The Game of Checkers

Checkers is played on the same board as Chess, consisting of the same 64 dark and light squares in alternation on a square board. The most obvious difference between the two games is the differing nature of the pieces and their position at the start of the game.

All of the Checker pieces are placed on black squares and all of their moves are of the same type, diagonally forward, until one of the Checker pieces gets crowned as King, then he has the ability to move and capture differently, forwards or backwards.

There are several different varieties of Checkers, with differing rules of play; below is one of them:

General Rules

In every Checker game, the starting position of the Checker pieces never varies, with the pieces positioned only on black squares (SEE diagram). The Checkerboard  consists of eight horizontal rows and eight vertical columns with 64 squares of alternating dark and light color. The initial position of the pieces is the same for both players (12 on each side), with a white square found for each player on the first row and at the far right, as for chess.

Checker Moves

Checkers that have not been crowned King can move only one square at a time, diagonally forward. Checker pieces and Checker Kings can move only to an empty square. A single turn for either player can be used for jumping one or more pieces. Players can capture an opponent's piece or pieces by skipping over them to the empty square behind; both checker pieces and Checker Kings can do this.

A King can move diagonally forward and also backward to a new square, while the ordinary pieces can only move forward diagonally.

A player can do multiple jumping movements provided the piece he is jumping with lands only in empty squares and continues in diagonal lines.

A player may move only one Checker piece on his turn. The Checker player is not allowed to jump his own pieces. If there is an opportunity to jump an opponent's piece, the player must do so.

If there is an opportunity to make multiple jumping moves, the player must do so, and is not allowed to stop before he has finished. Both the King Checker and the ordinary Checker pieces can jump a King.

The King In Checker Game

When a Checker piece has reached the last row (or King row) it becomes a King and the opponent places a second Checker on top of that one.

A Checker that has just become King cannot continue moving until its next turn..

A King can move forwards or backwards diagonally to the next square; this is often called the special move of King

End Game

The Checker game is over when all of the Checker pieces of one player have been captured by his opponent, or a player can no longer move.