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Checker Champion
James Wyllie 2
Wyllie and the checkers/draughts’ champion,
Andrew Anderson ~ In 1838, James Wyllie met
one of Scotland’s greatest checker
players, Andrew Anderson of
Braidwood, Carluke, for the first time. This
was indeed a special challenge and honor
for Wyllie as Anderson already held a special
place in the history of the game as the first
checker player to be recognized as a world
champion of draughts as well as a noted authority
on the subject as represented by his classic
book on the game of checkers.
The checkers match between Anderson and James
Wyllie took place in Edinburgh and was set with a £10
stake, though, unfortunately, it ended in defeat
for Wyllie. A second match between the pair
was declared and both checker players fought
valiantly but sadly ended with the same result.
However, Wyllie was not discouraged because
his games were prevailing elsewhere around
the various counties: defeated George Wallace
of Glasgow, who later became his life long
friend won two matches against Steel of Kirkconnel.
In 1840, James Wyllie traveled south into England
and shocked the ‘Sassenachs’ by
beating the champion of England ~ Price of
Manchester ~ in a match by winning eleven games
to the master’s
two games. When champion James Wyllie returned
to Scotland with these successes under his
belt, he challenged Andrew Anderson for a third
time with a stake of £100. The contest
was close but James Wyllie lost again. He was
now in his early twenties and had succeeded
against all his opponents except Anderson.
During these years, Wyllie's game had improved
tremendously and it was apparent that his ability
was increasing. This was evidenced in that
he could make concessions in a game by allowing
his opponents to count draws as wins against
him, and yet, Wyllie still emerged the checkers
winner. In another meeting with Price, James
Wyllie gave his opponent a start of seven games,
and against Muirhead of Macclesfield, he achieved
12 wins and five draws. Then in 1844, Wyllie
challenged Anderson yet again to another checker
series of games, and this time the match was
played at Carluke and caused a lot of excitement
in the area. It also brought James Wyllie's
first success in the series, where he won nine
checker games to Anderson's four, coupled with
several draws in between the wins. This result
did not please Andrew Anderson, so he sought
another trial of strength. Wyllie agreed and
therefore, a fifth checkers match was arranged
and this became the last time they would meet.
The checkers challenge was played at Edinburgh
in 1847, and is one of the most famous on record,
as described in Joseph Gould's book, "Memorable
Matches".
Andrew Anderson won nine checker games to Wyllie's
six and there were 31 draws between them. Afterwards,
Anderson retired as draughts champion and left
the championship title to James Wyllie.
An element that dominated Wyllie’s
life was certainly checkers but his focus
also changed slightly when James met and
married a local ‘lass’,
Helen Hendrey, at Dunfermline. Champion James
Wyllie and his new bride settled down to
marital bliss at Leven and soon began raising
a family. Wyllie’s family became his
new focus and as a result, he didn't seek
checkers matches for about 10 years. Many
thought that he had actually decided to retire
from the board game.
Then one day Wyllie learned of the rise of a new
checkers star in the South. Much as James Wyllie had
successfully managed to do years before, Robert Martins
was sweeping all before him in England. It was inevitable
that the two masters would eventually face each other across
the board in a challenging checkers match. This event took
place at Edinburgh in 1859. However, Wyllie was out of practice
and Martins won the checker match by
four games to one, and with 49 draws between the two masters.
Martins’ supporters cheered him on and rejoiced when he
took the championship title from James Wyllie. This game was the
beginning of a rivalry that would last close to forty years.
Champion James Wyllie returned to Leven,
but undaunted, practiced hard on his checkers
game. He tried again against Martins in Glasgow
in 1863, but they played the same opening
over and over again and it only resulted
in a draw. So when the two masters met for
a third time in Glasgow in 1864, they both
knew that this match could not end with a
repeat performance of the previous one. The
end result was a splendid checkers match
wherein the quality of play aroused the admiration
of the spectators. James Wyllie maintained
his lead throughout the match and won by
ten games to five, including 47 draws. From
here on, Wyllie and Martins tilted at each
other in a series of epic matches.
From 1864, Robert Martins, a Cornishman, settled
at Douglas, Lanarkshire, and became as much a part of
the Scottish scene as the Herd Laddie. Although he originally
hailed from English, and should be remembered as an English winner
of the world championship, he settled amongst the Scots and lived so
long among the people north of Tweed that he was almost considered one
of the locals from that area.
Checker Champion Again
Now champion Wyllie had captured the checker
championship title once again. Working hard
at his game, James Wyllie was determined
to maintain his superiority and did so in
all future matches against Martins.
In 1867, they played a challenging match
in Glasgow, in which champion player succeeded
in seven wins apiece. However, Wyllie's backers
were not pleased that he had agreed to a
drawn contest of equal wins. This led to
yet another match of four games wherein champion
Wyllie won two games without loss. Later,
in 1872 a match was played between them in
England with games played in Leeds and Newcastle,
and Wyllie won this set four games to three.
The New World; Wyllie’s checkers
expertise crossed the Atlantic Ocean and
he became internationally famous. Soon James
was receiving invitations from across the
Atlantic in the New World, where checkers
players were really eager to meet him. Encouraged
by this enthusiasm from abroad, champion
James Wyllie sailed from Liverpool in 1873
for New York. Here he spent three years between
the United States and Canada where he played
match after checkers match in Boston, Providence,
Chicago, St Louis, Pittsburgh, Portland,
Quebec and numerous other places on the North
American continent.
According to his own record, James played a total
of 21,500 games, wherein he won 20,694, lost 206, and
played 600 to a draw. There were very few large-scale matches,
because there seemed to be a general reluctance among leading
players to face such a formidable opponent and world checker champion.
While in Boston, James Wyllie met and played
against W. R. Barker, the current American
champion in a match, which was easily won
by champion Wyllie with ten games to one,
including with several draws. Wyllie's tour
of North America was very successful, but
it ended with one of the biggest upsets in
draughts/checkers history.
Wyllie had previously met a 15-year old
boy, Robert Yates,
who at that time performed well against him
in New York. Yates later became the strongest
player in the New York area, and when Wyllie
returned to the city in 1876 on his way home
to Scotland, a match of fifty games for the
world championship was arranged between Wyllie
and Yates. It became a tremendous struggle
for James Wyllie to maintain his upper hand.
Wyllie won the thirty-third game, while Yates
won the forty-seventh. At the final game
the scores were even between James and Robert
at one game apiece, with forty-seven draws.
This final game between the two checkers
masters has become one of the most famous
games in draughts/checkers history.
It was James Wyllie’s turn to move.
Yates was cornered into a losing position
but Wyllie missed his opportunity, as he
didn't see the play, and the advantage passed
to Yates. Robert forced James back until
he trapped him at the side of the board.
Yates, who was still not quite 19, made the
final move that won him the match and the
world championship from the Herd Laddie by
two games to one. Negotiations for a return
match were begun but Yates later relinquished
the championship because he was about to
commence medical studies. By common consent,
the title then reverted back to James Wyllie.
Continue reading about Checkers Champion James Wyllie, Herd Laddie
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