Photo courtesy Katherine Pask

Richard Pask has retired! Actually the photo above dates back to mid-2017, when Richard did indeed retire from his position as an educator.

But retired, for Richard, may mean something very different from what it means to others; this gentleman has been very busy indeed. Last week we published his revised edition of Complete Checkers, and this week we're proud to put forth the first book in his new series, which is called Logical Checkers.

The series, expected to consist of five volumes, will present a layered approach to checker tuition, from novice through master. Book 1 is the "Novice" guide but it contains much of interest even to a more experienced player. Rules and basic principles, tactics and strategy, common endgames, and an initial opening repertoire (for Go As You Please players) are all presented in 127 full-size pages illustrated with 128 diagrams.

Down the road, after the series is completed, we plan to once again offer a combined edition in both electronic and print formats.

We predict that Logical Checkers will do no less than revolutionize checker tuition.

Richard, once again, is very generously giving us his work free of charge. It can be downloaded here or from the Richard Pask page as linked in the right-hand column.

Here's one of the tactical examples given in the book.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W14,13,K3:BK29,6,1.

It's not that hard; this is, after all, a book aimed at relatively new players. But it's nonetheless pleasing. See how quickly you can find the solution and then click on Read More to see how you did. And be sure to grab your copy of the new book. Thank you, Mr. Pask!

Solution

3-7!---A 6-10 13-9---B 10-17 9-6 1-10 7-21. White wins.

A---Threatening to play 7-2.

B---Careful: 14-9 only draws.