No, you're not seeing double, and this is not a repeat article. You did see a version of the above picture a few weeks back when we featured Jim Loy's book on Robert Jordan. Today we're featuring the other half of the picture, as we bring you Jim Loy's book, The Best Checker Games of James Ferrie.

In 1894 Ferrie took the title of World Champion from the legendary James Wyllie, holding it until 1896 when Robert Jordan won it. Ferrie played many brilliant and instructive games, and Jim Loy has gathered them together, annotated them extensively, and provided numerous diagrams. Download the book here or from the Jim Loy page linked in the right side panel.

The position above, on the cover of the book, comes from the 1896 Scottish tournament. Here it is again in our usual format.

See if you can find the win, then download the book and go to Game 101 to see how it played out. The Checker Maven thanks Mr. Loy for providing yet another of his fine publications for cost-free download.

Today we have yet another fascinating checker book to offer to our readers, thanks to a gentleman from Michigan who only wishes to be credited as "A Checker Friend."

The book is the A. C. Hews classic, The Composition of Stroke Problems, extracted from Hews' 1917 classic Stroke Problems. This new edition is fully illustrated with 81 diagrams added by our Checker Friend. There's also a file with PDN notation for each position. It's a treasure trove for fans of the genre.

We know that stroke problems are not for everyone. But this little book gives us great insights into how stroke problem composers go about their business, and if you're a budding stroke problem composer, we're sure you'll find this book a useful stepping stone in your pursuit of this unusual and often spectacular art.

Just for fun, here's one of the positions from the book.

Mr Hews' idea of "easy" may not agree with yours--- or ours! But see if you can solve it without touching the pieces; it's great visualization practice. Then download the book here and look up the solution.

Today we're pleased to present another of Jim Loy's books, this one in his developing series on the greatest checker players of past years. Jim's subject in this book is the great Edinburgh player Richard Jordan (not to be confused with another great, Alfred Jordan).

Richard Jordan only lived to age 39, his life cut short by a tragic accident. But in that time he played great checkers, including once having defeated the legendary James Wyllie.

The following position is from the cover of Mr. Loy's book. It's from the 1897 World Championship Match played by Mr. Jordan against R. Stewart, yet another luminary from the legendary age of checkers.

Match wits with Richard Jordan and find the win. When you're satisfied with your solution, do one of two things. Either download the book here to see how the game actually went, or click on Read More to see a computer solution.

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Today marks a milestone in the history of checker publications as we announce the release of Grandmaster Richard Pask's monumental Complete Checkers: Insights.

Insights contains in one volume the newly edited and revised series of five books originally published electronically as the Logical Checkers series. Insights is available as a completely free PDF download or as a modestly priced print book, available from Amazon US as well as other Amazon sites worldwide. The print book is an 8" x 10" trade paperback, 630 pages, double column, with 1,024 diagrams comprising 366 lessons.

Insights provides everything the student needs to go from complete novice to accomplished expert, fully prepared for master level studies. We believe there has never been a checker book like this one in the entire history of the game.

We further contemplate the release of Complete Checkers: Repertoire as a companion volume in the same format at some point in 2022. Repertoire will be an edited reissue of the original Complete Checkers, 3rd Edition.

But for now you can download Insights here, or from the Richard Pask page linked in the right-hand column. Please do consider ordering a print copy if your means and desires so permit, as it will help us to recover the costs of producing this volume.

As always our thanks go out to Grandmaster Pask for his hard work and great generosity.

Here's a position from the book, credited to one H. Byars. Can you solve it? Give it a try and download or buy the book to see the solution.

The solution is found under Diagram 872 on page 474.

The 2013 English Open 3-Move Championship took place in the city of Bristol from April 22 through April 26 of that year. By any account it was a memorable tournament featuring some fine play. The tournament was won by one of the younger competitors, Shane McCosker. Referred to by Alex Moiseyev as an up and coming player on the world stage, this was hardly Shane's first tournament win. He has taken first place in numerous other tournaments prior to the 2013 contest, including the American Youth Tournament in 2007. He has won many more since 2013.

(The Checker Maven regrets being unable to obtain higher quality photographic images from the Bristol tournament.)

Second place went to Francis McNally.

Third place was taken by Colin Young.

Eminent checker author, analyst, and annotator Jim Loy assembled a book containing a large number of the tournament's games, and added his own notes and analysis as well as many diagrams, set up as problems to be solved. The book is highly instructive, and Mr. Loy is kindly offering it to Checker Maven readers as a free download. It's absolutely worth having and you can get it here.

