Ron "Suki" King GAYP World Champion

Ron ("Suki") King was born in 1956 at St. George's, Barbados, and learned to play the game among the backstreet clubs and rum shops of Barbados. Mr. King first travelled to the United States in 1986 to compete in his first major tournament where he shocked the established American checker players with his flamboyant style, almost winning their National Championship on his first attempt! Since then, he has won the U.S. Championship at both GAYP and Three-Move and has also gone on to win the World Championship Title at both styles of play.

Ron King's 2003 Three-Move World Title Match against Alex Moiseyev was his eleventh such match, a record that exceeds the achievements of any other player in the history of the game. Mr. King has travelled widely in promoting draughts, having contested matches in the USA, Barbados, Ireland, and England, and undertaking promotional tours in the Caribbean Islands, South Africa, and Ireland. In 1998, Ron King set a new Guinness World Record for simultaneous play at Houston, Texas, where he played 385 opponents at the same time, winning every single game!

Ron King has been honoured in his native Barbados and was awarded Sportsman of the Year in both 1991 and 1992. In 1992 he was awarded the Barbados Service Star, the highest national honor that can be bestowed on a citizen for outstanding service and achievement. He also received the Kiwanis Club National Award in 1995 and was honored at the Caricom Heads of Government meeting at St. Lucia in 1998 as one of the top 25 sports personalities from the region.

Mr. King has also achieved success in the following events:

• English Open Championship Winner: 1991, 1993, 1995, and 1997
• Irish Open Championship Winner: 1994, 2001, and 2003
• British Open Championship Winner: 2002

Ron is married to Hazeldin. They have two daughters and one son.


This biography is based on an excerpt by at the International Festival of Draughts.