Checkers · Complete guide
Checkers: how to play, where it came from, and how to win
Diagonal moves, compulsory jumps and crowned kings. Simple enough for a child, and deep enough that proving it a draw took eighteen years of computation.
Checkers is played on the dark squares of a chess board with twelve men a side. Every move is diagonal, every capture is a jump, and — this is the rule that makes the game — capturing is compulsory.
That single obligation turns a simple race into a game of forcing sequences. Because your opponent must take what you offer, you can steer their pieces onto the squares you want them on. Almost every winning combination in checkers is a sacrifice: give one man, force the jump, and take two back.
The reputation for simplicity is a North American folk belief rather than a fact about the game. English draughts has a literature of thousands of analysed openings, a world championship contested for over 150 years, and in Marion Tinsley the most dominant competitor any game has produced — he lost seven games in forty-five years.
It is also one of the few classic games whose value is known: in 2007 a team at the University of Alberta proved that perfect play by both sides is a draw. That changes nothing for the rest of us, where games are decided by two-for-one shots and by who runs out of safe moves first.
How to play
The complete rules with diagrams: diagonal moves, why capturing is compulsory, multi-jumps, crowning kings, how games are won and drawn, and how Russian and international draughts differ.
Where it comes from
How an ancient jumping game moved onto a chess board around 1100, acquired compulsory capture, produced the most dominant champion in the history of games, and was finally solved by computer in 2007.
- Checkers descends from alquerque, a jumping game known across the ancient Mediterranean.
- The modern game appeared around 1100 in France when alquerque was played on a chess board.
- Compulsory capture — adopted later — is what makes forcing combinations possible.
- Marion Tinsley lost only seven games in forty-five years of competitive play.
How to win
Three levels of checkers strategy: back-row discipline and the two-for-one shot for beginners, tempo and formations for intermediates, and opposition, endgame databases and ballot play for advanced players.
- Hold the back row and the centre: both are given up too early by almost every beginner.
- Compulsory capture means most combinations are sacrifices that force a jump — learn the two-for-one shot.
- Tempo decides locked positions: whoever must move first has to create the weakness.
- The first king usually wins; count crowning races precisely before trading.
Common questions
Do you have to jump in checkers?
Yes. Capturing is compulsory in standard rules, and a piece that can jump again must continue. This is exactly what makes forcing combinations possible.
Can kings move backwards?
Yes — kings move and capture in all four diagonal directions. Ordinary men move forwards only, though in Russian draughts men may capture backwards.
Is checkers solved?
English draughts was solved in 2007: with perfect play it is a draw. International 10×10 draughts is not solved.
What happens if you cannot move?
You lose. There is no stalemate draw in checkers — being blocked counts exactly the same as being captured out.
What is the difference between checkers and international draughts?
International draughts uses a 10×10 board with twenty pieces each, flying kings and a rule that you must take the maximum number of pieces available. It is a considerably deeper game.
Guides
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