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Checkers Game Champion
Robert Martins
Checkers champion Robert Martins enjoyed playing
checkers and lived from 1822 to 1904.
Robert Martins was not a Scot by birth,
but spent most of his life in Douglas, Lanarkshire,
where he, too, was employed in the weaving
and cloth industry. Robert Martins was
born in Perryn, near Falmouth, Cornwall,
on the February 26, 1822.
By the time Martins was thirteen years
old, he had moved to London and had acquired
a keen interest in the sport of checkers.
Robert Martins started to play the game
with the aid from English and World chess
champion Howard Staunton. After some success
in various games, Martins ventured north
to Scotland and first played John
McKerrow for £100
in 1858, but the game ended in a draw.
In 1859, Robert Martins defeated James
Wyllie in a tough checkers game match,
establishing his claim to the World Championship
and making him the checkers world champion.
Over the years, checkers champion Robert
Martins faced James
Wyllie seven times in challenging checkers
matches. In each situation, champion Martins
showed himself to be a gentleman who was
genial and kind, well read, and a thinker
of some depth. Robert Martins was also
noted to be a considerable violinist in
his prime.
For thirty years, champion Robert Martins
developed his checkers game skill and finesse,
as exhibited in the many games he played
throughout his checker career. However, by
1889, his powers in long matches began to
wane. His concentration and focus was not
as sharp as it had once been. That year,
checkers game champion Robert Martins played
his last big match against Charles F. Berker
of Boston. This checkers match was played
in Glasgow and during its course, it became
painfully evident to Martins' supporters
that his checker playing days appeared to
be over, for both his memory and power of
concentration appeared to be impaired. James
Moir, originally from Tillicoultry and also
an excellent player, was Martins' principal
backer and he found that old champion Robert
Martins had "dizzy
fits and was unable to see the position or
think clearly."
None the less, during the 1890's, Robert
continued to tour the checkers clubs, where
he offered excellent and successful exhibitions.
In 1893, Robert Martins was at the ‘Old
Black Bull Inn’ in Cambuslang still
showing his game skill, and a year later,
in 1894, an item from the Glasgow
Weekly Echo read as "Mr.
R. Martins, ex-champion of the World, will
play all comers from the 31st inst. for a
week, at 34 Ingram Street. He is perhaps
the neatest player who ever moved a draughts
piece."
Unfortunately, Robert Martins
was forced to devote his later years to the
invalidity of his wife, which caused him
to spend a lot of his time and effort in
caring for her. This was duty that, although
he considered it a privilege, brought on
hard financial times. The last checkers battle
between Martins and Wyllie was a subscription
match to raise money for the unfortunate
master, and he received about £36.
Robert Martins lived in Douglas from 1864
until his death in 1904. He is buried in
the Old St. Brides Cemetery, where one will
find situated a commemorative tombstone which
states "In memory of Robert Martins,
noted draughts player, died July 27, 1904,
aged 84”. This would make his birth
year 1820, not 1822. Either way, he left
a great checkers game legacy behind for others
to follow.
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