So how about that problem position shown on the cover of the book?

See how you do with this one. Of course it's best to download the book, but you can also check your solution by clicking on Read More. Thank you, Jim Loy, for this excellent book.

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It's here! Grandmaster Richard Pask's fifth and concluding volume of his Logical Checkers series is now available for free download here, or from the Richard Pask page as linked in the right-hand column. (Earlier download problems have been resolved.)

Over 300 pages in length and filled with diagrams, the book provides the crowning touch to this unprecedented series of instructional volumes, designed to take the player from novice to expert, fully prepared for master level studies.

As a sample of the new book's content, here's an illustrative game leading to a problem position, with Mr. Pask's commentary.

Illustrative Game 150: 9-13 24-20; 10-14 22-18; 5-9 27-24; 6-10 25-22; 1-5?! (although impossible to criticize in general terms, analysis has shown that this should be avoided, with 10-15! preferred) 31-27!; 14-17 (10-15? 23-19; 14-23 27-18!; 7-10 26-23; 3-7 30-25 is a quick win scored by Pat McCarthy over Ken Lovell) 21-14; 10-17 29-25; 17-21 18-14; 9-18 23-14; 11-15 27-23; 8-11? White to Play and Win.

15-18 and the resultant 3 for 3 would have drawn. Can you find the White win? Of course, as would be expected in an advanced study, you may not find it easy. For the solution, download the book and refer to page 167.

Now that this landmark series is concluded, we plan to prepare and publish a comprehensive single-volume edition of all five parts of Logical Checkers, a mammoth book with over 1,000 diagrams and likely running above 800 pages. An electronic version will as always be provided completely free of charge. The trade paperback print edition is estimated to cost around $30.00, although that has yet to be finalized. The book will take quite some time to bring to press, but look for it in the latter part of 2021.

The Checker Maven thanks Grandmaster Pask for the honor of continuing to publish his work and for his unparalleled generosity in providing it to the checker playing public completely free of charge.

It's here! The fourth volume of Richard Pask's projected five-volume Logical Checkers series, entitled Checkers for the Three-Move Expert: Balanced Ballots is available to download in PDF format here or from the "Richard Pask" page as linked in the right-hand column. Of course, the book is completely free of charge, as are all the ebooks in the series.

Volume Four provides in-depth coverage of selected endgames, advanced tactics, mid-game landings, and of course balanced three-move ballots. The book is over 200 pages in length, with many examples, illustrative games, and diagrams.

Looking forward, we anticipate seeing Volume Five as early as the end of 2020, with a mammoth print volume of the whole series projected for later on in 2021.

Our thanks go to Grandmaster Pask for the opportunity to publish his works, and for his generosity in providing them gratis to the world-wide checker-playing community.

As a teaser, here's a position found in the book.

For the solution, see page 123 of Richard's new book.

It seems that an obsession with jargon has dominated the business world during the past few decades. There's "rightsizing," "synergy," "proactivity," and thousands more, and it seems that such terms offer very little other than a way to take up screen space in yet another stultifying PowerPoint presentation.

In today's Checker School entry, our friends Skittle and Nemo return. You'll recall that they are to be found in Andrew J. Banks' fascinating book, Checker Board Strategy. Let's listen in as Skittle instructs Nemo. Note that Skittle prefers the word "vocabulary" over "jargon."

"As we solve problems," Skittle suggested to Nemo, "let's use the checker vocabulary. When you jump two pieces, call it a 'Two-Shot.'"

"Why get technical?" protested Nemo. "Solutions flash on me. Checkers is the silent game."

This raises an interesting question: Just how much does 'checker jargon' such as "Two-Shot", "Breeches," and all the rest, add to our learning and understanding? We'd posit that when a name reinforces the idea concerned, it's useful. A "breeches" position is easy to picture and easy to remember. A "Two-Shot" is just as clear. But the names of openings, for instance, while providing a convenient shorthand, don't really tell us much in and of themselves.

Mr. Banks uses the following position as an illustration. Can you solve it--- and come up with some "checker jargon" to describe the solution?

You won't be able to merely talk your way through this one, and we don't know if the solution will "flash" on you, but we won't insist that you solve it silently. Do however give it a try. It's not especially difficult. Flash your mouse on Read More when you're ready to see the solution.

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Tommy Wagner had girl trouble, and as a ninth grader, he had never expected any such thing.

