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Checkers Champion Robert Stewart
from 1873 to 1941
Scotland produced yet another checkers champion
giant by the name of Robert Stewart, who
was born on August 31, 1873, in Kelty, Fife.
His birthplace was just ‘up the road’ about
two hundred yards from Bridge House, Blairadam,
where he lived most of his life. Champion
Robert Stewart came by his love of
checkers games naturally as his father was
an enthusiastic lover of draughts and was
the one who introduced the game to his son.
At the age of thirteen, in 1886, Stewart
joined the Kelty Draughts Club and very quickly
demonstrated an inherent skill in the game,
and as a result, he became an extremely strong
player within a relatively short period of
time. So much so, that by the early 1890's,
he had acquired a level of excellence in
devising checker strategy and creating new
innovative plays, which allowed him to defeat Richard
Jordan in 1893.
Robert Stewart played for the Scottish Championship
on several occasions and won the Championship
title in 1894, 1895, 1900, 1901 and 1902.
This was indeed a remarkable achievement
as there were a number of great checker players
on the scene at that time and they offered
a high quality of opposition across the board.
In the many checkers games he played against
high-ranking and formidable opponents such
as James Ferries, James
Searight, Richard Jordan, George
Buchanan,
Henderson, and others, Champion Robert Stewart
was able to acquire an outstanding score
of that included thirty-five wins, eight
losses, and one hundred and twenty-nine draws
(35-8-129).
In the three checkers championship matches
where England and Scotland faced off, Robert
Stewart was one of the key players, and he
succeeded in winning five games with no losses
and twenty-six draws. Stewart was also
a checker challenger on the British team
in the First International match in 1905
between Britain and the US. Here he scored
a total of 7-0-32.
From 1901, champion Robert Stewart’s
checker career boasted an amazing feat in
that he did not lose a single game in public
during the next twenty-one years. Not many
checker champions could share in such a phenomenal
record, and one can only conjecture that
his success was largely based on an insightful
talent in the checkers game and a resilience
to come back from a potentially losing situation
with just the right strategic moves.
A crowing victory came in 1922 when champion
Robert Stewart challenged the American Champion
Newell Banks in a championship match and
Robert Stewart emerged the winner with a
score of two wins, one loss, and thirty-seven
draws (2-1-37). This win secured him the
World Championship in a match played in Glasgow
for a purse of £500
in prize money. This victory was indeed an
achievement for Stewart because not
many checker masters won the World Championship
title.
Of course, the hometown of Kelty was proud
of its returning world champion and was waiting
at the train station with playing bands and
cheering crowds. However, Stewart caught
wind of these festivities and left the train
one station before Kelty and then walked
home so he could avoid the crowds because
as a quiet and reserved man, Robert preferred
to leave all the pomp and circumstance to
someone else.
Though a world class checker master who possessed innovative skill and an inborn ability in the game, he was still considered a somewhat eccentric personality by the locals in his surrounding community. Accounts told of times where he would be absorbed in his own thoughts and pass by a close family member in the middle of a country lane, yet say nary a word to that person. He also appeared to be a bit of a loner who spent a lot of time wandering throughout his estate but all the while, carrying a mini checker set in his pocket. This, of course, would present him with many opportunities to devise new ‘cooks’ and innovative plays that would take his opponents unawares. The serenity of these sojourns outdoors certainly allowed him timeless moments to hone his checker skill more and more.
Champion Robert Stewart checkerboard ingenuity was
definitely one reason for his championship successes,
but Robert Stewart also excelled in many exhibitions
and checker demonstrations, thereby establishing a
prodigious record within these events. One unique
feat that most masters could not achieve was the remarkable
ability as a "blindfold" player; that is he played without sight of the checkerboard. In order to perform in the outstanding manner in which he did, Robert would have had to not only memorize the board by heart but also the outcome of many checker moves. This indeed gave credence to a master of highly developed game skill because Stewart scored the following results in these ‘blindfold’ checker games:
Cowden Beith in 1904 |
14-0-0 |
Peebles in 1905 |
12-0-3 |
Carlisle in 1905 |
19-0-6 |
Robert Stewart’s checker career was a testimony to his amazing expertise in the mind sport with a record of 1101-0-182.
Record has it that champion Robert Stewart retired
after the checker match in 1922 and thereafter,
he did not play against any other opponent. However,
during this same time period, sources say that
the Americans tried to arrange another World Title
match but claimed that Stewart would not play.
But of course, Robert Stewart calmly denied this
claim and offered a rejoinder stating that he had "On
four occasions ...accepted proposals to cross the
Atlantic. On each occasion the matter fizzled out
because America could not raise the money." At
this point in time, it’s hard to verify which
version is truth, but the fact remained that he
did not play checkers at the match level anymore.
Although Stewart retired from checker play in 1922,
he was later scheduled to play Sam Levy of England
for the title in 1937, but the match never took place
due to Robert’s ill health. So eventually in
that year, he decided to retire from the arena wherein
he had thrilled many admirers by finally announcing, "I
am now the retired, undefeated, world draughts champion." It
was with obvious regret and poignant emotion that
Robert Stewart made this decision, for he had held
the World checker title for fifteen and a half years.
Robert Stewart died in 1941, four years after his
official retirement, and was buried in Kirk O' Beith
cemetery close to his home in Fife.
Like many other checker greats, champion Robert
Stewart was a master at the board game, who
left behind a wonderful legacy recognized not
only in his memory but by his phenomenal skill
as a highly qualified checker champion.
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