International Checker Hall of Fame

The International Checker Hall of Fame (ICHF) operated from 1979 to September 29, 2007, when a fire burned over 20,000 square feet with smoke and water damage on the 15,000 balance. The ICHF was founded by Charles Walker, who was many times MS State Checker Champion. The ICHF was located in a Tudor architecture style mansion in Petal, Mississippi; it housed a large collection of checkers memorabilia. The hall of fame, which had been home to a statue of checkers-great Marion Tinsley, contained a checkers book library and museum, as well as the two largest checkerboards and was host to a number of State and International checker tournaments.

Due to the Katrina Storm claims, the Insurance Company canceled coverage on several of the larger properties which included the ICHF facility ten days before the fire. Without coverage combined with the fact that the lowest bid to rebuild was two and one half million dollars. This temporarily delayed the rebuilding, but ICHF has been rebuilt, restocked and has hosted and housed several international events. A World Men's Checker championship has been rescheduled until June 8, 2020 due to the Coronavirus.

The Hall of Fame opened in May 1979 and was officially dedicated during the world checker championship during the same year.[1] It provided a tourism boost to the small town of Petal[2] and was considered to be the town's biggest claim to fame during its operation.[1]

Featuring the world's largest checkerboard,[3] the 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) Tudor-style mansion,[1] Chateau Walker is listed in Ripley's Believe It or Not![4] The mansion is designed with a balcony that overlooked the largest checkerboard,[5] which has played host to a number of checkers tournaments throughout its existence[6] as well as the World Checker Championship.[7] The museum also featured a bust of Marion Tinsley, considered to be a checkers great,[3] together with a letter from Tinsley renouncing his championship.[8] The hall also features a museum with photos of current and former champions, a teaching facility, as well as the world's second largest checkerboard.[1][9][10] The fire destroyed 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2) of the museum but there were no injuries.[11] The ICHF repairs were completed in 2009 and has housed and will continue to host World Checker Events.

References
  1. "Where in Mississippi is…Petal?". Mississippi Magazine. 2003-03-01. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  2. "Checkers Hall of Fame Gives a Big Boost to Miss. Town". The Pantagraph. 1989-05-14. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  3. Jones, Melissa (2005). Superlatives USA: The Largest, Smallest, Longest, Shortest, and Wackiest. Capital Books. pp. 75. ISBN 1931868859. International Checker Hall of Fame.
  4. "Checkers Champ Wants Someone to Oversee Monument". The Advocate. 1990-11-07. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  5. "New Development Slows while Petal Catches its Breath". Mississippi Business Journal. 2005-10-10. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  6. "Checker Kings get Jump on Crowning Glory at their Hall of Fame". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 1989-07-16. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  7. Don Edwards (1987-09-02). "Champ Tells How to Get the Jump on Checker Foes". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  8. Schaeffer, Jonathan (1997). One Jump Ahead: Challenging Human Supremacy in Checkers. Springer. pp. 224–225. ISBN 0387949305. International Checker Hall of Fame.
  9. "Checkers Hall of Fame continued to operate on a limited basis for two more years while repairs were being made".
  10. "Checker Hall of Fame: Game Over". Roadside America. 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  11. "Cause Sought in Sept. 29 Fire". Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group. 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2008-07-07.

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