Asa Long
Encyclopedia
Asa Long was an important figure in English draughts
generally called checkers in his native USA.
in 1904. As a child he learned the game of checkers when the family moved to Toledo, Ohio
. At 16 he won the state tournament and at 18 he became the youngest person to ever win the US national championship. In the 1920s he began to devoting himself to studying the game in more depth as he had in essence been a remarkable amateur. It is said he clocked 55,000 hours in the study of checkers.
After that he would go on to win the world title in 1934. He became less active in the mid-1940s and in 1948 lost to Walter Hellman
, a player from Indiana
whom he had beaten before. In the 1970s his involvement revived and in 1984 he became the oldest person to win the US championship in a surprise victory. This gave him the record as both youngest and oldest national champion. In 1992 he played his last important match which was against the Chinook
computer. Before that he had mentored Marion Tinsley
who would later defeat Long with consistency and be widely deemed the greatest player in the history of the game. Asa Long was a grandmaster for 70 years in total.
for most of his life.
English draughts
English draughts or checkers , also called American checkers or straight checkers or in Israel damka, is a form of draughts board game. Unlike international draughts, it is played on an eight by eight squared board with twelve pieces on each side...
generally called checkers in his native USA.
Checkers champion
Asa A. Long was born in Antwerp, OhioAntwerp, Ohio
Antwerp is a village in Paulding County, Ohio, United States, along the Maumee River. The population was 1,740 at the 2000 census.Antwerp is the nearest village to the Six Mile Reservoir, the site of the Reservoir War in 1887. Antwerp is the birthplace of Asa Long, the English draughts player...
in 1904. As a child he learned the game of checkers when the family moved to Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
. At 16 he won the state tournament and at 18 he became the youngest person to ever win the US national championship. In the 1920s he began to devoting himself to studying the game in more depth as he had in essence been a remarkable amateur. It is said he clocked 55,000 hours in the study of checkers.
After that he would go on to win the world title in 1934. He became less active in the mid-1940s and in 1948 lost to Walter Hellman
Walter Hellman
Walter F. Hellman was the longest reigning world American checkers champion.-Background:Hellman was born in Gamla Nordsjö, Nordmaling, Sweden. His family moved to Gary, Indiana, United States, in 1926.-Career:...
, a player from Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
whom he had beaten before. In the 1970s his involvement revived and in 1984 he became the oldest person to win the US championship in a surprise victory. This gave him the record as both youngest and oldest national champion. In 1992 he played his last important match which was against the Chinook
Chinook (draughts player)
Chinook is a computer program that plays English draughts , developed around 1989 at the University of Alberta, led by Jonathan Schaeffer. Other developers are Rob Lake, Paul Lu, Martin Bryant, and Norman Treloar. In July 2007, Chinook's developers announced that the program has been improved to...
computer. Before that he had mentored Marion Tinsley
Marion Tinsley
Marion Tinsley is considered the greatest checkers player who ever lived. He was world champion from 1955–1958 and 1975–1991. Tinsley never lost a World Championship match, and lost only seven games in his entire 45 year career...
who would later defeat Long with consistency and be widely deemed the greatest player in the history of the game. Asa Long was a grandmaster for 70 years in total.
Personal life
In 1929 he married Isabel who died in 1979. He had two surviving sons with her and also had grandchildren. He credited his inner calm to his Christian faith. He lived in OhioOhio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
for most of his life.
External links
- http://www.acfcheckers.com/asa2.html ACF checkers reprint of an articles in The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
- http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~chinook/people/Long.php Profile of Asa Long by Richard FortmanRichard FortmanRichard Lee Fortman was a champion checkers player and authority on the game.Richard Lee Fortman was born on February 8, 1915 in Springfield, Illinois, which was his home throughout his life...