A Checkers Quiz!

Answer: draughts

Checkers, also known as draughts, is a strategy board game which involve the diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and captures by jumping over opponent's pieces. Some cultures call the game draughts and some cultures call the game checkers.

Answer: alquerque

In ancient Egypt, a game called alquerque, also known as qirkat, was a much played game. Historians have traced this game which was first played on a 5 by 5 board as far back as 1400 B.C.

Answer: lasca

Lasca is a variation of checkers invented by World Chess Champion Emanuel Lasker. Lasca is combination of checkers and a Russian game called Bashni. Lasca is played on a 7 by 7 board with only 25 of the 49 squares used.

Around 1100 A.D., the French got the idea of playing a game similar to alquerque on a chess board. The number of pieces increased from 5 to 12 due to the size of the board. The game was called first called fierges but later it would also be called ferses. Eventually the game would be known as dames in the 15th century. An important change included in the gameplay of the dames version of the game was that any available piece jumps would be mandatory. This was known as the forced capture rule, which made the game more challenging.

Answer: yes

The first checkers computer program was written by Christopher Strachey at the National Physical Laboratory in London, England in February 1951. A second checkers computer program was written in 1956 by Arthur Samuel for the computer company IBM. A popular checkers program, Chinook, was written in 1989 by a team from the University of Alberta in Canada led by researcher and professor Jonathan Schaeffer.

Answer: 2

Checkers is played by two opponents. One player uses the dark pieces and the other player uses the light pieces. The players alternate turns until the game until all of the pieces for one player has been captured.

Answer: Either 64, 100 or 144

Various types of checkers or draughts use different size checkerboards due to the number of pieces used in the game. International draughts is played on a checkerboard containing 100 squares. English draughts and American checkers is played on an checkerboard containing 64 squares. Canadian checkers is played on an checkerboard containing 144 squares.

Answer: forward diagonally to the nearest adjacent vacant space

A regular piece checker can one forward diagonal space at a time to the nearest vacant space if it is not capturing an opponent's piece. If an opponent's piece is in the next adjacent space, then it can be jumped provided the next square on the same diagonal is vacant.

Answer: the opponent's piece gets jumped

An opponent's piece may be captured by being jumped over. A jump move is a diagonal move over an diagonally adjacent opponent's piece. Multiple jumps can be made in a single turn if possible. A rule of checkers states that if a jumping or capturing move is available, it must be performed.

Answer: It becomes a "king" piece

A "king piece" is a powerful player in a game of checkers. This piece can move both forward or backwards during a turn. It may also capture an opponent's piece in either direction.

Answer: when one player can not move a piece

If one player can't move a piece, then they lose and the game is over. A player can lose if all of their pieces are captured by their opponent. If nobody can lose a game of checkers then the game is a draw.