Qondio
Front
Intel
IntelMart
Shares
My Qondio
Account
Alan Beggerow > Intel > Checkers - Facts And History

qondio.com/RyQ1 PRINT EMAIL

Checkers - Facts And History

The game of checkers is older than most people think. Some facts and history about the ancient game of checkers:

* Scholars believe the modern game evolved from a similar game played as far back as 1400 B.C.E. called Alquerque or Quirkat. It was played in ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece and India. The game used two sets of round flat pieces in different colors. It was played on a 5 x 5 grid. There were ten pieces per side, and the object was to capture all the opposing pieces.

* The next development towards modern checkers is thought to have come from 13th century southern France. The rules and pieces of Alquerque were expanded to be played on an 8 x 8 chess board. The game was called Fierges, the pieces called ferses, the identical name given to the queen in chess.

* By the 15th century, the earlier association with the queen in chess saw the name of the game changed to Jeu De Dames, most often shortened to Dames.

* By the 16th century, Dames was very popular in France. Variants of the game were many, and one of these was the 'forced capture' variant, where a player had to capture an opponents piece instead of making a different move. This variant became known as Jeu Force.

* The game of Jeu Force was taken to England where it was called draughts, and finally to North America where it was called checkers.

* In France the game of Dames without the forced capture rule was still popular and called Le Jeu Plaisant De Dames, shortened to Plaisant. In the 18th century, the game in France changed to a 10 x 10 grid and 20 pieces on each side. This game is still played and is known as International or Continental Draughts.

* There are international tournaments for both Checkers/Draughts and International Draughts. The first tournament for English Draughts occurred in 1847.

* There are many variants of the game around the world today, but Chinese Checkers is not one of them. The game has nothing to do with China, but originated in Germany. The game was put on the market in the early 1900's and was called Chinese Checkers to capitalize on people' familiarity with checkers and to give the game an oriental flavor, as marketing ploys.

Contributed by Alan Beggerow on April 19, 2008, at 11:07 PM UTC.

Reactions

No reactions yet.

Rate This Intel

Please login or sign up to rate this intel.

Comments

Please login or sign up to add a comment.

Share

Copyright Notice

The copyright for this content entitled "Checkers - Facts And History" has been specified by the contributor as:

All Rights Reserved

This content may not be copied, distributed or adapted by anyone under any circumstances.

Login Here with
Any Email Address
Any Password
No account? Sign up.

Intel Contributor
This intel was contributed by Alan Beggerow


Alan Beggerow

Qondio Archive
May, 2012
123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031


2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May

Sign Up
Not a member yet? Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to promote, we can help. Sign up and get in on the action.

About Qondio
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.

ABOUT
SUCCESS GUIDE
FEATURES
FAQ
ADVERTISE
CONTACT
USAGE POLICY
PRIVACY POLICY


TWITTER
FACEBOOK