International draughts is checkers on a large 10×10 board, with 20 men per side and the majority rule for captures. Below are the rules used on 9qum, which follow the FMJD rules: the board and square numbers, moves and captures, kings, the Turkish strike, winning and draws. Your first game against the computer will lock them in.
▶ Play international draughts 🎓 Play with a coach
Two players use a 10×10 board and play only on the dark squares. There are 50 dark squares, and each has a number: square 1 is the top-left dark square on Black's side, and the count runs left to right, top to bottom, row by row. The top row is squares 1–5, the bottom row is 46–50.
Each player has 20 men. Black starts on squares 1–20 (the four top rows), White on squares 31–50 (the four bottom rows). The two middle rows, squares 21–30, start empty. White moves first.
A man moves one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square. Men never move backwards. White moves up towards squares 1–5, Black moves down towards 46–50.
If an enemy piece sits diagonally next to your piece and the square right behind it is empty, you capture it by jumping over it and removing it from the board. Capturing is compulsory: when a capture is available, no other move is allowed.
This is what makes international draughts different. When there are several ways to capture, you must choose the sequence that takes the most pieces. Kings and men count the same: only the number matters. If several sequences take the same number, you may pick any of them.
An example from the 9qum course: the white man on 32 could take one piece, but the man on 34 takes two in a row, 34x23x12. So you must capture with 34.
A man that ends its move on the opponent's back row becomes a king. For White that means squares 1–5, for Black squares 46–50.
An important detail: if a man only passes through the back row during a capture and keeps capturing, it stays a man. It is crowned only if the capture ends on the back row.
Kings are flying: a king moves any number of empty squares along a diagonal, forwards or backwards. It also captures from a distance — it flies up to an enemy piece, jumps over it and lands on any empty square beyond it. If it can capture again from one of those squares, it continues.
Captured pieces are removed from the board only after the move is finished. Until then they stay where they are, so:
So a king sometimes captures fewer pieces than it seems and must stop where it can be taken.
You win when your opponent has no pieces left, or when their pieces are blocked and they have no legal move. A player with no moves loses.
On 9qum a draw is declared automatically when:
Moves are written with square numbers. A dash means a quiet move: 32-28. An x means a capture: 28x19, and a multiple capture lists every landing square: 28x19x10. You will see this notation in your game history and in Game analysis.
9qum has both games. If you play Russian draughts, remember three differences.
| Rule | International (10×10) | Russian (8×8) |
|---|---|---|
| Board and pieces | 100 squares, 20 men each | 64 squares, 12 men each |
| Choosing a capture | must take the most pieces | any capture sequence |
| Man passes the back row during a capture | stays a man and keeps capturing as a man | is crowned at once and keeps capturing as a king |
| Men move forward, capture backwards; flying kings; Turkish strike | yes | yes |
| Draw with kings only | 25 moves without captures | 15 moves without captures |
The Learn section has a 14-step international draughts course: the rules, first techniques (shots, a breakthrough to king, where to land a king) and how to win. Each step is a position where you find the move. After that come 50 puzzles: shots, winning a man and breaking through to king.
In Play with a coach every move you make is rated. The computer has 4 levels: Novice, Amateur, Strong and Master. Any position can be opened in Game analysis for the AI's advice. More on learning: Learn international draughts with an AI coach.
▶ Play vs computer 📚 Learn 🧩 Puzzles
Each player has 20 men, 40 in total. They start on the dark squares of the four nearest rows: White on squares 31–50, Black on squares 1–20.
Yes. Of all possible captures you must choose the one that takes the most pieces, and kings and men count the same. If several options take the same number, choose any of them.
Yes. A man moves only forwards, but it captures in all four directions, forwards and backwards.
No. If a man passes through the back row during a capture and keeps capturing, it stays a man. It becomes a king only if the move ends on the back row.
White moves first. White starts at the bottom of the board, on squares 31–50.
On threefold repetition, after 25 moves by each side with kings only and no captures, and in endgames against a lone king: after 16 moves against three pieces including a king, and after 5 moves against two pieces or a single king.