2011 Alabama State & District 5 Open 3-Move Tournament
November 11^th & 12^th 2011
Imperial Inn & Galley Restaurant, Haleyville, AL
 

Newspapers: (hopefully the actual article later)

from:  Northwest Alabamian   nwanews@centurytel.net
to:  JR Smith NC Checkers  jrsmithnccheckers@gmail.com
date:  Fri, Dec 9, 2011 at 10:06 AM
subject:  Newspaper Article
mailed-by:  centurytel.net
Important mainly because of the words in the message.
hide details:  10:06 AM (8 hours ago)

Here is the story we ran in the paper.

HALEYVILLE – The ACF District V Open Checker Tournament was held Nov. 11-12 at the Galley Restaurant in Haleyville.
Local checker player Larry Pollard, of Brilliant, came away with his 13th state championship at this year’s tournament, which was held in conjunction with the district tournament.

“We probably had five or six of the best checker players in the world here in Haleyville,” said Pollard.
Some of those he mentioned were Tim Laverty, of North Carolina; Harvey Kelley, of Georgia; Larry Keen, of Tennessee; Clayton Nash, of Mississippi, one of the up-and-coming younger players; Albert Tucker, of Louisiana; and world champion, Alex Moiseyev, of Dublin, Ohio.

“I started to play checkers back in Russia when I was seven years old,” said Moiseyev, who now resides in Ohio. He has been world champion since 2002.

Pollard was one of three Alabamians to play in this year’s tournament, and he had the best overall score of the three, placing 11th in the Masters Division with 14 points.
Dallas Ramsey, of Pine Hill, placed 13th with 10 points, while Clyde Hallmark, of Russellville, finished 14th in the Masters Division with eight points.
Moiseyev won this year’s Masters Division title with 17 points, and John Webster, of North Carolina, was runner-up with 16 points.
Anthony Bishop, of College Grove, Tenn., placed third; Larry Keen, of Halls, Tenn., was fourth; and Harvey Kelly, of Calhoun, Ga.; Clayton Nash, of Aberdeen, Miss.; and Albert Tucker, of Minden, La., tied for fifth place.
Lynn Steelman, of Crandall, Ga., placed first in the Majors Division with Clifford Daniels, of Preston, Miss., coming in second. Jerry Askins, of Monticello, Ky., and Ken Schultz, of Cosby, Tenn., tied for third, and Bobby Blankenship, of Guys, Tenn., placed fifth in the Majors Division

In the Minors Division, Dustin Belcher, of Madisonville, Tenn., finished first. Paul Hines, of Russellville, Ky., was runner-up. James Atkins, of Julian, N.C., placed third; Elbert Jones, of Carthage, Texas, finished fourth; and Thurston Butler, of Columbia, Miss., and Trey Stanley, of Greensboro, N.C., tied for fifth place.

“We had a real good turnout with probably 10 or 12 states represented, and it was one of the most competitive tournaments we’ve had,” added Pollard. “I want to thank Frank and Mary Davis from Clarkesville, Tenn., for being our scorekeepers. They always do a good job, and Frank is one of the better players in the United States.”

Final standings courtesy of J.R. Smith and nccheckers.org.

Photos by Northwest Alabamian:

2011 Tournament Dates | 2011 Alabama Results