The Checker Pages
Here are pages of interest to checkers and draughts fans everywhere. Please note that as of the current date (February 2021) many of these pages have become partially or fully out-of-date and in need of revision.
Checker Products Richard Pask's Play Better Checkers & Draughts is offered on a no-profit public-service basis.
Rediscovering Checkers An adult view of the surprising scope and depth of what is thought to be a simple game just for children and old folks.
Checker Books Capsule summaries and reviews of several dozen books about checkers, both new and old.
On-line Checker Game sites Reviews, ratings, screenshots, and commentary about where to go on-line to play checkers.
Checker Playing Computer Programs Reviews, ratings, screenshots, and commentary on a host of checker-playing computer programs, ranging in quality from world-class to laughable. Completely reorganized as of January 28, 2005.
Obtaining Regulation Checker Sets How to go about this unexpectedly difficult undertaking. The page needs reorganizing and updating but still contains valuable information.
Learning Checkers for Beginners Advice and suggestions from one beginner to another; a major revision is planned so stay tuned.
Checkers: A Mind Sport for the Common Man Why checkers can play a special role in the intellectual life of the average person, and a tribute to my father, of blessed memory, from whom I learned checkers long ago.
The Unknown Derek Oldbury A series of classic newspaper columns by DEO himself, generously provided for Web publication by draughts grandmaster Richard Pask.
How to Be a Lousy Checker Player A topic about which we are uniquely qualified to write.
Arthur Reisman's classic book on tactics for beginners, Checkers Made Easy. Get it, print it, have it bound! Available in PDF (a rather large file). Special thanks to Richard Pask for a working copy from which the new version was input and typeset, and Matthias Kegelmann for his beautiful MetaFont draughts font.
Score Sheets for checkers and chess, in PostScript and LaTeX formats, can be downloaded for printing.
Studies, Problems, and Analyses edited by Brian Hinkle:
Did Willie Really Goof? A new look at the (in)famous 5th game of the 1949 Hellman-Ryan world championship match.
Chasing With Your King Can Cost You the Game! A famous 3x2 problem examined, with examples from actual play from classic and modern days.