English Long Checkers

created May 2017
by Mats Winther (malwinse@gmail.com)

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Both Man and King move one step diagonally, as in English checkers. A Man captures diagonally forward by the short leap. However, if the capture sequence continues, a Man may jump a distant  diagonal piece (“deferred long capture”).

Both Man and King always land immediately behind the captured piece, also during consecutive captures. Unlike a Man, a King may jump long as immediate move. Captured pieces are immediately removed. However, a King may not reverse capture direction.


Since the white checker has just jumped a piece, it is allowable to jump long.

One must continue capturing as long as possible. In the main 10x10 variant, it is not mandatory to choose the longest line. The goal is to capture all the opponent’s pieces. A Man promotes to King at the last rank. Two Kings are sufficient for a win against a lone King.

This game introduces new combinatorial possibilities compared with traditional English checkers. Play develops faster than in the latter, which makes it suitable for the large 10x10 board. In the endgame, positional advantage plays an even bigger role. Equal material endgames are often won for either party.


This position is won for Black:

Kb6-c7 Kg7-f6
Kc7-d6 Kf6-g7
Kd6-e7 Mh2-g3
Ke7-d8 Kg7-f8
Kd8-c7 Mg3-h4
Kc7-d8 Kf8-g7
Kd8-e7 Kg7-f8
Ke7-f6…and White loses either piece.

Checkers, also called ‘draughts’, has been played since medieval times. It was derived from a much older Arab game, ‘Alquerque’ (Medieval Alquerque). English checkers also goes by the names of English draughts, Anglo-Saxon checkers, American checkers, and Straight checkers.

See also:

Winther, M. (2015). International/Polish Checkers Variants (or here)

  -------    (2017). Spanish Checkers Variants (or here)

  -------    (2017). Gothic Checkers Variants (or here)

  -------    (2017). Draughts with Deferred Backwards Capture (or here)

  -------    (2006). Medieval Alquerque (or here)