope that at some time in the future there will be a revival over here.

Anything else you'd like to add?

I was able to visit the USA in 1983 as a guest of Charles Walker at the International Checker Hall of Fame in PetaI, Mississippi. I was a spectator at the 4th US vs GB and Ireland International match, and was fortunate enough to meet Marion Tinsley and other top players.

I played in the British Open Championship in 1984, when there was an entry of 66, all playing in one section! Eventually the great Asa Long (reigning US Champion) made his way to the top of the pile and won the event. Although I didn't play him I was at his meal table every evening and had the great privilege of pouring his tea--- my claim to fame.

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Ken is modest and a bit laconic, so we sought further commentary from the English Grandmaster Richard Pask. Below are Mr. Pask's reflections on Ken's career.

"He was introduced to the game by his father who, although not aware of the competitive game, was very keen on draughts. The first
tournament Ken attended, as a spectator, was the 1963 English Open Championship, which was held in Scarborough and won by Derek Oldbury. (Ken took the photograph of Derek, wearing dark glasses and smoking, which appeared in the Online Checkers Museum under the photos section. Speaking of which, Ken has always been keen on photography.)

"Ken has played at a solid, expert level for many years and taken part in many national tournaments, in addition to innumerable events in the West Midlands. Like me, Ken was very impressed with Derek Oldbury's excellent treatment of the Pioneer System given in his The Square World magazine and has managed to arrive at 'Diagram C' on hundreds of occasions in his draughts career. 'Boring' this position may be, as per Oldbury, but Ken has registered many wins, losses and draws from it!

"Without doubt, however, Ken is best known for his huge draughts library. It is without doubt the largest of its kind in the UK and Ireland, and surely ranks among the world's top 3 or 4."

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We asked Ken for a favorite checker problem, and he did send along a very nice one. This problem appeared in ECB (Elam's Checker Board) Vol 21 No 1, Page 6970, Jan 1967.

Our thanks to Ken for the book, the interview and the problem. You can click on Read More to see the solution.

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We're upgrading software versions on our site. While we're doing the best we can to keep everything stable and working, if you notice anything out of line please let us know. Thanks for your patience!

We did a minor software update to the site today, 2023-04-13. Please let us know if you find anything that isn't working correctly.

Today The Checker Maven has a special feature highlighting the work of Pakistan's tireless checkers and draughts promoter, Iqbal Salarzai. Most active on-line players know about Mr. Salarzai through the English Draughts group on Facebook, where he organizes weekly tournaments which run on the PlayOk site. These tournaments are recognized and sanctioned by the World Checkers Draughts Federation, who have named Mr. Salarzai their first Draughts Ambassador.

Mr. Salarzai graciously answered a series of interview questions in which he describes his interest in checkers, his promotional efforts, the checkers scene in Pakistan, and his vision and hopes for the future.

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Checker Maven Interview with Iqbal Salarzai

Q. Tell us a little about yourself.

I am Iqbal Ahmed Salarzai, Founder and President of the Pakistan Checkers Draughts Association (PCDA). I am the world's first WCDF Draughts Ambassador.

I promote both 64 and 100 square draughts. I am the Honorary Principal of the First Experimental Primary (Draughts) School in China.

I am Pakistan's first international draughts player and the world's top online checkers and draughts tournament organizer.

So far I have organized many draughts tournaments and draughts training programs in different cities and villages of Pakistan in which a large number of children have participated. Apart from this I have to date conducted seven National Draughts Championships in which men, women and children participated in large numbers. I have also run a checkers training program in which children in primary schools in China were trained in checkers.

Q. Tell us about your interest in Anglo-American style checkers.

The game of draughts originated in the Indian subcontinent during British rule. Our elders used to play this game very fondly. During my childhood, checkers was a very popular indoor game played with passion by children, men and women alike. I also have loved the game of checkers since childhood.

Q. Tell us something about your many on-line tournaments. What led you to begin them? How successful have they been? Where do you see them going in the future?

In 2020, people were confined to their homes due to Covid-19 all over the world and offline tournaments were being canceled. That's when I felt the need to organize online tournaments.

