Notable people · Checkers Champion
Asa Long
Born in Antwerp, Ohio, Long won the U.S. checkers title at 18 and again in 1980, making him both its youngest and oldest champion. He also won the world title in 1934 and mentored Marion Tinsley.
At a glance
- Born
- 1904
- Died
- 1999
- Known as
- Checkers Champion
Life story
Asa Long was born in Antwerp, Ohio, in 1904. His family moved to Toledo, where he learned checkers.
He became the youngest U.S. champion at 18 and in 1980 won the national title again in a surprise, which made him the oldest as well. He won the world championship in 1934 and held grandmaster standing for about seventy years. He is said to have spent 55,000 hours studying the game.
He mentored Marion Tinsley, later considered the greatest player of all, and played the Chinook computer program in 1992. He married Isabel in 1929 and had two surviving sons.
Timeline
What Asa is known for
- Youngest and oldest U.S. national checkers champion
- World checkers champion, 1934
Honors and things named for them
- Youngest and oldest U.S. checkers champion
Family
- wife: Isabel
- student: Marion Tinsley
Ohio places
Where Asa Long was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Antwerp, Paulding County ZIP 45813 · Antwerp · Paulding County
- Lived: Toledo, Lucas County ZIP 43604 · Toledo · Lucas County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: Asa Long birth Antwerp; learned checkers in Toledo; titles; mentored Tinsley; Chinook 1992; marriage