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The checkers board and pieces
The board and the pieces are simple, but the details (which corner is dark, how many rows are filled, how kings are marked) vary by country. This guide covers the American set and the main alternatives.
The board
A standard checkers board is a square of 64 alternating light and dark squares, 8 by 8. The pieces stay on the dark squares only, so the game is played on 32 squares. Squares should be large enough that a piece sits comfortably inside one; home boards are usually folding boards of card or wood, and tournament boards are plain, with a matt finish so that pieces do not slide.
Which corner is dark?
In American checkers, Russian draughts and International draughts the board is placed so that the lower-left corner square (from each player's side) is dark. That means the corner on the player's right is a light square with two dark squares beside it, a position called the double corner. The dark corner on the left is the single corner. Setting the board the wrong way round is the most common beginner mistake.
The pieces
Each side has pieces of one colour, traditionally red and black in the United States, and white and black in Europe and Russia. Pieces are flat round discs, easy to stack. In American checkers, each side has 12.
Kings
When a man reaches the last row, it is crowned. In a physical game, you put a second piece on top: a stack of two is a king. Some sets have pieces with a crown stamped on one side so that you can flip them. In Russian draughts, a king is also a stack of two or a flipped piece.
Setup by variant
| Variant | Board | Pieces each | Rows filled |
|---|---|---|---|
| American / English | 8x8 | 12 | 3 of 8 |
| Russian / Brazilian / Italian | 8x8 | 12 | 3 of 8 |
| International | 10x10 | 20 | 4 of 10 |
| Canadian | 12x12 | 30 | 5 of 12 |
| Turkish | 8x8, every square | 16 | Rows 2 and 3 |
In International draughts the middle two rows stay empty. In Turkish draughts the back row is empty and pieces start on the second and third rows from each side; because pieces move straight, the dark and light squares of the board do not matter.
Numbering the squares
For recording games, American checkers numbers the 32 dark squares 1 to 32, starting at the first player's top-left dark square and moving right and down. A move is then written as the starting square and the ending square, like 11-15, and a jump with an x, like 22x15. Russian draughts uses chess-style coordinates (a1 to h8), and International draughts numbers its 50 squares 1 to 50.
| Variant | Notation |
|---|---|
| American / English | Squares 1-32, for example 11-15, 22x15 |
| Russian | Algebraic, for example c3-d4, c5:e3 |
| International | Squares 1-50, for example 32-28 |
Pieces by name
In English, an ordinary piece is a man (or a checker, the word that gave American checkers its name) and a crowned one a king. French and Spanish call the game after its crowned pieces, dames and damas, which means "ladies". In Russian a man is a shashka (from which shashki comes) and a king a damka. In Turkish draughts a king is also called a dama, like the game itself.
Choosing a set
For a home set, look for a board with squares large enough that pieces sit steadily inside them, pieces that stack cleanly into kings, and strong contrast between the light and dark squares so you can see the diagonals at a glance. Many sets double as a chessboard, and the same board works for American, Russian, Brazilian and Italian draughts. For International draughts you need the 10 by 10 board, and for Turkish draughts any 8 by 8 board will do.
Setting up at home
- Place the board with a dark square at each player's lower-left.
- Put 12 pieces on each side's three nearest rows of dark squares.
- Leave the two middle rows empty.
- Agree who moves first, and whether you will play touch-move.
Playing online removes the set-up step, and you can switch between the rule sets at CheckersTalk. For the rules themselves, see checkers rules, and for the other versions of the game, the variants guide.
Frequently asked questions
How many squares are on a checkers board?
An American checkers board has 64 squares in an 8 by 8 grid, but only the 32 dark squares are used. An International draughts board has 100 squares in a 10 by 10 grid, and 50 dark squares are used.
Which way round does the checkers board go?
Place it so that the dark square is at each player's lower-left corner. The single corner is then on your left and the double corner on your right.
How do you show a king in checkers?
By stacking a second piece on top of the crowned man, or by flipping a piece that has a crown on its other side.