Checkers is an intellectual game with a long history and is popular all over the world. Although simple in terms of rules, checkers requires players to have a firm grasp of the rules to master the game. The following article will guide you on how to play checkers in detail and easily, helping you quickly master the skills and compete confidently. Don’t forget đăng ký w88 to start training today!
Foundations to Know Before Learning How to Play Checkers
In order not to get lost among the rules and how to operate the board, beginners should master the core knowledge below before entering into the detailed way of playing checkers.
The obvious identifying features of checkers
Checkers is an ancient two-player game played on a square board divided into 64 squares, with each side equipped with 12 pieces of the same color. The game is played on the black squares, with the goal of eliminating or paralyzing all of the opponent’s pieces.
- Checkers pieces do not have separate names like chess, but only regular pieces and kings after being promoted.
- The winner is the one who captures all of the opponent’s pieces or forces them to have no way to move.
- Checkers is popular in Europe, America and Southeast Asia, with many variations of the rules but retaining the same basic structure.
Compare the differences between checkers and other popular games
To avoid confusion when first contacting, it is necessary to clearly understand the points that make cách chơi cờ đam become different from chess, Chinese chess or Go.
- Minimal number of troops: There is only one type of army, not divided by complex functions like chariot – cannon – horse.
- Move along a fixed diagonal: Move only on black squares, diagonally – a unique feature of checkers.
- The law requires eating pieces when possible.: Players are not allowed to choose to pass if they have a move that captures an opponent’s piece.
- King style and flexible movement: When a piece becomes king, it has the right to move backwards and create a major breakthrough in the battle.
- Faster game speed: On average, a game of checkers lasts 5–15 minutes, suitable for practicing short-term thinking.
Comprehensive step-by-step guide to playing checkers
To master draughtboard, you need to know how to prepare, move pieces, and the end conditions of the game.
Prepare the chessboard
Proper board setup is the foundation for a smooth game. Follow these steps:
- Chessboard: Using an 8×8 board, make sure each player’s bottom right corner square is a light colored square.
- Arrange the chess pieces: Place 12 pieces from each side on 12 dark squares in the first three rows near you. The two middle rows are left empty.
- Choose who goes first: Agreement or coin toss. According to international rules, the black player usually moves first to gain a small advantage.
Rules for moving troops
The law of motion is at the core of draughtboard. Here are the main rules:
- Move diagonally: Pieces usually move diagonally forward, one square at a time on a dark square, except when capturing.
- Capture opponent’s pieces: If your piece is diagonally across from an opponent’s piece and the square behind it is empty, you jump over to capture it, removing it from the board. Consecutive captures are allowed if the opportunity arises.
- King of Wind: When a piece reaches the opponent’s bottom rank, it becomes a King (marked by adding more pieces). The King moves diagonally both forward and backward, increasing its control.
Conditions for ending the game
A game of checkers ends when one of the following conditions is met:
- Absolute victory: Capture all of the opponent’s pieces.
- Lock the chessboard: The opponent has no more valid moves.
- Peace: Neither side can take any more or agree to stop the match.
Tips to win at checkers
In addition to mastering how to play checkers, you also need to use small tips to win the game. And below are some small tips to help you win in this intellectual game.
Attack, not defend.
To win in this type of chess, the attack strategy needs to be proactive and flexible. You need to focus on capturing the opponent’s pieces to prevent them from attacking. And it is important to stop the opponent from a distance and not let the opponent’s pieces advance deep into your territory.
Also, keep your last row safe. This is an extremely important position because it is a solid wall, protecting your king. If you keep the last row, your opponent will not be able to promote your piece to king, this is an equally important strategy to prevent your opponent’s piece from being promoted to king.
Sacrifice the chess piece
There are times when you need to consider sacrificing some pieces. Sacrificing is not only a tactic, but also a way for your pieces to advance further, attack more strongly, and especially have more kings. In addition, the pieces that are promoted to kings are much more valuable and need to be protected as best as possible.
Move team pieces
You want to control the game on the board by nothing more than flexibly combining the functions of each piece. When using this way of playing checkers, you can attack your opponent from many sides as well as protect your own pieces. If you move a single piece and move away from your teammates, the risk of being destroyed by your opponent is extremely high.
The center of the board is usually the best place to focus and build a team defense. However, you should not move all your pieces to the center, because it will be difficult to move and be flexible in the game.
Focus on the kingship
A very important strategy is to focus on turning many pieces into Kings. The King has the ability to move freely and creates a significant power. This way, the player will gain the upper hand and make attacks and capture the opponent’s pieces easily.
Keep the last row
Preventing your opponent from reaching the last row is a smart strategy. Because if your opponent has more Kings, it will make the game more difficult to play, and your winning rate will decrease. Therefore, you should always try to keep the last row with enough pieces like a solid wall!
Block the opponent
Blocking the other side from attacking not only protects your pieces but also increases your chances of winning. When your opponent is blocked, their pieces cannot move elsewhere and will help you control the situation and advance further in the game.
Through this article, we have guided you on how to play checkers simply. It can be seen that this is an interesting game and requires thinking. Hopefully you will win in the process of playing checkers.