It all started when he had a match-up against rising star Letitia Wong (see previous Checker Maven story). Tommy won his game, but he was especially impressed with Letitia's sportsmanship and gentle manner. It had given him a funny feeling that was hard to describe.

So a week later, even though he knew maybe he shouldn't be doing it, he gave Letitia a call. Despite his nervousness, Letitia had been very receptive and friendly and even suggested that they go to a movie together on the following Sunday afternoon.

Tommy didn't know how to refuse--- he wasn't even sure that he wanted to refuse--- and that's when the trouble began.

The problem was this: Tommy had been keeping company with another girl, Tina, for quite some little while. They had gone to grade school together and were close friends.

It was just Tommy's luck, or maybe it was fate, that Tina and her older sister went to the very same movie at the very same theater on the very same Sunday. Naturally, she saw Tommy and Letitia together. Tina immediately burst into tears, and after the movie both she and her sister confronted Tommy and Letitia.

It was not a pretty scene and Letitia, mortally embarrassed, was quite angry with Tommy--- although maybe not as angry as Tina was. In the course of not even five minutes, Tommy went from two girlfriends to none, with Tina and her sister stomping off angrily and Letitia telling Tommy pointedly that she'd take the bus home by herself.

Tommy was in a down mood all week, and it persisted into his Saturday morning checker lesson with Uncle Ben, a retired checker professional and Tommy's long-time mentor.

Tommy dragged up the steps to Uncle Ben's front porch and plopped into a chair with only the barest of greetings.

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Uncle Ben asked. He could have chided Tommy for his lack of manners, but Uncle Ben was too kindly for that.

"No, sir," Tommy muttered. "Everything's fine."

"I don't think so," Uncle Ben said firmly. "Now, you don't have to tell me about it, but please don't deny it. After all these years I think I know you pretty well."

Tommy sat silently while Uncle Ben, wishing to put Tommy at ease, poured out tall glasses of his deservedly famous lemonade.

Tommy couldn't help but relax, if only a little, after his first sip. "Thank you, Uncle Ben," he said, and then, at all once, launched into the story of his girl trouble.

It was Uncle Ben's turn to sit silently for a few moments. Then he said, "Well, Tommy, and who do you suppose is to blame for this situation?"

"If Letitia hadn't asked me to go to the movie with her ..."

"Just a minute! There are three things wrong with that. First, Letitia didn't know anything about Tina. Second, you didn't have to accept her invitation. And third, you're the one who called Letitia to begin with."

"Um ... yeah ... kind of looks like I brought this on myself, doesn't it?"

Uncle Ben didn't need to reply.

"But now, I don't know what to do about it!"

"What does someone do when they've hurt or offended someone else?"

"Er ... well ... they say 'sorry'?"

"Exactly. You've taken the first step by admitting responsibility. That's a big thing. But it's not enough by itself. Now you have to do something even harder. You have to face the people you've hurt and apologize. Do you think you can do that?"

"I don't know ... but I have to, don't I? So I guess ... well, I just have to. Right away."

"Very good, Tommy, the sooner the better. But not quite right away. You can do what you must this afternoon. I think it will go better if you do a little checker study first to clear your head and focus your thoughts."

Uncle Ben pointed to the checkerboard he had set up on a little porch table. "Today we're going to study something known as the back shot. Take a good look at this position. Push everything else out of your mind and focus. Then tell me how to solve it."

Tommy took a deep breath, then another, and began to concentrate. After about five minutes, he said, "I'm ready, Uncle Ben."

---

Do you need a checker problem to clear your head and put you in a frame of mind for doing ... whatever you need to do? We certainly hope you don't have girl (or boy) trouble! Do give the position a good try and then click on Read More to see the solution, notes, and numerous additional examples of the theme.

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Today we're delighted to announce the immediate availability of the third volume of Grandmaster Richard Pask's Logical Checkers series, subtitled Checkers for the Two-Move Expert. In this new book, which runs to close to 300 pages, Mr. Pask presents new material on endgames, landings, and a vast array of tactical themes, as well as a survey and analysis of two-move ballots (as a stepping-stone to eventual study of three-move ballots).

You can get the book from the Richard Pask page as linked in the right-hand column, or directly here. The book is of course completely free of charge thanks to the generosity of Mr. Pask.

As a bit of a teaser, here's a position found in the book. It's one of Mr. Pask's own devising which he calls Life's Not Fair.

To see the solution, download the book and go to Diagram 391 on page 92.

The Checker Maven thanks Mr. Pask for the continuing privilege of editing and presenting his work.