Also, I think it's very important to organize online players and organize tournaments for online players because there are many players around the world who don't have the money to play tournaments. They cannot travel to other countries to play and many face difficulties in getting visas. Today, in our online tournaments, big players and new players from Africa, Asia, America and Europe play together without spending money and without traveling. Our Salarzai international online tournaments include the world's most famous players, such as Alexander Moiseyev, Sergio Scarpetta, Richard Beckwith, William Docherty, Donald Oliphant, Kent Layne, Filip Kareta, Alona Maksymova and other great players. Given the immense popularity of online tournaments, WCDF has established an online section in its event calendar and thus FMJD has a separate online section.

I organized the world's first Dr. Richard Beckwith Online Checkers World Cup 2021 to popularize online draughts and similarly organized the second Richard Beckwith Online Checkers World Cup in 2022. I have conducted more than 160 online checkers draughts tournaments so far. I believe that if online draughts are seriously worked on continuously, it will increase the number of players around the world and checkers will flourish all over the world. When online draughts players join offline tournaments, they will make offline tournaments stronger and more interesting, thus we will get new players.

WCDF awarded me the title of Draughts Ambassador in 2022 in view of my tireless work for checkers all over the world for which I am grateful to WCDF. I will always work for the development and promotion of checkers and draughts worldwide with the support and encouragement of WCDF, ADC and FMJD. I have done all this despite financial difficulties. If I have the financial resources, I believe with my enthusiasm and sincerity that I can make checkers more popular and developed worldwide in a very short period of time. There is still a lot to do in checkers.

Q. There is an active checkers scene in your country, Pakistan. Can you tell us about that?

Yes, checkers was a very popular game in our country until the 1980s, then gradually it declined, especially among children and women. The game of checkers almost became extinct. Seeing this I decided to re-popularize and organize this sport especially among children and women. Today again, due to our training programs and tournaments, the game of checkers is being played with renewed enthusiasm across the country and gaining popularity among the new generations.

Q. Tell us about Pakistan's top players. Do they have world championship ambitions?

Yes, there are very high quality checkers players in Pakistan who can not only play in, but also win any international tournament. The names of some of these players are Azhar Javed, Aqeel Ahmad, Muhammad Rafiq Baloch, Imam Bakhsh Khaskheli, Muhammad Shafiq and Salahuddin. Apart from this, there are many such players in Pakistan. But all these players belong to the middle class and have not been able to participate in any international tournament yet due to lack of financial resources. Some players plan to go to the GAYP WQT in Turkey in 2023 and are trying to get resources so they can participate in this tournament.

Q. Does your country sponsor national and international tournaments?

We have not received any financial support from the Government of Pakistan so far. All the national tournaments held in Pakistan have been made possible by my personal expenses and the support of checkers loving friends.

Q. Anything you'd like to add?

When I was young, I loved the game of draughts. I wanted to make a name for my country as a player but I saw that there was a dire need to organize the game in Pakistan according to international standards. Therefore, instead of playing, I worked to gather the players of the entire country in one place, and gave his players a strong platform in the form of thePakistan Checkers Draughts Association. I participated in the Thailand Open Draughts Tournament and Asian Draughts Tournament and saw international quality tournaments organized and learned from there to organize high quality tournaments in Pakistan. I am very grateful to Andrew Tjon A Ong (Thailand Open tournament organizer) and the President of the Asian Draughts Confederation, Baterdene Chimeddorj, for their cooperation in this regard.

In my journey to success, WCDF President Dr. Richard Beckwith has given a lot of support and sincerity. If Dr. Richard Beckwith had not been with me, I would not have been able to promote Checkers. Apart from this, Alexander Moiseyev and many Pakistani and foreign friends have always encouraged me, for which I am grateful to all of them. I wish to establish a Draughts Academy in Pakistan to train men, women and children. I am working tirelessly to establish the academy. I will definitely succeed in my intentions one day.

On my behalf and on behalf of Pakistan Checkers, I am extremely grateful to Bob Newell, (Editor-in-Chief, Checker Maven Webzine) for interviewing me for the world's greatest checkers website. For Pakistan Checkers this is an honor. It will be very helpful in promoting checkers in Pakistan and the world.

