KTHV-TV Little Rock, Arkansas THV2 
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by Brett Ellis/Fremont Tribune
Monday, July 13, 2009 - 11:19:57 AM CDT

Erica Brewer was crowned the Fremont’s queen of checkers.

The 13-year-old Fremonter won the checkers tournament that made its debut Saturday at the Blue Bottle as part of the weekend’s John C. Fremont Days activities

Erica said she is a relative newcomer to the board game.

“I haven’t played checkers a lot, so it surprised me that I got this far,” said Erica, whose grandmother also competed in the tournament.

And Erica’s winning secret?

“It’s all about thinking,” she said. “It’s a mind game.”

While the 10 people who entered the tournament were competing for a gift certificate and small amount of prize money, the real point of the tournament was to get people to interact with each other, tournament coordinator Michele Missel said.

Contestants ranged in age from 7 to 61 and had different amounts of experience playing checkers.

“It’s definitely been a fun event,” Missel said. “I think all the people who have been here and played have gotten to know each other, which is definitely a big part of John C. Fremont Days.”

Fremonter Mark Wilson played in the tournament along with his two sons, 7-year-old Matt and 10-year-old Josh.

Wilson said it was a good opportunity to spend some time doing something different with his boys.

“We were at the car show and were walking by and heard that they needed some more players, so we came in,” Wilson said.

While Wilson was eliminated from the tournament early, Josh battled back to win the consolation championship.

“I normally don’t play checkers, but thought I’d give it a try,” Josh said.

Early-round matches were held at various downtown businesses before the contestants met up at the Blue Bottle for the later rounds.

Missel said the tournament will return to next year’s festival, but there might be some changes such as having matches played outdoors if possible.

“It was great fun,” Missel said.