Walter Hellman
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Walter F. Hellman (June 15, 1916 – July 28, 1975) was the longest reigning world American checkers champion.


Background

Walter Oskar Fredrik Hellman was born in Gamla Nordsjö,
Nordmaling Nordmaling is a locality and the seat of Nordmaling Municipality in Västerbotten County Västerbotten County ( sv, Västerbottens län) is a county or ''län'' in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, ...
, Sweden. His family moved to
Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the sou ...
, United States, in 1927.


Career

Hellman first entered at the age of fifteen and won a Gary City chess tournament. He won his first Indiana State Tournament in 1933 at the age of seventeen. Hellman placed 10th in the masters' level at a young age of 18. Three years later, in the 9th American tournament of 1937 held at
Martins Ferry, Ohio Martins Ferry is a city in Belmont County, Ohio, United States, on the Ohio River across from Wheeling, West Virginia. It is the largest city in Belmont County. The population was 6,915 as of the 2010 census. It is most known as the birth place o ...
, Hellman placed third in the checkers. In 1946, Hellman entered and won the eleventh ACA American tournament held at
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, and also the third NCA American tournament played in
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
. In 1948, Walter defeated Asa Long to become the new World Checkers Champion. Hellman held the title the American Checker Federation World Championship from 1948 until 1955 and from 1958 until 1975. Hellman lost only one World Title match, in 1955 to
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 ...
. Winning the 8 other occasions in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1962, 1963, 1965 and 1967. His final appearance in the checkers arena was when Hellman played on the U.S. checkers team in the third International Match between the U.S. and Great Britain at
Bournemouth, England Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...
.


References


External links


The American Checker Federation World Championship
1916 births 1975 deaths American checkers players People from Gary, Indiana Swedish emigrants to the United States {{board-game-stub