Edition #2 - 10/3/03- Editor: C. Thompson
POOL CHECKER NEWS-CHICAGO
(A monthly e-mail newsletter-pertaining to activities in the area)
-Produced by the 1st-Week. monthly-
LAMBERT WINS THE INDIANA STATE CHECKER TOURNEY FESTIVAL
Al "Action Man" Lambert, Perhaps Illinois best Pool Checker player, won the state of Indiana's Pool Checker Tournament on September 13, 2003. Playing until nearly 3:00 A.M. into the night, Mr. Lambert did what he had to do (win his final two games) to secure the State Championship
Charles "Pecan" Thompson had put Mr. Lambert in this dire predicament by winning one of their two head-to- head games in the 12th round. Having finished ahead of the other two chief combatants, which included Orlando "Panama" Williams, Mr. Thompson could only wait to see how both faired in the final, 13th round.
"Panama" had two draws and had to settle for 3rd place. The final score was; Lambert 38, Thompson 37, and Williams 36 points in a (w=2, D=1) format. Other Chicago participants were, Mr. Eddie Smith-who received a consolation prize, and Mr. Thurman Earnest
Mr. Roger Blaine, the organizer of this annual event, said he was very happy with the turnout. There was some disappointment that Indiana's favorite son- Clorius, "Mongoose-Iodine" Lay -of Gary; and (Vog's internet 4th ranked player was a No Show.
WILLIAMS TAKES BIG BOARD TITLE AGAIN
Orlando Williams ran away from the field on the 10 X 10 Board. It was no contest as "Panama" didn't lose a game and out-distanced the field by as much as 3 games. "Panama" has won this title for three straight years and says he wonders if there are any Big Board players out there who is willing to challenge him. I might add, if there is, I would like to be contacted.
FREDDIE OWENS IN MATCH WITH MR. KATZ
We have been informed by our friend, Mr. Talbert. President of the Washington D.C. Pool Checker club that a match between Freddie Owens and Alexander Katz is all but finalized. Contact Mr. Talbert for the final details. We wish them both well, and complement Mr. Talbert for his great efforts in promoting the game of Pool Checkers.
"The Legend of Buster"
And so it was, "Pecan," (I will tell you about how the name, "Pecan" came about later). The brash young upstart to the world of Pool Checkers, was to meet the wily veteran of the game-Carl "Buster" Smith, that had often been talked about, and who was already a legend in his own time. It was just that I didn't know it.
An old checker player, Shirley Huckaby, was later to say to me, "Buster", he became champion at 16 years old; "Today more that 40 years have passed, and he still Rules." "It must be the longest reign in history."
I had to remind my friend, Mr. Huckaby, that a little research that I had done had revealed to me that, Julius Ceasear, Octavinous (Octavian)- Augustus, the mighty Emperior of Rome ruled from 27 B.C. until 14 A.D. (41 years). But then "Buster" was still ruling. From that comes legends!!
The first game was a classic "alley game," that I had studied and thought I new well. I quietly maneuvered "Buster" into what I thought was my ‘hammer‘ game. When "Buster" left a two for one hit for me, I grabbed at it like a hungry dog! And it was my demise. It was a trick play; he allowed me to make a two man hit, and then he pitched even a third man, before taking a king shot. The crowd, and Mr. Dew died with laughter. To me, of course I was embarrassed; and it wasn't funny. I still didn't know I was playing the ‘Great' "Buster."
Game two was a ‘quiet' game; there was nothing spectacular but just some hard playing. I can recall "Buster" saying to me at one point, "Young man you play a nice game." This was rare for "Buster"-for he hardly ever said anything when he was playing-and not very much afterwards. Little did I know when he made that statement, he was preparing the final moves for my demise again. As we say in the "hood," he was ‘tightening the screws.'
-------TOO BE CONTINUED in the next issue.
CHESS CORNER
The chess program is going well. On Fridays, when we emphasize the chess aspect of our program, the young chess players have been very spirited in their play. We have a MAN vs. MACHINE setup whereby a human opponent competes against the computer program. Needless to say, no one has beaten the computer -in chess-yet!
SHURN PREVAILS IN RATED PLAY GAMES
Fred D. "The Shark" Shurn, a Chicago APCA Master upset some of the areas best Pool Checkers Players in winning the weekly Rated Play Games Tournament. Playing with the determination of a player possessed, Mr. Shurn knocked of C. "Pecan" Thompson one game, in their two encounters and had two draws with Al "Action Man" Lambert. He then expressed regret that Chicago area's two other premier players-tough talking Clorius"Iodine" Lay- and Orlando "Panama" Williams didn't show up.
A selected week of RATED PLAY GAMES... Results of Ratings Play on Posted weekly- Wed (9/17/03 APCA
PLAYERS W L D P/N# SCORE TG
1 Shurn, F. 5 0 7 5 34 12
2 Thompson, C. 5 1 6 4 32 12
3 Green, A. 5 2 5 3 30 12
4 Lambert, A. 2 0 10 2 28 12
5 Thurman. E. 3 3 6 0 24 12
6 Deadmon, H. 1 7 4 -6 12 12
7 Loggins, W. 0 8 4 -8 8 12
Class-B (Experts)
1 Lillard, J. 12 2 4 10 56 18
1 Smith, E. 11 1 6 10 56 18
3 Lee, E. 6 4 8 2 40 18
4 Burke, S. 5 5 8 0 36 18
5 Johnson, S. 5 6 7 -1 34 18
6 Davis, F. 5 7 6 -2 32 18
7 Sykes, L 6 9 3 -3 30 18
8 Joiner, H. 4 9 5 -5 26 18
9 Polk, S. 3 10 5 -7 22 18
10 Mitchell, M. Incomplete