“When we came up as kids my mom and my uncles loved to play board games,” said Pine Hill resident Dallas Ramsey.

Checkers was one of those board games. The older Dallas got, the better he got.

“I started playing professional checkers in 2001,” Dallas says.

Since then he’s had the chance to play in tournaments all over the world against the best players on the planet. Just like anything else you want to be good at, it takes practice.

“I sit down every day and play about 100-200 games working on these books. I spend two to three hours a day studying my game.” Dallas says.

It’s paying off. He’s the 2016 and 2017 state champion of Alabama and it’s a game that he doesn’t want to see fade away.

“I’m 65 years old. I can’t compete with you in football or wrestling or whatever. But I can sit across the table from you, mind and mind and play this game right here. That’s competition.” Dallas says.

He worries that too many parents are sticking their kids in front of the TV or a mobile device instead of sitting down face to face and interacting with them while playing.

“These days people get on there and shoot zombies or play Star Wars,” Dallas says.

Ramsey says this is a game you can play all your life and always find someone who’s just as good but make no mistake, he’s hoping to be the best.

“I’d like to be the US champion and then maybe one day the World Champion.”