Draughts
From Wikinfo
See also: Dame (German)
Draughts (British English) or Checkers (American English) is a group of abstract strategy board games between two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over the enemy's pieces.
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History
The game of Draughts is thought to have originated in around 1100 AD, probably is southern France. It is thought the inventor created this board game by using a chessboard with the rules of Alquerque.
The pieces were originally called "ferses", the name that was given to Chess queens at the time, and the draught ferses moved in the same way as the queen did in Chess. Note however at this time, the queen was able only to move one square per turn. The one new move this game introduced was the ability to jump over opponent's pieces and take them. At this time the game was known as "Fierges".
In Philip Mouskat's "Chronique" (1243) is a reference to the use of "Kings" suggesting that the ability to promote a piece existed at this time.
When in Chess "ferses" were renamed to "Dame", the same occurred in Draughts, the games name also changed to "Dames". While it is thought that the original Fierges had a compulsory capture rule, there is no evidence that this rule existed in Dames. This rule was however reintroduced in France in the year 1535. Modern play includes this rule.
The name "Checkers" originated with European settlers in the USA.
Rules
English Draughts is played on an 8x8 chessboard, but only uses the dark squares.
The rules are:
- Each player starts with 12 pieces on the three rows closest to himself. (See diagram above.)
- Each turn, a player can move one of his pieces diagonally forward or jump diagonally forward over a series of enemy pieces, which are then removed from the board. Captures are mandatory, however, if different captures are possible, any of them can be chosen.
- Multiple captures are possible, and if started must be completed.
- When a piece reaches the opposite side, it becomes a king with the ability to move and jump diagonally backwards as well as forwards. A king is represented by two pieces of the same colour, one on top of the other.
- A player who cannot make a move loses.
In Tournament Draughts, a variation called three-move restriction is preferred. The first three moves are drawn at random from a set of accepted openings. Two games are played with the chosen opening, each player having a turn at either side. This tends to reduce the number of draws and can make for more exciting matches. Three-move restriction has been played in the United States championship since 1934. A two-move restriction was used from 1900 until 1934 in the United States, and in Great Britain until the 1950s. Before 1900, championships were played without restriction: this style is called go-as-you-please.
Variants
- In Spanish and German Draughts the kings can move as far as they want along any diagonal, like a bishop in Chess.
- In International Draughts, the board is 10x10 with 20 pieces each, and the kings move as far as they want on diagonals. This is popular in the Netherlands, France, some parts of Africa and some parts of the former USSR and other eastern European countries.
- In Turkish Draughts pieces move straight forwards or sideways, kings moving like a rook in Chess, so that both red and black squares are used. Each player starts with 16 pieces in the first two rows.
- Srand or Zamma is the national game of Mauretania.
Computer Draughts
English Draughts (American 8×8 Checkers) has been the arena for several notable advances in game artificial intelligence. In the 1950s, Arthur Samuel created one of the first board game-playing programs of any kind. More recently, in 2007 scientists at the University of Alberta evolved their "Chinook" program up to the point where it is unbeatable. A brute force result of hundreds of computers working nearly two decades to solve. As of December 2007, this makes English Draughts the most complex game ever solved.
Famous Draughts Players
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Checkers" http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkers
