CHECKERS

DRAUGHT
CHECKERS?
Checkers, which is also known as Draughts, is a strategy
board game that involves diagonal moves of game pieces
and capture of opponent’s pieces by jump moves.
The game is played by two players with 12 pieces each.
The name Draughts means “to draw” or “to move”.
The main objective is to capture as many of the opponent’s
pieces as possible until the opponent has no more potential
moves.
Another objective is to get to the opponent’s side of the
board in order to crown their pieces king along the way.
CHECKERS – THE
HISTORY
For a long time, the world assumed that Checkers was related to the game
Alquerque, which was played in ancient Egypt in 1400 BC. Alquerque was
played on a 5x5 board with rules that were fairly similar to Checkers as we
know it today.
But, archaeologists have discovered new evidence of Checkers dating back
to 1400 BC while excavating at Ur, an ancient city in Iraq. They discovered
what appears to be a Checkers game, but with a slightly different board.
Unfortunately, the game's name and rules are unknown. Carbon testing on
the objects has dated them to roughly 3000 BC. This could imply that
Checkers is much older than we realize.
Checkers was then adapted by a
Frenchman as centuries passed
and invasions occurred all over
the world. Only around 1100 AD did
a Frenchman decide to adapt the
game for use on a chessboard.
This was the game's first
alteration in thousands of years.
And that was not his only change.
He also considered increasing the
number of pieces each player
receives from 5 to 12
This new version of Alquerque was now called FERSES
(sometimes Fierges). At the time, women mostly
played Checkers as a social game and it was
therefore referred to as “LE JEU PLAISANT DE DAMES".
While this version of the game was in action, there
was no such thing as a forced jump.
By the 13th century, the rule of crowning was already used.
This meant that when a piece reached the farthest row on
the opposite side, it became a king. Later on, in the 16th
century, the forced jump was introduced, and then the
game’s name was changed yet again to "JEU FORCE". The
forced jump rule ensured that a player had to make the
jump and take possession of the opponent’s piece if the
opportunity presented itself. These two rules are still in
place today.
 It was typical to find texts
about the game written
around the middle of the
1500s. This continued until
WHEN DID THE the 1750s, when an English

RULES BECAME mathematician, William

Payne, published formal

OFFICIAL? Checkers rules in a treatise.

After this, the game became
known as Checkers in the
United States of America,
although it was (and still is)
known as Draughts in the
United Kingdom.
EQUIPMENT OF
DRAUGHTS
Polish Draughts is played on a 10 x 10
chequered board with 20 black pieces and
20 white pieces. The pieces start on the
black squares of the four rows nearest to the
players.
 HOW TO PLAY STANDARD
AMERICAN CHECKERS
Game Basics
i. Checkers is played by two players. Each player
begins the game with 12 colored discs.
(Typically, one set of pieces is black and the
other red.) Each player places his or her pieces
on the 12 dark squares closest to him or her.
Black moves first. Players then alternate moves.
ii. The board consists of 64 squares, alternating
between 32 dark and 32 light squares. It is
positioned so that each player has a light square
on the right-side corner closest to him or her.

iii. A player wins the game when the opponent

cannot make a move. In most cases, this is
because all of the opponent's pieces have
been captured, but it could also be because all
of his pieces are blocked in.
 RULES OF THE GAME
1.Moves are allowed only on the dark squares, so pieces always
move diagonally. Single pieces are always limited to forward
moves (toward the opponent).

2. A piece making a non-capturing move (not involving a jump)

may move only one square.

3. A piece making a capturing move (a jump) leap over one of

the opponent's pieces, landing in a straight diagonal line on the
other side. Only one piece may be captured in a single jump;
however, multiple jumps are allowed during a single turn.
 RULES OF THE GAME
4. When a piece is captured, it is removed from the board.

5. If a player is able to make a capture, there is no option; the

jump must be made. If more than one capture is available, the
player is free to choose whichever he or she prefers.

6. When a piece reaches the furthest row from the player who
controls that piece, it is crowned and becomes a king. One of the
pieces which had been captured is placed on top of the king so
that it is twice as high as a single piece.
 RULES OF THE GAME
7. Kings are limited to moving diagonally but may move both
forward and backward. (Remember that single pieces, i.e. non-
kings, are always limited to forward moves.)

8. Kings may combine jumps in several directions, forward and

backward, on the same turn. Single pieces may shift direction
diagonally during a multiple capture turn, but
must always jump forward (toward the opponent).
DID YOU KNOW?
Checkers was so popular that the first Checkers
World Championship was held in 1840.

Checkers is actually older than Chess

as Chess was only believed to have
started in India by the 6th century CE.

THANK YOU