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Basic Checkers: 2010 Reissue
In today's checkers world, it's easy to overlook how revolutionary Richard Fortman's Basic Checkers was: in 1977, 3-move checkers was only a few decades old; play on many openings was scattered among hundreds of columns, tournament books, and periodicals; and Chinook-- let alone Cake, Nemesis, and Kingsrow-- was well more than a decade away. Fortman had to rely on his own 45 (!) years of tournament experience, his massive checkers library, and his keen analytical skills to produce and test play on each of the 137 openings then approved for play. The result was not only a compendium of play that's still a standard reference 33 years later, but an astounding teaching tool. Fortman, you see, was not simply content to give his opinions on the best "first twenty moves," but turned each opening into a well-planned lesson, highlighting tactical and strategic ideas as well as commenting on alternate moves and ideas. He even managed to throw in some checkers history, recounting a famous instance of a given line, and punctuated many sections with sage advice about our game. Throughout BC, as in all his published analysis, Fortman wrote with grace and humility, recognizing that no human could fully master the depths of checkers' beauty and complexity.In this same spirit, Bob Newell and Jim Loy have created a fantastic new edition of Fortman's classic work. This special reissue corrects typos in the original, using modern typesetting tools not available to Mr. Fortman in his day to achieve a clean and readable presentation. Perhaps more importantly, it collects all seven parts-- all of which are currently out of print and difficult to find-- into a single, affordable paperback. This new edition, along with Jim Loy's forthcoming "Basic Checkers, Part 8" (a compendium of corrections to the play in the original BC), will make an excellent addition to any checkers library, both for its comprehensiveness and its value as a reference. As Bob points out, "every serious checkerist is likely to have studied Basic Checkers at some point," which makes this a must-have book to keep you one step above the competition!
100% of net income from this update will go to the American Checker Federation Youth Fund in honor of Mr. Fortman. The regular cost will be $30 (available online at CreateSpace), but copies will be available at the 2010 Nationals for a special discounted rate of $25. To reserve a copy for pickup at the tournament, contact John. May this new edition inspire many more generations of players to fall in love with the Grand Old Game!