Play Checkers (or is it Draughts?) Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In checkers, you have a checkered board of 64 squares (32 black or red and 32 white), so how many pieces (men) do each of the two opposing players have to start with?

Answer: 12 each

There are twelve black pieces and twelve white pieces unlike chess which has sixteen pieces of each colour. In official competitions, there are red pieces instead of black and the colour of the board is green and buff. Before your game starts, don't forget to place the checkers board so that there is a black square in the lower left hand corner.

The object of checkers is to capture all of your opponents pieces or give him/her a final position where they are unable to move.

2. John will be playing checkers using the white pieces. Where are his pieces placed on the board before the start of the game?

Answer: On the 12 black squares at his end of the board

At the start of the game, John's white pieces will occupy all twelve of the the black squares on the nearest three rows to him. Susan's black pieces will occupy the black squares at her end of the board. A game of checkers (draughts) always takes place entirely on the black squares.

3. In checkers, which colour's pieces make the first move of the game?

Answer: Black

Checkers is different from chess because instead of a white piece being moved first, a black (or red) piece must be moved first. After a coin is tossed to decide which player moves first, in this game between Susan and John, Susan won the toss. This means that she will play with the black pieces and make the first move.

4. Black begins with the first move of the checkers game. What type of move does Susan make with one of her four black pieces situated furthest away from her?

Answer: Diagonal movement only, one square move only

One of Susan's men at the edge of the checkers board has only one square that it can possibly move to. Each of Susan's other three men can be moved to a choice of two other diagonal squares. Each player takes it in turns to make a move until the end of the game.

5. Let's set the board up for a new game of checkers. How many initial moves does black have?

Answer: 7

There are seven initial moves.

They can be ranked in order of strength. The strongest option is to move one of the two centre pieces first, especially the piece nearest to her single corner (the corner of the board with a dark square). Black is moving her pieces away from the single corner which is more solid and easier to defend than the weaker double corner. She is trying to control the centre of the board. This first move is called Old Faithful.

6. In checkers, what is the notation used so that games and positions can be recorded and looked at again in the future?

Answer: Numbers 1 to 32 on the black squares

In chess, all the squares are given letters and numbers such as a1, d2 and f5.

There is different system in checkers. It uses only numbers. The only squares that are numbered are the black ones. Look at the board from John's point of view with his white pieces. The squares on the top row (black's home row) from left to right are 1, 2, 3, and 4 (with 4 being the corner square aka single corner). The squares on the next row are numbered 5, 6, 7, and 8, also left to right. This continues all the way down to the bottom row. The squares on the bottom row (nearest to John) are numbered 29, 30, 31 and 32.

7. Eventually, as a game of checkers goes on, a black piece and a white piece will be on squares adjacent to one another with an unoccupied square behind one of them. Supposing it is Susan's turn to move (with black), how does she eliminate the white piece from the board?

Answer: Jumps over the white piece onto the unoccupied square immediately behind it.

Susan with her black piece jumps over the white piece onto the unoccupied square behind it. The black piece is taken off the board. There must be an unoccupied square behind the white piece for this move to be able to happen.

What if after doing this, she immediately encounters another white piece with an unoccupied square? She must jump over this piece and capture it too whilst it is still her turn. She will have jumped over two white pieces and captured them in just one move.

It is compulsory for Susan to take John's piece if their two pieces are adjacent to one another with an unoccupied square behind the defending piece. The only choice that a player has is which piece to jump over if there are two options. Neither player's men are allowed to jump backwards.

8. Susan's black piece (one of her men) succeeds in reaching the opposite end of the board. This man now becomes a more valuable and dangerous piece. In checkers, what is this piece called?

Answer: King

When Susan's man reaches what is called king's row and becomes a king, another piece of the same colour is put on top it to show that it has just been crowned. This is the way that any kings can be identified. The more men that you can turn into kings, the stronger your position will be.

9. In checkers, what are the ultimate jumping and capturing options for the promoted piece, the king?

Answer: Zigzagging, jumping enemy pieces in any diagonal direction all over the board

This shows how powerful the king can be. The kings have more flexibility than the men. They can jump over the opponents pieces in both forward and backward directions, zigzagging around the board if the position is right for pieces to be taken.

The king isn't invincible. It is possible for either a man or a king to jump over and capture a king if the square behind the opponent's king in unoccupied.

10. In checkers, is it possible to have a game that ends in a draw?

Answer: Yes

If the endgame position is open, two kings should be able to beat one king, and three kings should be able to beat two, but it is possible to get a draw when the kings are in the corner of the board. This requires clever tactical play, such as using a technique called gaining the opposition.

In an open equal position, two kings against two or three kings against three should end in a draw.

With one king against one king, it is possible for the game to end in either a draw or win/loss.

Source: Author Kenners158

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor WesleyCrusher before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

John and Susan don't know how to play the board game called checkers (also known as draughts). You are going to show them how to play using the standard rules of English draughts.

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