Derek Oldbury (1924 - July, 1994) (often known as DEO) was a British

draughts Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; British English), is a group of strategy board games for two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. Checkers ...

champion from

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. He was a rival of

Marion Tinsley Marion Franklin Tinsley (February 3, 1927 – April 3, 1995) was an American mathematician and checkers player. He is considered to be the greatest checkers player who ever lived. Tinsley was world champion 1955–1958 and 1975–1991 and never lo ...

and, after Tinsley, "probably the second best player of all time." Oldbury was interested in Go As You Please (GAYP) draughts, in which players are free to choose their own opening moves. He competed in 7 world championship matches, winning in 1976, 1976 (GAYP) and 1991 (3-move). Oldbury was born

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

. He wrote the 6-volume ''The Complete Encyclopaedia of Draughts''.

References

External links

*
Move Over
' - online book by Derek Oldbury, an excellent introduction to draughts
The Unknown DEO
- 62 draughts columns by Oldbury for the ''Rotherham Advertiser'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Oldbury, Derek British draughts players Players of English draughts Sportspeople from Devon English people with disabilities 1924 births 1994 deaths