John Ray Webster

A competitive checkers player,[10] Webster won the United States Blitz Go-As-You-Please Championship at the American Checker Federation National Championship in Medina, Ohio on July 25, 2011.[5][6] He also won the North Carolina State Checkers Open in Greensboro, North Carolina on May 18, 2011 and the Southern Open in Lebanon, Tennessee on July 10, 2011.[6] He was a silver medalist at the West Tennessee Strawberry Festival Open on 7 May 2011 in Humboldt, Tennessee.[5] In October 2011 he competed in San Remo, Italy at the World Qualifier Checkers Tournament.[5] Webster began playing checkers when he was ten years old at country general stores. He traveled to play in Reidsville, Danville, Draper, Burlington, and Winston-Salem through the YMCA's Chess & Checkers Association.[5][7] His first North Carolina State tournament, when he was sixteen years old, was in Hickory in 1958.[5] He has won the North Carolina checkers championship eleven times.[5][9] He also acted as an early checkers mentor for his nephew and competitive checkers player, Jeff.[11]

In 2005 he placed seventh at the Tennessee State Championships.[12] In 2007 he won the U.S. GAYP National Championship in Las Vegas.[5] He was a member of the United States International Checkers Team four times, playing in the United States vs. United Kingdom and Ireland international matches.[5][9] Webster was a top player in two international matches, at Weston-Super-Mare in England in 1989 and again in Las Vegas in 2005.[5][6] In September 2014 Webster competed at the 97th Annual Virginia State Checkers Tournament in Bedford.[13]

In 2015 Webster won the Tennessee State Open in Lebanon, Tennessee.[14]

The John Webster GAYP Tournament, hosted by the American Checkers Federation, is named in honor of Webster.[15]