Ed Scheidt's gift -- answer

[Pedro Saavedra]

Ed Scheidt had a friend who was a top notch player in International Checkers. So Scheidt actually made a 100 square board and gave it to him as a gift. Can anybody guess the name of the friend?

[Pedro Saavedra]

Here is a hint.

The friend for whom Scheidt made the 100 square board was one of the few top notch players on the big board (and of American Pool Checkers) in the US, before the influx of Russian immigrants, who was not African-American . He was also one of the few American masters featured in an article in a Soviet checkers magazine.

He lived in Maryland, a few blocks form my house. I visited him in the early 1980s, and he has died since.

[whitefork]

James Reed of KCR fame lived in Maryland and died a few years back. I don't think that he'd be the guy, though. (and I'm just assuming he was a white guy)

[Pedro Saavedra]

> James Reed of KCR fame lived in Maryland and died a few years back. I
> don't think that he'd be the guy, though. (and I'm just assuming he was a
> white guy)

This player was white, and it was not Reed. I know he was active in the predominantly African American DC club. He died in the last ten years. He had a collection of Russian, Latvian and Dutch checkers magazines and a number of books. I rescued them from Friends of the Library book sale, but decided that I did not have time for all. I called around to find them a good home (after selecting a few to repay myself for the ten bucks I spent) and found that chess master Larry Kaufman (who plays Shogi and follows checkers) was interested. I made him promise he would find them a good home if he tired of them and let him have them.

You can still find this player's name in some pool checkers web sites.

[Mr. Checkers]

My old friend Jack Birnman would be my choice.

[Ingo_Zachos]

Iser Kouperman ?

[Pedro Saavedra]

> My old friend Jack Birnman would be my choice.

That is absolutely correct. Jack and I met at a chess tournament and I went once to his home to play checkers. He showed me the board Ed Scheidt made for him. I found out he had died when the manager of the Friends of the Library told me a checker player had died and he had his magazine collection. When I saw the Russian, Latvian and Dutch magazines, I realized it was my friend Jack he was talking about. That is when I decided I would find his library a good home. Had I known the Internet would offer me the chance to play the game, I would have kept a larger portion.

I think he went to chess tournaments primarily to make converts for checkers.

[Mr. Checkers]

Jack was a kind and thoughtful gentlemen as well as being a very good checker player. As I recall he was a member of the AICS. I corresponded with him several times years ago. I did a lot of hard work to promote our game on all levels of play. (Cont.)