Basic checkers vs Solid checkers

General Discussion about the game of Checkers.
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Ingo_Zachos
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Re: Basic checkers vs Solid checkers

Post by Ingo_Zachos »

Dear Chee, Basic Checkers was published before Solid Checkers, and of course Richard Pask used Fortman's epos as his major reference.

So, yes, Solid Checkers corrects quite a few BC lines, and gives some other lines, but you won't find an improvement on SC in BC.

Richard Pask is a scientific worker, and those profit from the labour of their predecessors.

Note:
Always do a source analysis.
Get the years of publication and if available, the reference list.

Checkers is a scientific game, and so the latest source profits from the older ones.
You can rent this space for advertising, if you like!
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Alex_Moiseyev
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What do you like about checkers?: .....

Re: Basic checkers vs Solid checkers

Post by Alex_Moiseyev »

Chee Xiong wrote:Can you go without Basic checkers?
Yes.
Chee Xiong wrote:does Basic checkers still have something to offer that you won't get from Solid checkers?
Yes.

You din't ask one more question: Can you go without Basic Checkers and Solid Checkers ?

Answer still will be - Yes. You can study it from program opening book.

Choice of source depends on your personality. I am using all 3 of them - Basic Checkers, Solid Checkers and opening books.
I am playing checkers, not chess.
john reade
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Re: Basic checkers vs Solid checkers

Post by john reade »

Ingo,

Have you fixed dates for the Korbach Tournament 2011 yet?

John.
Richard Pask
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Re: Basic checkers vs Solid checkers

Post by Richard Pask »

Firstly, Basic Checkers. Like many wonderful things in life, it has its flaws. That said, it is a far greater work than Solid Checkers - for one thing, it came first -, and has the advantage of having been written by the game's number one annotator.

Other, less prolific but nonetheless insightful and first-class, annotators in my view include: Samuel Gonotsky, Samuel Levy, Nathan Rubin, Marion Tinsley (obviously) and Maurice Chamblee. (Not an exhaustive list!)

I did not intend Solid Checkers to be an update of Basic Checkers - I referenced hundreds of books other than Basic Checkers in its production -, but I suppose it's inevitable that it tended to be viewed as such. It's flattering that it's included in discussions alongside RLF's opus. (RLF often told me he hoped to produce a second edition of the 9-13s and 9-14s.)

In my view, 21st CC, 9-13s is far superior to Solid Checkers, 9-13s - no comparison: 1) It incorporates many improvements, addtions and corrections; 2) It includes the 5 new openings, greatly expanded from The Golden Dozen; 3) It includes key notes within the body of the variations; 4) It takes each variation to a definite conclusion; 5) It has been meticulously indexed. That said, each reader is fully entitled to his/her own opinion.
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