Checkers strategy for beginners
Checkers looks simple, and the rules are. But a few plain ideas separate the player who keeps losing pieces from the one who keeps winning them. Here they are, in the order they usually matter.
If you are new to the game, start with how to play. Then come back, or just play a game now and try these out.
How the squares are numbered. Checkers players number the 32 dark squares from 1 to 32, four to a row. Red starts on squares 1 to 12 and moves first; White starts on 21 to 32. A move is written from–to, so 11-15 means the man on 11 moves to 15, and 15x22 is a jump. Older books call the side that moves first “Black”; here it is Red, and the numbers read the same. The move list in the game uses this numbering too.
1. Control the centre
The four middle squares — 14, 15, 18 and 19 — are the most valuable on the board. A man in the centre can go either way, it supports the men beside it, and it gets in the way of your opponent’s plans. That is why the most popular first move for Red is 11-15, straight towards the middle.
Aim to bring men towards the centre early, and back them up so they cannot be picked off. A centre man on its own, with an empty square behind it, is a target.
2. Keep your back row as long as you can
Your opponent only gets a king by reaching your back row. Every man you keep there is a guard. You cannot keep all four forever, but the longer you hold the important ones, the harder it is for the other side to crown.
The classic defence is called the bridge: for Red, men on 1 and 3; for White, men on 30 and 32. Here is why it works, seen from Red’s side. An enemy man that arrives on 5 cannot go any further, because its only way forward is square 1, and you are standing on it. A man that arrives on 6 can be jumped by your man on 1, and one that arrives on 7 or 8 can be jumped by your man on 3 — as long as the square behind it is empty. Two men do the work of four.
So when you have to move a back-row man early, move one of the others (2 or 4 for Red, 29 or 31 for White) and hold the bridge for as long as it is safe.
3. Don’t rush your men to the edge
A man on the side of the board cannot be jumped from the side, which makes the edge look safe. But it has only one way to move forward instead of two, it does nothing to control the centre, and it is easily blocked. A man stuck on the edge is often a man you have lost without a capture. Go to the side when you have a reason to, not because it feels safe.
4. Keep your men together
A jump needs an empty square to land on. If the square behind your man is filled by another of your men, it cannot be jumped from the front. Men that move up in pairs and small groups are far harder to attack than men spread across the board. Before every move, ask: after I move this man, what is left open behind it?
5. Use forced jumps to set up shots
In checkers, jumps are compulsory: if your opponent can take, they must. That rule is the source of nearly every trick in the game. If you give away one man on purpose, you decide exactly where your opponent’s piece lands — and if it lands somewhere you can then jump two pieces, you have won a man. Players call this a shot, and the simplest is the two-for-one.
Turn it around, too. Before each move, look at every jump you are about to allow your opponent, and at what you will be forced to take in reply. Most beginners’ games are lost to a shot they did not see coming.
6. Trade when you are ahead
Once you are a man up, swap pieces one for one. Twelve against eleven is a small edge; three against two is a large one, and two kings against one is a win (see endgames). Every even trade makes your extra man count for more.
The reverse is true when you are behind: avoid trades, keep the position closed and look for a shot to win the piece back.
7. Tempo: spare moves matter
You can never pass in checkers. If it is your turn, you must move, even if every move is bad. In a crowded middle game, when both sides’ men are pressed against each other, the player who runs out of safe moves first has to give something away.
So don’t waste your quiet moves early. A man held back on your own side is a move kept in reserve. Players talk about tempo (how far your men have advanced in total) and about having the move; for a beginner, the lesson is simply to notice when spare moves are running short, and to keep a few in hand.
8. Get a king, then use it
A king moves and jumps backwards as well as forwards, so it is worth much more than a man. Once your opponent’s back row thins out, look for a path to crown. In this game, a man that is crowned in the middle of a multiple jump stops there; the new king moves on your next turn.
When you have a king, use it. Bring it back into the game, attack men from behind where they cannot defend each other, and keep it off the edges where it can be trapped. Don’t shut it away in a corner.
Putting it together
- Move towards the centre, and keep your men backed up.
- Hold the bridge on your back row as long as it is safe.
- Before every move, check every jump it allows.
- When you are ahead, trade. When you are behind, don’t.
- Crown a king and bring it back into play.
The computer has ten levels. Start low, practise one idea at a time, and move up a level when you start winning. Then read about openings and endgames.