Checker Grandmasters and Masters

Don Morgan Lafferty, Grandmaster (1996 ACF Rating 2586), was born August 5th, 1933 in Barren County, Kentucky. First became interested in the game at an early age by playing with his uncle and grandfather. Later coached by Horace Steen, who was also young Walter Hellman's coach in Gary, Indiana in the early 1930s. Received a bachelor's degree in math and physics from Western Kentucky University at Bowling Green, Kentucky. With later graduate studies at both Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, he earned a master's degree in Math and Physics plus 30 hours for Rank One Teacher's Degree. He taught high school math and physics in Kentucky prior to retiring in 1988. Don was a close friend of Marion Tinsley and they played many a study & practice games through out his lifetime of checker playing.  Tinsley coached Lafferty to a win over Lowder in their 1989 Lafferty vs Lowder World Title Freestyle "GAYP" Match  Don Lafferty won the GAYP World Title in 1982 defeating Oldbury by 1-0-23 and kept it until 1991 and retired undefeated from checkers due to illness. He died 6/7/1998, just two months short of Age 65.   |   Photos   |    What Don Lafferty & Richard Pask said about Oldbury  |   (most above comments from Chess Champ-Kibtzer's Cafe)   |   Don's Gravesite