By Elizabeth Barmeier

Posted Friday, July 29, 2016 9:00 pm    Click News Link

The game checkers may seem simple, but when competing against skilled players nationally and internationally, some strategies and tactics might come in handy.

The 2016 American Checker Federation National 3-Days Move Tournament was held this week at the Honeysuckle Inn and Conference Center in Branson.

Sponsor and promoter of tournaments for ACF Joe McDaniel, said 55 players entered the tournament, representing 21 states and four countries: Canada, Barbados, South Africa and Italy.

There are three divisions within the tournament: masters, majors and minors. Masters are considered the most experienced players and minors are considered the least experienced.

Over the course of the tournament, McDaniel said players in the masters division played 12 rounds of two games for a total of 24 games. Players in the majors and minors divisions played 10 rounds of two games for a total of 20 games.

The youngest player in the tournament was 17 and the oldest was 85, McDaniel said.

The winners were based on the total number of points players in each division gained by the end of the tournament. A player could earn two points for winning a game and one point for a draw, according to McDaniel.

The amount of time given for a game is 1.5 hours and three hours for two games, according to McDaniel.

A winner from each division was selected and given a trophy and a monetary prize. The winner in the masters division received $10,600, the winner in the majors division received $5,600 and winner in the minors division received $2,000. McDaniel said the total amount of money given was the largest it has been in about 30 years.

McDaniel said this is the third checkers tournament that has been hosted in Branson, but this year was the first national one. He said Branson has been the chosen location the past three years because it is centrally located, and there are other activities to do for out-of-town players.

2016 National 3-Move Results  |  Tulsa World 7/30/16 Article  |  Articles