2026 Virginia Commonwealth & District 4
Open 3-Move Checker Tournament
"The 109th Annual Old Dominion Checker Association's Tournament for The
Commonwealth of Virginia"
and Our "80th ACF District 4 Tournament"
Buck
Smith Memorial Checker Tournament
We commemorate Buck Smith for his 21 years of dedicated service as President of Old Dominion Checker Association (2005 - 2026)
We also acknowledge and honor Buck Smith for his lifetime commitment and support of checkers, and his pursuit of checker excellence.

Friday & Saturday - September 18th
& 19th
2026
Ryan Pronk email:
Ryan.Rronk@gmail.com 480-262-0037 |
Buck Smith, ODCA President:
BuckandBJ@AOL.com 540-290-3566 or 540-997-0332 | JR Smith 336-209-5656
JRSmithnccheckersgmail.com
Dutch Inn - Collinsville, VA 24078 | 2360 Virginia
Ave, Collinsville VA 24078 (map) | 276-647-3721
Quality Inn Photo Link
VA Open & D4 Postcard Invitation
2026 VA Vertical Banner
2026 & D4 Open Schedule
VA Championships List
District 4 Championships List
Collinsville
Eateries & Restaurants
Call - Teal Stanley
(336)-215-7066, JR Smith (336)-209-5656, Buck Smith (540)-290-3566, or Ryan
Pronk (480)-262-0037
We have a block of 12 rooms reserved under
"Checker Tournament" -2026 Dutch Inn Group Contract
of $69
+ 11.3% tax = $76.80
for king or double, non-smoking, first floor available
September 17th
through 20th; however, most players will book the 17th & 18th. Same venue we
have used in the past years under the Quality / Dutch Inn hotel chain. You must
let desk receptionist, know you
are a checker player to get discount
and please make your reservation by phoning 276-647-3721. Please reserve your
room early since you may cancel anytime prior to check-in, until 4:00 PM on the date of your arrival
without charge or penalty. We have the
"Hague" a large banquet / conference
(32 capacity) playing room for our tournament on the 18th & 19th for $100 per day. We combined our ACF District 4 tournament with the Virginia Open. There are prize funds
for each division.
The Hotel
Restaurant / Dinning
Room is closed. The Bar & Grill
"Rosie's 777 Game Room"
on 2nd floor is open for club sandwiches,
burgers, etc.
Hotel also provides hot coffee in the lobby. There are also various eateries close by so click above, on
“Collinsville Eateries & Restaurants.”
Get directions by:
click “map” above. Registration begins at 8:00 AM and
VA & D4 Business Meeting: 8:30 - 9:00 AM, Tournament Starts at 9:00 AM.
The public is welcome and our tournament players are invited to renew old
friendships and play some excellent checker games.
hotel venues.
2026 NC Hotel Venue Contacts.
Results:

-
Congratulations! To MS Michael Holmes from Woodbridge, Virginia as our 2026 VA Commonwealth Tournament Winner and
also our 2026 District 4 champion.
- Congratulations! To MS Tim Laverty from Graham, NC who placed second, MS Teal Stanley Greensboro, NC placed third, and MS Dr. John Webster from Stoneville, NC as our forth place winner.
- We welcomed 7 players from 3 different states: 4 from North Carolina, 2 from Ohio, and 1 from Nebraska.
- Dutch Inn provided us a room with four 8' X 30" white linen cloth covered
tables and 6 padded chairs per table. We had a ice chest with bottle
water and plenty of hot fresh coffee in the lobby. There was also tea and chocolate packets available.
- With only seven players, the players decided to play a round robin, while keeping the 3-Move Restriction format,
at 2½ hours per round (1¼ hours) per game. We played 5 rounds Friday and two more on Saturday.
- Teal Stanley delivered our opening tournament invocation.
- We held this Virginia Checker Tournament in honor of Buck Smith, past
President of Old Dominion Checker Association for 21 years. Buck passed away
6/20/2026 at age 95.
-
Jim Albin from Omaha, Nebraska was recognized as traveling the furthest
distance to the tournament as 1,000 miles one-way from Omaha to Collinsville,
VA. Jim and Debbie flew into Norfolk, VA to visit their daughter and
then drove to Collinsville for the tournament.
- All players paid a $20 entry fee for a total of $140.
- The tournament budget was $627 is a combination of $403 prize fund, $200 playing room, $24 other, $140 entry fees, $30 contributions from Alan Millhone, $20 from Michael Holmes, $137 from
JR & Gayle, and $300 withdrawal from the NCCA trust account.
- The tournament ran smoothly and on time.
- Kevin Smith, the youngest of
Buck's three sons visited the tournament Saturday. All of us shared memories and
many stories.
- Most players enjoyed a nice buffet breakfast and lunch at the
Pacific Bay Steak & Seafood, just a few blocks South from Dutch Inn toward
Martinsville.
- Alan Millhone brought several checker books with him and gave
them to Teal Stanly so he could deliver them to Luther Ross.
- We offer a big Thank You to all who help make this tournament a success, especially Gayle, our referee and score-keeper.
- JR & Gayle celebrated their 58th anniversary September 15.
-
2026 VA + D4 budget: Contributors/Expenses
- Some tournament 2026 VA-D4 photos:
2026 Tournament Dates