Sleepers

[Richard Pask]

Some books are a disappointment - Richard Atwell's 'Scientific Draughts', rated highly by some, is a case in point as far as I'm concerned - while others are 'sleepers': much better than they're given credit for. Here are 3 of my sleepers:

1) Checkers Made Easy by Arthur Reisman - probably the best beginner's book of them all;
2) The Inferno of Checkers by William Fraser (available in braille too);
3) Passey's ABC of draughts - rather haphazardly organised, but many treasures inside!

What are your choices?

[George Hay]

At the risk of listing a non-sleeper, these are my favorites, all beginner's books:
1. Checkers Made Easy by Arthur Reisman is an easy to read introduction to the Grand Old Game.
2. Win At Checkers by Millard Hopper is a basic introduction to checkers with a GAYP perspective.
3. How to Win at Checkers by Fred Reinfeld is concise and complete by the chess wordsmith.
4. Starting Out In Checkers is published by Everyman, and the writing style is pure Pask!

There are many "sleeper" authors who are only now being rediscovered, but the above books
make it possible for me to study further in checkers, with enthusiasm!
--George Hay

[George Hay]

Some books are a disappointment - Richard Atwell's 'Scientific Draughts', rated highly by some, is a case in point as far as I'm concerned -

I am surprised at your assessment of Atwell's book, as Atwell was among the first, if not the first, to advocate
for the three-move restriction!
--George Hay

[George Hay]

I had to edit my first post on this topic because the author of Win At Checkers is Millard Hopper, not Millard Fillmore.
His middle name is Fillmore!
--George Hay

[liam stephens]

My sleeper selection:

1. How to play winning checkers by Millard Hopper 1940.
A beginner’s guide I grew up with and includes a chapter featuring 10 games between an Expert and a “Dub”.

2. The secrets of Checkerboard Strategy by Tom Wiswell 1960.
As well as containing the usual selection of high grade problems, there is an excellent games section that should be in any aspiring player’s armoury.

3. Kear’s edition of Sturges, if for no other reason than it reprints Dr. Samuel Johnson’s dedication and preface to Payne’s work and Sturges original preface. There is also an historical section and articles on the other variants of draughts.


There is another category of sleeper that I would call “Hidden Treasures”.
Most books and periodicals on the game are collector’s items and are generally unavailable to the public.

Top of my list would be the following:

1. Magazines of Other Days
A feature by W. G. Parker in the New Draughts World 1936-39. A brilliant series of articles that cannot be recommended too highly. For a taster see Bill Salot’s SLOCUM STROKES ( page 43 – following Second Prelude) available as an ebook free of charge on Jay H’s Museum of Checkers site.
http://www.online-museum-of-checkers-history.com/


2. The Last Hundred Moves by Derek Oldbury, featured in his magazine A Game of Draughts 1947.
This is a catechism on the fundamentals of end-game play.
Also included in the magazine is a devastating critique of a proposal by H. Hoogland (The Key to Checker Unity)
for a new form of the game of Draughts !

3. Another Oldbury must is his Chequer Chiaroscuro 1966 – a peep into the past filled with light and shade.
A foretaster to the Encyclopaedia.

[tgf]

I like the family on the cover of Sweet's "The Elements of Draughts; or, Beginners' Sure Guide" 1859, and the content is nice too.

[tgf]

1. Magazines of Other Days
A feature by W. G. Parker in the New Draughts World 1936-39. A brilliant series of articles that cannot be recommended too highly..

Some of the NDW magazines, including W. G. Parker column, are available at the OCL library.
I am looking for someone to provide a proper description for the magazine, at this point there is only the editor's name.

[liam stephens]

There were two series of the New Draughts World, the first measuring 9 X 7 inches ran from Nov 1936 to Dec 1939 comprising 38 issues in 4 vols. In the second series the size was reduced to 8 X 5 ½ inches and ran from Jan 1940 to March/April 1950, 76 issues, in 5 vols. Numbering started afresh in the new series.
Editor was G. H. Snailham – Blackburn.
It is Item No. 180 in Lovell, from where the above information is taken.

Thank you tgf for making so many of these rare books and magazines available on-line, free of charge, for all to see. That is a great service to the game for which readers should be very grateful.
For me, it was a pleasure to read Dunne’s Guide and Companion, as well as several other titles that I do not have in my collection.

[tgf]

There were two series of the New Draughts World, the first measuring 9 X 7 inches ran from Nov 1936 to Dec 1939 comprising 38 issues in 4 vols. In the second series the size was reduced to 8 X 5 ½ inches and ran from Jan 1940 to March/April 1950, 76 issues, in 5 vols. Numbering started afresh in the new series.
Editor was G. H. Snailham – Blackburn.
It is Item No. 180 in Lovell, from where the above information is taken.

Thank you tgf for making so many of these rare books and magazines available on-line, free of charge, for all to see. That is a great service to the game for which readers should be very grateful.
For me, it was a pleasure to read Dunne’s Guide and Companion, as well as several other titles that I do not have in my collection.

Thank you Mr. Stephens for the description, I already put it in but for the last line "It is Item No. 180 in Lovell, from where the above information is taken." since I do not have Lowell in the library for my readers to reference. Dunne’s Guide and Companion is a wonderful book, great binding, I got it and many other books some 30 years ago from Al Kopko who dealt in books. Gerry Lopez also gave me some old books, he had a huge collection. Unfortunately I lost a couple of boxes with checkers books in moves which got me upset that I did not preserve them to pass to other people. This library seems like a great idea, the books are reborn accessible by all, preserved forever, why else does one collect? Money comes and goes. So many great collections ended up in the garbage. All I needed was to learn making sites and put in a few thousand hours of labor

Actually it is not just my labor and not only my treasures - many people donate their time and effort scanning their books http://checkersusa.com/books/contributors.aspx .
How else would the rare NDW magazines showed up in the library but for the efforts of Scottish collectors who wanted their heritage preserved?

I think the online library can only enhance the value of remaining physical books, collectors can see which originals they want, otherwise many titles get passed.
The library also facilitates helping sellers and buyers find each other, send in your lists or links.