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This is a text version of the rules taken from a ebook that is in the public domain. Note that the entire book is not presented here, only the chapter on the rules of checkers, and a key to the diagrams.

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Chess and Checkers: The Way to Mastership
by Edward Lasker

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Title: Chess and Checkers: The Way to Mastership

Author: Edward Lasker

Release Date: January, 2004 [EBook #4913]
[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
[This file was first posted on March 25, 2002]
[This file was last updated on April 7, 2002]

Edition: 10

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHESS AND CHECKERS ***

  *  =  black single piece
  o  =  white single piece

  ** =  black king
  oo =  white king


THE GAME OF CHECKERS



I

THE RULES OF THE GAME



The game of Checkers (English: Draughts) is played on the 32
black or white squares of the Chess board by two opponents, each
of whom has twelve men of the same kind. The object of the game
is to capture all opposing men or to block them so that they
cannot move.

The original position of board and men is shown in Diagram 85. It
will be seen that the board is placed in such a way that the
players have a vacant square at their lower right hand corner.
This corner is called the DOUBLE CORNER because two men are
located in its immediate neighborhood while the left hand corner,
the SINGLE CORNER, is occupied by only one man.

The squares of the Checker board are usually described by numbers
as shown in Diagram 86. This is a rather crude method when
compared with the simple notation by means of a system of
coordinates as used in Chess, but as it is universally employed
in Checker books and Checker columns in daily papers it will be
adhered to in the following explanation of the game.

The black men are placed on the squares 1 to 12, the white men on
the squares 21 to 32. The first move must invariably be made by
the player of the black men.

             32        31        30
       +---------------------------------------+
       |    |  o |    |  o |    |  o |    |  o | 29
       |---------------------------------------|
    28 |  o |    |  o |    |  o |    |  o |    |
       |---------------------------------------|
       |    |  o |    |  o |    |  o |    |  o | 21
       |---------------------------------------|
    20 |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
       |---------------------------------------|
       |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    | 13
       |---------------------------------------|
    12 |  * |    |  * |    |  * |    |  * |    |
       |---------------------------------------|
       |    |  * |    |  * |    |  * |    |  * | 5
       |---------------------------------------|
     4 |  * |    |  * |    |  * |    |  * |    |
       +---------------------------------------+
                    3         2        1

                        DIAGRAM 85.

The move of the Checker men is a diagonal step forward, one
square at a time. If a hostile man is in his way and if the
square beyond the hostile man is vacant, he must capture him by
jumping over him on to the vacant square, and he must continue
capturing from the square on which he lands as long as this is
possible according to the above rule. Captured men are removed
from the board.

                        WHITE

       +---------------------------------------+
       |    | 32 |    | 31 |    | 30 |    | 29 |
       |---------------------------------------|
       | 28 |    | 27 |    | 26 |    | 25 |    |
       |---------------------------------------|
       |    | 24 |    | 23 |    | 22 |    | 21 |
       |---------------------------------------|
       | 20 |    | 19 |    | 18 |    | 17 |    |
       |---------------------------------------|
       |    | 16 |    | 15 |    | 14 |    | 13 |
       |---------------------------------------|
       | 12 |    | 11 |    | 10 |    |  9 |    |
       |---------------------------------------|
       |    | 8  |    | 7  |    | 6  |    | 5  |
       |---------------------------------------|
       | 4  |    | 3  |    |  2 |    | 1  |    |
       +---------------------------------------+

                        BLACK

                     DIAGRAM 86.

If a man reaches the opposite edge of the board he automatically
becomes a King and must be "crowned" by the opponent, who must
place another man on top of him. A King may move and capture
backward as well as forward. A man, who reaches the "King row" in
capturing, cannot, however, continue capturing on the same move
with the newly made King.

The position of Diagram 87 may serve to illustrate the above
rules. White, on the move, plays 14-9. Black must capture this
man with the man on 5 who jumps on to 14.

              32        31        30
       +---------------------------------------+
       |    |    |    |    |    | o  |    |    | 29
       |---------------------------------------|
    28 | *  |    |    |    |  o |    |    |    |
       |---------------------------------------|
       |    |    |    |  o |    |  o |    | *  | 21
       |---------------------------------------|
    20 |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
       |---------------------------------------|
       |    |    |    | *  |    | o  |    | o  | 13
       |---------------------------------------|
    12 |    |    | *  |    |    |    |    |    |
       |---------------------------------------|
       |    | *  |    | *  |    |    |    | *  | 5
       |---------------------------------------|
     4 |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
       +---------------------------------------+

                    3         2        1

                     DIAGRAM 87.

White then sacrifices another man by 23-18 forcing Black to reply
14-23. Now White captures the three men on 23, 15 and 7 with his
man on 26, and Black, before making his next move, must crown
White's man who has just reached the King's row. He will
naturally move his man 8, as otherwise White would capture him
with the King on 3.

If a player overlooks the possibility of a capture his opponent
has the right to remove the man who should have made the capture,
from the board. This procedure is called "huffing" and does not
constitute a play. Instead of huffing a player may ask the
opponent to retract his move and to make the capture.

When neither player can force a win the game is considered a
draw. When one side appears to be stronger and refuses to accept
a draw offered the player of the weaker side can require the win
to be demonstrated within 40 moves; otherwise the game is drawn.