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Like many draughts players, Fortman had a more than passing interest in chess, playing at a competent level and acquiring a library of about 300 books, mainly dealing with the game’s history and great players. While granting the sister game complete respect, he was, however, quite willing to challenge any chess players who chose to pronounce inaccurately on draughts.

When one famous English chess writer suggested that losing a game of draughts did not involve the same sense of personal loss as losing a game of chess, Fortman was aghast. He pointed out that some of his losses were still painful 50 years on and, tongue somewhat in cheek, declared that he “played chess for fun and checkers for blood”.

At the first Computer Olympiad staged in London in 1989, Chinook, programmed by a team led by Jonathan Schaeffer, at the University of Alberta, arrived on the scene, and quickly gave notice of its great ability. It was evident to Fortman that the days of the analyst and postal player were numbered, but he was philosophical about it. Recognising that such programs were a vehicle for demonstrating the beauty and profundity of draughts to a completely new audience, and would guarantee its future as a game and intellectual art form, he took a keen interest in the short-lived man-machine contests, and accorded Chinook due credit for its achievements.

Interestingly, Fortman’s seminal opus, Basic Checkers, played a crucial role in the landmark match between Tinsley and Chinook, staged at the Park Lane Hotel in London in 1992. The seven books in this remarkable series marked Fortman out for immortality and won the praise of players of all standards. Naturally, it was not perfect, however, and a dubious variation found its way into Chinook’s opening database. Cue the opening victory for Tinsley in his crushing defeat of the silicon monster, and thunderous applause from the spectators.

As an interlocutor for the professional blindfold exhibitioners Newell Banks and William Ryan in the 1930s and 1940s, Fortman realised that any attempt to make a living at the game would be precarious at best. For him, it was a hobby, which he miraculously fitted in around his work — as a warehouse foreman for the Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Company in Illinois — and family commitments. He was essentially an amateur, requesting only expenses for his work; the beauty of the game was its own reward. “A good game of checkers is like a great building — every brick fits right into place and, when the architect has drawn his plans correctly, the finished product is something to admire and enjoy,” he said.

With the advent of the internet, Fortman’s voluminous letters gave way to e-mails, and in his last few years he confined his contests to cyberspace. Of master strength right up until his death, he was always a most dangerous opponent and, more importantly, regarded by the entire fraternity as one of the all-time greats.

He is survived by Faye, his wife of 58 years, and their son and daughter.

Richard Fortman, draughts master, was born on February 8, 1915. He died on November 8, 2008, aged 93