Checkers - Rules and How to Play

Checkers has a long history dating back to medieval times in England and other parts of Europe.

The first book on the game was published in 1756 by William Payne, titled 'An Introduction to the Game of Draughts'.

The game's popularity spread throughout the British Empire and became particularly established in the United States, where it is commonly known as 'Checkers'.

In 1847, the first world championship of checkers was held, establishing the game as a serious competitive pursuit.

Checkers is played on a standard 8x8 chessboard with 64 squares, using only the 32 dark squares.

Each player begins with 12 pieces placed on the dark squares of the first three rows closest to them.

Pieces move diagonally forward one square at a time. They cannot move backward until they become kings.

Capture occurs by jumping over an opponent's piece to an empty square directly beyond. The jumped piece is removed from the board.

If after a capture it is possible to make further captures, the player must continue the sequence with the same piece until no further captures are possible (multiple jumps).

If a player has the opportunity to capture, they must do so. If multiple capture sequences are available, the player may choose any valid capture sequence, regardless of how many pieces are captured.

A piece becomes a king when it reaches the last row on the opponent's side of the board. It is usually crowned by placing a second piece on top of it.

A king can move diagonally both forward and backward, but still moves only one square at a time except when capturing.

Kings capture in the same way as regular pieces, but can do so in all four diagonal directions. Like regular pieces, kings must make all available captures. Kings can be captured by regular pieces following the same capture rules.