Checkers Blog
Strategy guides and tips to help you play better checkers.
- Chinese Checkers Isn't Chinese (and It Isn't Checkers)
The star-board marble game is really German Stern-Halma, rebranded in the US in 1928. Here's the real lineage — and why it's not checkers at all.
- The History of Checkers: From Alquerque to the World Championships
How checkers grew from the old Arabic game Alquerque into dozens of national variants, from the first printed book in 1547 Spain to today's FMJD world titles.
- Why International Draughts Has a Draw Problem (and What Players Have Done About It)
Top-level International Draughts games end drawn at chronic rates. Here's why, how the FMJD's draw law handles it, and the variants built to fix it.
- Pool Checkers vs American Checkers: Same Board, Different Game
Pool and American Checkers share an 8x8 board and 12 pieces each. Backward captures and flying kings make them play nothing alike. Here's the full comparison.
- How to Win at Checkers: 5 Strategies Every Beginner Should Know
Simple, practical checkers strategy for beginners — controlling the center, protecting your back row, trading pieces wisely, and getting your pieces to kings.
- American Checkers vs. International Draughts
American Checkers and International Draughts are the two most popular variants of this strategy board game for two players — here's how the board size, piece count, first move, and capture rules differ.
- 5 Ways to Win Quickly at Brazilian Draughts!
Five effective strategies for Brazilian Draughts: forcing shots, using the flying king, backward captures, well-timed sacrifices, and the majority-capture rule.
- 5 Ways to Win Quickly at American Checkers!
Five practical tactics for winning American Checkers games fast: forcing shots, attacking lonely pieces, opposition, blocking your opponent, and racing for the king.
- 5 Ways to Win Quickly at International Draughts!
Five tactics for winning International Draughts games faster: backward captures, the majority-capture rule, flying kings, cutting off pieces, and sacrificing into your opponent's king.
- The Top 10 Female Draughts Players in the World
Meet the world's ten highest-rated female international draughts players, from two-time world champion Natalia Sadowska to Estonia's veteran comeback player Anneli Veski.
- The Top 10 Draughts Players in the World
Meet the world's ten highest-rated international draughts grandmasters, from long-reigning world champion Alexander Georgiev to rising Dutch talent Jan Groenendijk.
- Simultaneous Blindfold Exhibitions in Draughts
The story of two outstanding Dutch draughts masters, Ton Sijbrands and Erno Prosman, who broke records competing in blindfold simultaneous exhibitions — playing dozens of games entirely in their heads.
- The Origins of Draughts — From Ancient to Modern Times
The history of draughts goes back thousands of years, from ancient Egypt's game of Senet through Alquerque, the first official rules in 1756, and the birth of International Draughts.