Read about the History of Women in Checkers.

The daily summaries below are taken from the International Festival of Draughts daily updates.

  Day One: The Defending Champion Makes a Statement
The World Women's Daughts Championship between Patricia Breen and Jan Mortimer was officially opened this morning by Mr. Mervyn Elder, Hon. Chairman of the Northern Ireland Events Company. The opening ballot for games 1 & 2 produced 9-13 23-18 12-16. In the first game, Patricia (playing Red) caught Jan in a "shot" that instantly won the game. In their second game, Patricia again brought pressure to bear and won with the stronger side.

Games 3 & 4 were contested this evening, and the ballot was the dreaded "Double Cross" opening, 9-14 23-18 14-23. Jan pressed the advantage in game three but was well checked by Patricia to a drawn result. Their fourth game was relatively even until the players reached a 4x4 ending where Jan appeared to overlook the "Patterson's Drawbridge" theme. Patricia won the resulting bridge ending.

The two ballots today were difficult and Patricia appears to have settled into the first day's play a little easier than Jan. Now that the first four games have been played, we expect that both players will relax in the match and produce much closer results.

Score: Patricia Breen: 3 wins, Jan Mortimer: 0 wins, & 1 game drawn.

  Day Two: Another Tough Opening Draws Blood
Play recommenced this morning, and the games did not get any easier. The opening ballot for games 5 & 6 produced 9-13 22-18 11-15, the "Dreaded Edinburgh." Patricia Breen won game 5 with the "White" pieces and managed to draw game 6 with the weaker side using the unorthodox 7-16 jump from the opening.

In the afternoon, games 7 & 8 were played on 9-14 23-19 5-9 and this resulted in two drawn games.

Score: Patricia Breen: 4 wins, Jan Mortimer: 0 wins, & 3 games drawn.

  Day Three: Two Pioneers of Women's Checkers Battle On
Play continued this morning with games 9 & 10 being played on 11-16 21-17 16-20, and they resulted in two draws along "Pioneer" lines.

In the afternoon, games 11 & 12 were contested on 11-16 22-18 8-11. Patricia Breen won game 11 with the "White" side while transposing the second game into another "Pioneer" that resulted in a draw.

Score: Patricia Breen: 5 wins, Jan Mortimer: 0 wins, & 7 games drawn.

  Day Four: Jan Pulls Out All Stops, Dents Champion's Armor
Play recommenced today with games 13 & 14 being played on the 9-13 24-20 10-14 opening. The 13th game produced a four and a half hour thriller. Jan Mortimer gained a winning position, but the tenacity of Patricia Breen made it most difficult for Jan. In the end, Patricia earned a draw with great defensive play. In game 14, we witnessed Jan Mortimer throw caution to the wind to gain that all elusive win, but Patricia countered effectively. The contestants agreed to a draw in a 6 x 6 endgame.

In the evening session, games 15 & 16 were played on 10-14 24-19 6-10. Jan Mortimer played the White side in their first game and succeeded in forcing a fine win in the endgame, her first win of the match! Game 16 was another problematic game for Patricia, with Jan sacrificing a piece to gain a king behind Patricia's pieces. It's very likely that Jan missed another win in this endgame, and it resulted in a draw, enough for Patricia Breen to retain her World Championship title.

Great credit must go to Jan Mortimer who demonstrated that she has been a very worthy challenger. No doubt, she will come back for more in the future.

Final score: Patricia Breen: 5 wins, Jan Mortimer: 1 win, & 10 games drawn.