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We asked Mr. Salarzai for his favorite checker problem and he chose the following. We've seen it before but it is worth repeating. It's by L.J. Vair, who in his day as a resident of Denver was known as the "Kolorado Kowboy."

And, in order to have something new, here's another by L.J. Vair which we believe we've not previously printed in our columns.

We hope you enjoyed today's special spotlight on checkers in Pakistan and the work of Mr. Salarzai. Solutions to the problems above can be seen as always by clicking on Read More.

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The Checker Maven and Bob Newell websites have just undergone major internal updates to ensure the long-term viability of our sites.

There will undoubtedly be some glitches and problems. Please let us know if you come across anything that doesn't work or look right.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

The American Checker Federation (ACF) is having its most important election in decades, as its long-time president, Alan Millhone, has decided to retire from the post. Mr. Millhone has been a major figure in the Anglo-American version of the game, both in America and abroad, but now a successor will be elected.

The candidates are Kim Willis and Victor Habgood. The Checker Maven sent both candidates interview questions, and they are presented here in the order received.

If you are an ACF member, be sure to vote. If you're not a member, consider joining to promote organized checkers in the United States and beyond.

Tell us something about yourself.

41 years old, grew up in Oklahoma. Now I live in Brazil, IN. Started playing checkers competitively at 15 and began tournaments at 16. I am a retired Naval Officer that served over 7 deployments and was promoted 8 times in my career. I have two kids (14 and 12). I love church and being a part of a community that is making a difference in people's lives every day.

Tell us about your interest in checkers.

I love playing competitively online and in tournaments. I have been working on artificial intelligence approaches to the game for about 6 years now. I haven't had anything huge come from it yet, but I have some really cool ideas.

What qualifies you to be ACF President?

Leadership from the military and from being a business owner. I also am one of those that has been somewhat pushed to the side, as many
other members feel.

What's your vision for the future of the ACF?

I think it is bright! There are still lots of people within the ACF that are motivated to make a difference. These efforts are just lacking in direction and coordination. I think we need to master the online world. Everything from marketing, videos, website, tournaments, and more. We have to build a solid foundation of people who are going to move the needle. We need to organize them and then take that to make concrete action plans. Also, we need to be transparent to our members and potential members about what we are doing and why. We want to attract as many as possible.

Anything you wish to add?

I don't have anything personal against Alan or Kim. I think Alan did the best he could and that wasn't always easy. I would rather focus on the future and making checkers fun again! Imagine jumping online over a weekend and playing in digital tournaments with real money (fairly regulated) with hundreds of players from all over. Those types of things are really possible and will happen if I am lucky enough to be elected. I feel that I represent a large variety of people and represent our best chance at taking the ACF to the highest levels possible. I pray for everyone that this game brings peace and joy that it was meant to to all of you!

Mr. Habgood, thank you for your responses.

Tell us something about yourself.

I am from the small town of Barnett Missouri. I was born in 1957 and was a very shy child.

Tell us about your interest in checkers.

I remember when I was still little we would go and visit my papa and granny. Being the first born I was always running around with my papa. I was always going with papa no matter wherever he went. He would take me with him and the one place he would take me was the local barber shop. I never knew why, because papa never needed a haircut, as he was almost bald. But he would go anyway.

One day as we were going to the barbershop i asked him why he went there and he said because he liked the conversations and the checker games. I just giggled. I would sit on his lap and watch while I had a soda pop or a sucker. I would watch him win game after game. i really hated when we had to go home. But I knew I would get to come back during the summer and stay for a week or two.

One time I got to stay two weeks with papa and be his sidekick. As he did for years, he would feed the animals, get all his chores done and then say, come on Kimmy let's go. We'd jump in the old truck and off we would go to the barbershop, and there would be these farmers sitting in the barbershop waiting to play checkers.

It happened one day a little boy came in the barbershop with his papa, saw the old farmers playing checkers, and wanted to play a game. So papa said to me, okay Kimmy, you want to play? I said yes and then I got to play this little boy. But my papa said you's better win or you're walking home! I lost. My papa then said, you better get walking. I cried and went out the door to start walking home. But papa wasn't really going to make me walk. He told me to get in the truck and we headed home.

Papa then asked me if I liked playing. I said yes, but I hated losing. I wanted to win. That was the first lesson papa taught me. If you lose you need to get back up and try again, for the game of checkers has many lessons to teach, so never give up.

That was a time I will never forget. It has been a part of my life. When my papa passed away, checkers became just a memory.

I grew up, got married, had children and raised them, and life went by without checkers until in the late 80s. This was the time of the internet and computers, and I started going online. I discovered Vinco Online Games and I re-entered the world of checkers. I would go into the checker room everyday and watch players play. I later became a system operator or monitor.

I met a lot of checker players and found many went to checker tournaments. Then I met Ron Suki King and he would ask me to play. Of course he just stomped me. Then he said he would teach me.

I was hooked. I remember him teaching me simple things. But then he said I should go to the Nationals in Niagra Falls. So I went. I never won a game, and I found I was the only woman there. Many told me to go home as this was a man's game and I had no place there.

That's when I made my mind up to learn more about the game, as it had re-opened my childhood memories. I have since attended many tournaments.

What qualifies you to be ACF President?

I am running for this position because I believe we all have a mission and mine is to be an advocate for this game, and to be there for every person, no matter what age, no matter where you're from or the color of your skin.

What's your vision for the future of the ACF?

When i came into the ACF there were many members, but now our numbers are declining, and we need to get busy. We must talk, invite others, and help those who are teaching. I want to be take the lead, to be the voice, to be there if needed, to give information, as I do now as Players' Representative. And it's not just for master players. It's for every player, all over the world. We need to connect and join together to keep the game of checkers alive.

We also need more referees for tournaments. We need to have regular Zoom meetings with District Managers. We need open communication channels to help to get more members. For those who are teaching our game we help them to expand, increase, and spread their knowledge.

We must work on youth participation. We have a few that are teaching the youth, but I want us to get together and work on the problem of getting kids into the game.

Anything you wish to add?

I want everyone to know that I will do all I can, and that I will always be there for each and every one of you.

My Platform

1. To be there for ALL players.
2. To help with information for those who teach our game.
3. To be available to everyone.
4. To promote the game.
5. To never leave anyone behind, whether past, present, or future players; children, new adults just starting, and senior players.

Ms. Willis, thank you for your responses.

Today The Checker Maven celebrates 18 years of weekly publication with never a missed deadline. We had planned to stop after 10 years, then 15, and now we'll go as long as we can, hoping to at least reach 20. We're getting older (and can feel it!) but so far, so good.

Of course none of this would ever happened without you, the reader, and we thank you for your loyal support over these many years. We'll do our best to continue to bring you what we (perhaps not so humbly) think ranks among the world's finest checker entertainment.

We anticipate The Checker Maven website being down or inoperable during the period of December 26 to December 30, 2022, as we convert the site from HTTP to HTTPS.

The conversion is long overdue. Some web browsers are starting to block access to HTTP sites for security reasons, and this practice will likely become universal before long.

Please be patient and accept our apologies for any inconvenience. We'll post more about this as we get close to the planned dates.

A Guest Column by Dr. Richard Beckwith

Joe Schwartz has been on the checker scene for decades. In addition to always having plenty of stories to tell, Joe interacted with many of the checker greats of the past. For example, Joe's father even once arranged a checker lesson for Joe from the great Willie Ryan, who was from Bronx, NY at the time. Mr. Ryan explained to a young Joe why certain moves were made in various openings. Willie Ryan had come down for a day to put on an exhibition at the YMCA. Joe has a picture of this day (with him in it) hanging in his home. Men typically wore suits and neckties in those days.

In the 8th International Match Book, Joe mentioned one of his biggest thrills was winning his first tournament as a teenager in Poughkeepsie, NY, the city where Joe was born. There were about 30 players, and Joe was the youngest. Joe only played GAYP back in those days, as there wasn't any three-move restriction activity around him until later in life.

Tom Wiswell lived in Brooklyn. Wiswell came to an exhibition for chess and checkers, where Joe got a book from him. Joe last saw Wiswell at central Park. Tom Wiswell once commented to Joe that the checker position looks different if you get up from your chair and go look at the board from the other side. Joe also mentioned that New York City had a checkers academy on 42nd street where good players met to play for money.

