The steep climb to becoming good at checkers

[DrCaesar]

Hi everyone,

Longtime lurker, second-time poster. I'm getting into checkers seriously again after nearly a decade away, and as I get re-acclimated to studying and analyzing games and lines, I must admit the amount of information a would-be serious checkers player has to absorb and assimilate (at least this one) can be daunting.

Then I think of the sheer amount of labor that guys like Richard Jordan, James Ferrie, Charles Barker, and Alfred Jordan must have invested in studying prepared play, which as Willie Ryan noted was the secret to their success. They immersed themselves in it, analyzed the reasoning behind the moves, and then applied those ideas in their own playing. It was pure erudition and brain power that enabled them to become the players they were.

At least someone of Marion Tinsley's generation could pick up a copy of Hopper's "How to Play Winning Checkers" at the library to get started. It broke down and explained aspects of the game in practical ways that many of the classic older books (with their comment-free columns of numbers) generally did not. In the days before computers, the old Scottish and English draughts players had to acquire mastery through the sweat of their brows, figuring it out largely on their own.

Here is Ryan on Richard Jordan, from the 1943 edition of the "Encyclopedia of Checkers": "To a large degree his many successes were due to his intricate study and research of the game. Like Ferrie and Stewart, Jordan relied entirely upon prepared play and it was his remarkable application of this knowledge that enabled him to keep a step ahead of his contemporaries."

Anyway, as we all know, checkers is a lot harder than everyone thinks it is. But I have always found it to be a very rewarding game, that amply repays the investment of serious study it requires, even if I won't end up being as good as Richard Jordan!

Best,
Austin