The best checkers player of all time is Marion Tinsley. He was world champion from 1955 to 1958 and again from 1975 to 1991. The team that solved checkers in 2007 called him “the greatest checkers player that ever lived.”

Today the world title is split in two. As of November 2026, Matteo Bernini of Italy is the GAYP world champion and Sergio Scarpetta of Italy is the 3-move world champion.

This post covers American checkers, the 8×8 game the British call English draughts. If you’re after the 10×10 game, see our list of the top 10 international draughts players.

Who is the best checkers player of all time?

Marion Tinsley. Almost nobody argues the point.

Tinsley was an American mathematician who taught at Florida State University. He held the world title twice, from 1955 to 1958 and from 1975 to 1991. The Science paper that proved checkers is a draw says his record “included only three losses in the period from 1950 to 1991.”

That is three losses in 41 years of top-level play, which is why the question has a one-word answer.

He is also remembered for his games against a machine. In 1990, Chinook, a program from the University of Alberta, made a mistake on move 10. Tinsley told it “You’re going to regret that.” Chinook resigned on move 36.

Walter Hellman of the United States is the other long-reigning name of the modern era. He held the title from 1948 to 1955 and again from 1958 to 1975, the years between Tinsley’s two reigns.

Who is the current checkers world champion?

There are two men’s world champions, one for each style of play:

  • GAYP (go as you please): Matteo Bernini, Italy. He took the title from Lubabalo Kondlo of South Africa in 2022 and kept it against Melikaya Nonyukela in June 2024.
  • 3-move: Sergio Scarpetta, Italy. He has held it since 2017 and beat Alex Moiseyev of the United States in a title match in 2024.

Bernini’s next defense is set for November 8 to 15, 2026, in Lucera, Italy, against Alex Moiseyev. Moiseyev earned the match by winning the 2025 World Qualifying Tournament in Trieste. We’ll update this post once the result is in.

The title is run by the World Checkers/Draughts Federation (WCDF). Title matches are long, and most games end in draws. When Bernini won the GAYP title in 2022, he won 3 games, lost none and drew 19.

What is the difference between GAYP and 3-move checkers?

The difference is how each game starts.

GAYP3-move
Starting positionThe normal opening positionA position after three moves, drawn at random
Who picks the openingThe playersThe draw
Current men’s championMatteo Bernini (Italy), since 2022Sergio Scarpetta (Italy), since 2017

Openings that lose a piece straight away are left out of the draw. You can step through every three-move opening in our checkers openings explorer.

Both titles started in 1994. Ron King of Barbados held both at once. He kept the 3-move title until 2002 and the GAYP title until 2014.

Who has held the checkers world title?

The men’s world championship goes back to the 1840s. Scotland ruled the early years, then the United States took over for most of the 20th century.

YearsChampionCountry
1840-1844Andrew AndersonScotland
1844-1847, 1849-1859, 1864-1876, 1878-1894James WyllieScotland
1847-1849Andrew AndersonScotland
1859-1864Robert MartinsScotland
1876-1878Robert D. YatesUnited States
1894-1896, 1903-1912James FerrieScotland
1896-1903Richard JordanScotland
1912-1917Alfred JordanEngland
1917-1922, 1933-1934Newell BanksUnited States
1922-1933Robert StewartScotland
1934-1948Asa LongUnited States
1948-1955, 1958-1975Walter HellmanUnited States
1955-1958, 1975-1991Marion TinsleyUnited States
1991-1994Derek OldburyEngland

James Wyllie won the title four separate times across half a century. Derek Oldbury took over in 1991, after Tinsley gave up his title. Why Tinsley gave it up is in the next section.

Since 1994 the two titles have changed hands like this:

YearsGAYP champion3-move champion
1994-2002Ron King (Barbados)Ron King (Barbados)
2003-2013Ron KingAlex Moiseyev (United States)
2013-2014Ron KingMichele Borghetti (Italy)
2014-2016Sergio Scarpetta (Italy)Michele Borghetti
2016-2017Michele BorghettiMichele Borghetti
2017-2018Michele BorghettiSergio Scarpetta
2018-2022Lubabalo Kondlo (South Africa)Sergio Scarpetta
2022-presentMatteo Bernini (Italy)Sergio Scarpetta

Did a computer ever win the checkers world championship?

Yes, but not the human title. Chinook won a world title created for matches between people and computers.

Chinook qualified to play for the world championship by finishing second to Tinsley at the US national championship. The American Checker Federation and the English Draughts Association refused to let a computer play for the human title. Tinsley wanted the match, so he resigned his title to play it anyway. The two bodies then created a new title, the Man vs. Machine World Championship.

Tinsley won the first match in August 1992, by 4 wins to 2 with 33 draws. The rematch came in August 1994. After six games, all drawn, Tinsley withdrew for health reasons, and Chinook was declared champion. Tinsley was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer soon after and died in April 1995.

Chinook defended its title once, against Don Lafferty in 1995. It won 1-0 with 31 draws. Then the team’s leader, Jonathan Schaeffer, retired it from play. His team turned to a bigger job and proved in 2007 that checkers played perfectly is always a draw. We cover that proof in is checkers solved?

Are there grandmasters in checkers?

Yes. The strongest players hold the grandmaster title, written GM. In the world championship records, Matteo Bernini, Sergio Scarpetta and Alex Moiseyev are all listed as GM.

Women have their own world titles. Wikipedia’s list of champions gives Nadiya Chyzhevska of Ukraine as the women’s GAYP champion since 2017, and Tetiana Zaitseva of Ukraine as the women’s 3-move champion since 2018. Amangul Durdyyeva of Turkmenistan won both titles more than once between 2006 and 2018.

Where can you play checkers?

You can play checkers free in your browser against the computer at four levels, or press Play Online to be matched with a real opponent. The checkers strategy guide covers the basics.

Sources