Checker champs converge

Monday, July 30, 2001 | 8:22 a.m.

The California Checker Association will host the U.S. Checkers Championship at the Four Queens Aug. 6-9.

"It will be the first major tournament in the West in more than 30 years," CCA president John Gibson said.

Most major checkers tournaments are held in Southern states, where the game is more popular, Gibson said.

He said the upcoming event is being dedicated to the memory of Tom Wiswell, the world's champion checker player from 1951-76 and the author of many books on the subject of chess.

About 250 checker players from around the world will compete in the tournament.

The CCA is part of the American Checkers Federation.

"In 1950 the American Checkers Federation was larger than the U.S. Chess Federation," Gibson, 52, said.

But as competition for leisure time activities increased over the years, with electronic games and other distractions, Gibson said the membership shrank.

"There are only a few thousand now," he said.

Gibson said the decline in interest in the game seems to have leveled off, but is beginning to experience an increase with the advent of checkers on the Internet.

"A lot of young players have found the sport that way."