Draughts Championship

Waipawa Mail, Volume XLIX, Issue 152, 14 September 1928, Page 1 (Supplement)

Draughts Championship

The English draughts championship ms been decided (says the Manchester .Tiiardian) after a week’s intensive

play, and the champion is (tliougn there cannot be much in the advantage of playing at home) a Manchester man. Apparently the struggle was a seven; one; the six games contested in the final ro.iid lasted 13 hours between them. This arduous progress towards victory should do something to eor.ect the notim of the ignorant that draughts is a somewhat trivial game, a poor ‘relation to chess, i r a parvenu distantly akin to that miserable pi st’me, fox and geese. Despite the scorn of the vi godly, draughts has been poing steadily on its way since Penelope’s suiti s filled in time and delighted their hearts with it, i.u the Bail: of Odysseus; but the suitors, although they hid plenty of time at their disposal, prolably did not enjoy the exacting game known to the moderns. Scientific Draughts, of the English or Scottish variety, was net properly worked out until the middle if tli-, 19th century, when the openings end their variations were nmlysed and tubulated.. There are 49 possiole open l {.s, 47 of which are recognised as ioumi, and it is the custom that when ti o cv »nly matched opponents persist in drawing, each in rurq jus to j!ay cue of the riskier ouc.sgs which will either hasten victjiv <r in sure defeat. All of which is .;,c show that in the draughts champi'msn’.p, Manchester has something worth w‘nning.