Draughts or Checkers is a board game played between two players, who alternate moves. The player who cannot move, because he has no pieces, or because all of his pieces are blocked, loses the game. Players can resign or agree to draws.
The board is square, with sixty-four smaller squares, arranged
in an 8x8 grid. The smaller squares are alternately light and dark
colored (green and buff in tournaments), in the famous
"checker-board" pattern. The game of Draughts or Checkers is played
on the dark (black or green) squares. Each player has a dark
square on his far left and a light square on his far right. The
double-corner is the distinctive pair of dark squares in the near
right corner.
The pieces are Red and White, and are called Black and White
in most books. In some modern publications, they are called Red and
White. Sets bought in stores may be other colors. Black and Red
pieces are still called Black (or Red) and White, so that you can
read the books. The pieces are of cylindrical shape, much wider than
they are tall (see diagram). Tournament pieces are smooth, and have
no designs (crowns or concentric circles) on them. The pieces are
placed on the dark squares of the board.
The
starting position is with each player having twelve pieces, on
the twelve dark squares closest to his edge of the board. Notice that
in checker diagrams, the pieces are usually placed on the light
colored squares, for readability. On a real board they are on the
dark squares.
Moving:
A piece which is not a king can move one square, diagonally, forward,
as in the diagram at the right. A king can move diagonally, forward
or backward. A piece (piece or king) can only move to a vacant
square. A move can also consist of one or more jumps (next
paragraph).
Jumping:
You capture an opponent's piece (piece or king) by jumping over it,
diagonally, to the adjacent vacant square beyond it. The three
squares must be lined up (diagonally adjacent) as in the diagram at
the left: your jumping piece (piece or king), opponent's piece (piece
or king), empty square. A king can jump diagonally, forward or
backward. A piece which is not a king, can only jump diagonally
forward. You can make a multiple jump, with one piece only, by
jumping to empty square to empty square. You can only jump one piece,
with any given jump, but you can jump several pieces, with a move of
several jumps. You remove the jumped pieces from the board. You
cannot jump your own piece. You cannot jump the same piece twice, in
the same move. If you can jump, you must. And, a multiple jump must
be completed; you cannot stop part way through a multiple jump. If
you have a choice of jumps, you can choose among them, regardless of
whether some of them are multiple, or not. A piece, whether it is a
king or not, can jump a king.
Kinging: When a piece reaches the last row (the King Row), it becomes a King. A second piece is placed on top of that one, by the opponent. A piece that has just kinged, cannot continue jumping pieces, until the next move.
Red moves first. The players take turns moving. You can make only one move per turn. You must move. If you cannot move, you lose. Players normally choose colors at random, and then alternate colors in subsequent games.
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