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.