April 2, 2007 - thesouthern Southern Illinois - "Checker players compete in annual tournament"
thesouthern Southern Illinois Homepage.com
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Donald West of Mayfield, Ky., right, begins to make his move just after his opponent John Grisley, director of the Illinois Checker Association, finishes his during the 102nd Annual Illinois State Checker Tournament at the Illinois Centre Mall in Marion Sunday. (STEVE JAHNKE/THE SOUTHERN) |
Checkers players compete in annual tournament
MARION
- Few if any people passing through Illinois Centre Mall this weekend probably
realized they were walking by a world champion at
work on his craft.
There is little surprise: The world of checkers is much
a mystery to the uninitiated, said Gary Ellison, president of the Illinois
Checkers Association. "It's not a spectator sport so a
lot of people don't know that much about it," Ellison said.
Alex Moiseyev, the world champion of three-move
checkers, participated in the Illinois State Checkers Association's state
tournament along with 32 other competitive checkers players who were eager to
practice their skills against their peers.
Moiseyev says checkers is a wildly popular game at all
levels.
"In every American family, there's a checkers board and
pieces," Moiseyev said.
That may be true, but the average family is not playing
like the professionals. Competitive checkers players read books on strategy and
take pride in their skill. They'll also travel long distances to play with some of
the best the country has to offer. A roster of participants at Saturday's event
read like a map of the United States: A dozen states were represented.
Albert Tucker and his wife drove from Minden, La., to be
in Marion for the tournament. It's a trek they've made not once but twice
before. "We drove 1,000 miles to get here," Tucker said. "That
shows how crazy checkers players are."
Probably not crazy, but they are a dedicated bunch.
Mount Vernon resident Jennifer Kelton may have had a short drive, but it was a
courageous one: She was the only woman signed up in the weekend's tournament. "I'm losing but I'm hanging in there," Kelton said
Saturday. Losing is still part of learning for checkers players.
Kelton was able to learn from her opponents' moves so she'll be all the more
prepared in her 11th tournament.
The tournament was "three-move checkers," which means
the first three moves each player must make are decided by a randomly drawn
card. Having three pre-selected moves requires the players not
to rely on just tried-and-true technique but to be able to adapt and exhibit
genuine skill, Ellison said.
"It's unbelievable how much skill is really involved in
checkers," Ellison said. "There are so many different moves."
For more information about the Illinois State Checker
Association, write to Ellison at Illinois Checker Association, 261 Country Road
500 East, Norris City, IL 62869 or
ellison@clearwave.com
ashley.wiehle@thesouthern.com
997-3356 ext. 5807
Published on: Monday, April 2,
2007 7:31 AM
CDT
April 2, 2007 - Heartland News - "Checker tournament draws talent from the Heartland and beyond"