A checker friend Bill Wallace was with Joe during a Florida break and took Joe to a park, some 50 years ago. This is where Joe encountered Richard Hallett again. (Mr. Hallett also lived in Poughkeepsie, NY and fed Joe's cat whenever Joe was away. Later in life, Richard lived in Joe's Florida residence high-rise building.) The three players drove together to the St. Petersburg tournament, where Joe first met Marion Tinsley. Joe asked Tinsley his opinion of what is the better defensive move in the Switcher: 30-25 or 17-14 (from the run-up of 11-15 21-17 9-13 25-21 8-11 and now white to play). Tinsley replied, "30-25 is the better move."

Joe Schwartz moved to Florida in 1991, living with Bill Wallace a few months before locating to Hallandale, Florida (still his place of residence today). Joe's tradition of housing visiting checker players for the night goes back to his New York days, where he hosted the likes of Norm Wexler, Ed Bruch and Harold Freyer. Over the years, Joe sponsored matches between Richard Hallett with both Derek Oldbury and with Elbert Lowder, putting up Lowder and Oldbury (in wheelchair) for the match duration. Joe recalls Derek Oldbury being a very intellectual man who liked classical music, but was not into watching television. His wife Joan was also in a wheelchair.

Harold Freyer once lost a game to Bill Levine at a tournament in Joe's home. In the second game, Freyer eagerly sought revenge and had Levine in a troublesome ending. Mr. Freyer suggested to his opponent that he resign the position in view of the caliber of his opponent. Bill Levine grabbed a pencil, pointed it at Harold, and said, "I have a right to play this game out." Harold snatched the pencil out of his hand. Tempers started to flare, and Joe had to come over to diffuse the situation. Harold shot back at Joe, "I've been thrown out of better houses than yours!"

Joe recalls two other incidents that led to checkers flying off the board. One was Al DuBois vs. Charles Walker. After some apparent ribbing, Mr. Dubois threw the checkers, one of which hit Mr. Walker's wife around the eye and required medical attention. The other was the last game of the National Tournament between Elbert Lowder and Ron King. Elbert appeared to have the tournament won with an apparent even ending on the last game of the tournament that most players would quickly call a draw. But Suki, needing a win, wanted to play the position out further. After some fast moving, Elbert allowed a trade that allowed his remaining pieces to get trapped with the move, which resulted in checkers flying across the table. A position on a nearby non-Master game was disturbed, and they weren't recording their moves to allow reconstruction of their position.

In additional to having several lunches with Marion Tinsley, Joe had dinner with Asa Long ("a very humble man") and even helped take Mr. Long to the hospital after his health issue that occurred shortly after the start of the 1988 U.S. National in Danville, Virginia.

One time Joe Schwartz was playing Elbert Lowder in a tournament on a Single Corner opening. Joe encountered some difficulty with his current game and remarked to Elbert, "I wish I had time to analyze this position." Mr. Lowder proceeded to grab the analog time clock and wound it back to give Joe an additional 30 minutes! Joe concluded the story with, "Lowder beat me anyway."

So, what was Joe's other greatest checker thrill? It occurred in one of Joe's favorite cities to visit --- Las Vegas. This personal achievement came at the 2005 USA-U.K. & Ireland International Match held in Las Vegas, where Joe had the best record of anyone present with 10 wins, no losses and 10 draws.

In addition, here's a problem position arising from one of Joe's games in the aforementioned 2005 match.

Game from 2005 USA vs. U.K & Ireland 8th International Match, Las Vegas
Black: Joe Schwartz
White: Garrett Owens

11-15 21-17 8-11 17-13 9-14 25-21 11-16 29-25 16-20 24-19 15x24 28x19 4-8 22-17 14-18 23x14 8-11 26-23 11-15 25-22 15x24 22-18---A,B 24-28 (see diagram below).

A---While this move does draw, 30-25 is the computer's choice.

B---32-28 loses. Try it out!

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As always, you can click on Read More to check your solutions to these problems.

The Checker Maven extends its warmest thanks to Richard Beckwith for providing us with this fascinating article.

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