Mail play rules.

[Wavuti Uwepo]

Can anyone tell me where I can find a copy of the checkers rules used for mail and email play? I can find plenty of references to their existence but nothing that tells me what they are. I'm mainly interested in what the rules are on the use of computer programs in assisting move choice. One checkers site I use regularly suggests help from computers and other checkerists is permissible. What is the time limit on moves? Is three days the time limit used in snail mail? What about email games?

Thanks for your help.

Steven.

[MostFamousDane]

Well since you can't really enforce not using the computer for mail play it is de facto allowed. There is not much going on in official mail play tournaments anymore since the computers are close to being unbeatable. You can always just find people you trust and agree to not use computers.

[Dennis Pawlek]

Hey Wavuti,

Rules always vary a bit but mail play uses computers. I have to say mailplay uses hard deck openings (maybe someone could tell me since which year?) that can even fool most programs... top mail players like World Mail Play Champion Mac Banks and has a variation of cooks on most lines who even give the programs a hard time.

I dont have a set of rules and regulation here but I am sure tommyc (Tommy Canning) or Mac Banks can help you in some way. Both can be found in this forum.

[tommyc]

Hi Wavuti...............you can email me on tommycanningireland@hotmail.co.uk ..........anytime!!

[Wavuti Uwepo]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I have emailed Tommy.

This is a great forum!

Steven.

[rich beckwith]

While people can easily play via e-mail, phone, etc. these days, I will share how I used to play mail play in the old days before computers, if nothing else, as a bit of history. Some concepts can extend to e-mail.

Basically all you need is a set of postcards to mail your moves, as well as your own checker set to analyze the positions. (I'm not sure if you are familiar already with our numerical notation -- squares are numbered 1-32; so a game would look like 11-15, 22-18, 15×22, 25x18, 12-16, etc.) When I played by mail, we typically played 8 games simultaneously, where I had the red pieces on half of those games. (It's, of course, up to you and your opponent how many games you want to take on.) Each player chooses two openings if you are playing 8 games, and you each play both sides of an opening. There are currently 156 sound 3-move openings. So, the 1st message will have the first two openings (4 games). Then the opponent will reply with his choice of the other two ballots, plus his replies to the first 4 games. As the games progress: On the postcard, I write down the opponent's most recent move, followed by my new move (can use different colored ink). Across the top of the postcard are Game numbers 1-8, with the most recent moves underneath in a column. On forced jumps, there is no need to wait for a reply for this...just list the series of moves until your opponent has to "think" again. Or if his/her move is largely obvious, you can do notation such as "IF 25-21, then 17-22" to try and move things along. Back in the days of I-D tournaments, I think people had 3 days to reply.

[Wavuti Uwepo]

When I played by mail, we typically played 8 games simultaneously, where I had the red pieces on half of those games.

Thanks for the reply, Rich. I'm flat out giving my attention to one game!

My ID on ItsYourTurn is piledhi, and I'd be glad to play with anyone who wants some practice.

Hi John. I have just joined ItsYourTurn.com with the username Wavuti Uwepo. If you get some time I would like to take you up on your offer of a game or two.

I would also welcome a game with anyone else interested in playing with a beginner. I'd like some practice using book plays as opposed to using a computer. I'm willing to play by email or at ItsYourTurn.com.

My email is wavuti.uwepo at gmail.com

[Dennis Cayton]

My first experience with mail play began at the age of 15 in 1965, after subscribing to an old and classic checker magazine called Elam's Checker Board (ECB). This magazine featured several mail play ladders, and I immediately joined the ECB Ladder and challenged my first opponent. I managed to draw that opponent by a score of 2-2-2.

Back in those days, most of the mail play ladder matches consisted of six games. If my memory is correct, the challenger chose two 3-move openings and the player who was challenged chose one 3-move opening. Each player played both sides of the same opening. Therefore, if three openings were played, a total of six games were played.

For further explanation, Richard Beckwith provided an excellent description of how these games were played. Most players of my era sent their moves by post card, while a few preferred to use letters. When playing somebody who lived abroad, letters with overseas postage rates were overwhelmingly used.

Indeed, there was a 3-day time limit for replying to a player's moves. Players were on the honor system to do so, as this was a difficult rule to enforce. A player could use extra time by claiming that his opponent's post card got "delayed" in the mail. Mail play directors usually issued forfeits only after receiving numerous and repeated complaints and after reviewing all of the post cards exchanged by both players.

I gave up mail play when computer programs took over the game. To me, this took away much of the "human element" of the game. To this day, I have never purchased, downloaded, or installed a computer checker software program. As a result, I never used any of these programs in any of my mail matches. It just never appealed to me to do so. When I started losing just about all of my mail matches, I knew it was time to retire.

Right now I only play on the IYT web site, without the assistance of any computer program, or even any checker books, all of which I sold years ago. I play strictly for fun and relaxation.

Nevertheless, I shall forever cherish the many fond memories of the mail play matches I played from that bygone era, as well as the many friends I made during that era.

Dennis Cayton

[Wavuti Uwepo]

Right now I only play on the IYT web site, without the assistance of any computer program, or even any checker books, all of which I sold years ago. I play strictly for fun and relaxation.

Hi Dennis. I'm playing a couple of 3 move games against John Acker and I started using Lees' Guide and some published games for ideas but just got too confused... Now I'm just blundering my way through on my own (thankyou John for your patience...) which is much more fun. During every move these words from "The Major Tactics of Checkers" kept popping into my head.

After all, the fundamental strategies of the game are far more valuable to the student than a host of memorized games. Take two beginners at the game and give one a book like Robertson's Guide, which contains 3340 columns of variations or a total of 150,000 moves, and give the other beginner a simple handbook explaining the different traps and strokes of the game and its elementary principles and extend them each a month's time to study same. Then match them together and see the result, the player who has digested the really vital principles of the game in the handbook will far excell his opponent.

I'm still at the strategy learning stage so book moves aren't much good to me if I don't know their purpose.