Wayne Rich The Checkmate

Game over; this board wins! The Checkmate is a take-no-prisoners, no-holds-barred, capture-your-king kind of longboard, so get ready to surf at the top of your abilities. Designed by Wayne Rich in the 80s as a contest board for Donald Takayama and Dewey Weber’s visionary resurgence of longboard competition, the Checkmate is quick off the bottom, nimble rail to rail, and powerful off the tail, the Checkmate is every bit a performance longboard. Fast wrapping turning in the pocket and hard down-the-line bottom turns are standard maneuvers for this modern gal. At the same time, a soulful outline meets a timeless bottom contour that rolls into a classic 60/40 longboard rail, resulting in a board that noserides, trims, and glides as lovely as any traditional log on the market. The Checkmate's traditional features remind us to “Never forget.” While we can’t divulge all the Checkmate’s secrets, we can share that a hard edge is snuck into the board’s tail to deliver a controlled drive when cranking tight turns and a lite concave in the nose blends through the front third of the board allowing for lift and acceleration when hangin’ the piggies. We suggest the Checkmate for all surfers looking to expand their repertoire of maneuvers on a longboard. Originally designed for the Santa Barbara points, the Checkmate works best in long, drawn-out walls head high and below but can be ridden up to a few feet overhead and at your local reef or beach break. If you are an old-at-heart-dog looking to learn a few new tricks, the Checkmate is for you. Read more →