Checkers families and rules
Sultan Ratrout
Tiago Sizenando
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Sultan Ratrout
Sultan Ratrout
Thanks a lot Arie.
What do you suggest as a simple alternative survey for checkers game? Let's see your suggested survey since you are a well-known draughts researcher. I would be grateful to you if you provide us with another survey.
My current categorization is an attempt to understand the history of draughts on the basis of the comparative approach. Assuming that we lack sources on checkers, I guess the comparative approach will give us a clue about the development of checkers. It also helps us to see a pattern.
Comparing checkers variants is also strongly related to the contact between civilizations. Before giving you an example on checkers, let give you this example from Backgammon. The Greek backgammon games Portes and Plakoto are still played in the Arab world with the same rules. This means there was a contact between Arabs and Greeks. The Greek fishing card game Kseri is almost the same as the Arab game Basra. So, studying the contact between civilizations definitely helps us to understand how the game of checkers began and how it developed. For the contact between civilizations, there must have been contacts between the Spanish people and the Thai people. Otherwise, how could we explain the similarity between Thai checkers and Spanish checkers? The Sir Lankan checkers is the same as the Canadian checkers game except that the board is mirrored, so there must have been contact between Canadians and Sir Lankan people. In one of the Armenian checkers variants a man is allowed to jump in last rank crowned. This must be attributed to the contact between Russians and Armenians. When I was a kid, I still remember playing the game Three Men’s Morris. By the way, it's still played in the Philippines and Ethiopia. During the Ottoman period in the Arab world, Turkish checkers has almost led to the disappearance of Alquerque thus replacing it by the Turkish checkeredboard. This explains why Turkish checkers is still in the Arab world.
For sure, there is a beginning for checkers game, i.e how it started with a short king then shifting to a long king. Logically speaking, it couldn’t start as a long king then shifting to a short king. Therefore, by comparing long and short kings, there is a definite pattern. Sources confirm that it started in the East and the long king was exported to Europe. Some checkers variants remained conservative like the English or Italian draughts. This explains why they don’t have flying kings and why the king is short and restricted in terms of movement. Others opened their horizons to the change in the status of king, thus the flying king has become long in such variants like Russian, Pool and International. Ther German game, Gothic checkers is played with a short king, thus it remains conservative since one of the German checkers variants is still played with a short king. Gothic checkers also shows the influence of Turkish checkers, orthogonal capture, so this means there was a contact between the Turks and Germans.
I really need your books. Are your books orderable in the pdf formats, I mean the ones on your website, draughtshistory.nl
On Monday, 11 May 2015 20:05:38 UTC+3, a.s...@kpnplanet.nl wrote:
bala abc
Sultan Ratrout
On Tuesday, 12 May 2015 05:22:05 UTC+3, bala abc wrote:
Thanks Sultan.Dr.BalaIndia
ofatihparlak
Sultan Ratrout
I have forwarded your question to my Turkish friends and some webmasters of dama websites. Once I receive the reply, I will post it here.
Sultan Ratrout
a.s...@kpnplanet.nl
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2015 10:15 PMSubject: Re: Checkers families and rulesPlease download my updated document as of 12/5/2015If you have any feedback, please contact meUpdates based on email communication with the author and webamster of www.windames.free.frAdding Ivorian checkersRephrasing for pool checkers
Adding the Russian 10*8 variantUpdating the Frisian checkers
Regards
Sultan Ratrout
bala abc
Subject: Re: Checkers families and rules
Sultan Ratrout
John McLeod
section with diagonal capture and no back capturing, yet you say that
when a capture ends on the last rank 'capture continues and a man does
not change status'. How can capture continue if back capturing is not
allowed?
On 17/05/2015 15:00, 'Sultan Ratrout' via bgs4ever wrote:
> *Hello everybody. I corrected three typos. *
> *Please download my updated document as of 17/5/2015*
> Jean-Bernard Alemanni
> Updating Turkish checkers
> Adding Arab checkers
> Updating Greek checkers
> Adding Dameo checkers
> Updating Pool checkers
> Updating Scandinavian checkers
> Adding Myanmar checkers
> Adding Dam Haji checkers/African-American Straight Checkers
> Adding new website references
John McLeod For information on card games visit
jo...@pagat.com http://www.pagat.com/
Sultan Ratrout
Peter Michaelsen
Dear Sultan,
Concerning ”Danish checkers”, I made the same observation as John McLeod: in a variant in which ordinary pieces do not capture backwards, it will rest on the back row, unless there is a rule of ”flying king” as in e.g. Russian checkers.
But there is another, in my opinion, more serious problem with your information about “Danish checkers”.
It seems that you have information about the Danish Draughts Association. I have studied their web site, which contains information about several Danish Open tournaments played from 2006 till 2013, each with 5-7 participants. Only one of these players appears to be Danish: Sune Thrane, the person who made this home page. It seems that he has invited players from other countries to play with him in Copenhagen, and that they did play the variant which is common in Great Britain and U.S.A., sometimes named “Anglo-American checkers”.
I have not yet been in contact with Sune Thrane, so I do not know if there are any other Danish members of the Danish draughts/checkers association.
To name this well-known variant with a short king “Danish checkers” is certainly misleading.
I do not know which variant of checkers is the most popular one in Denmark today. I suppose that the game is not played much in Denmark, but perhaps some Danes have played checkers variants on the internet with players from other countries.
Persons who buy a checkers set in Denmark will probably follow the rules in the game box, which often contains both checkers and nine men’s morris, the latter being printed on the back side of the board.
I have such a checkers set from the 1960s. The rules are the same as we followed when I was a boy – in the 1960s and 1970s - being identical with the rules of Danish checkers (“Dansk dam”) in a Danish board game book which appeared in 1977: Palle Waage Jensen, BRIK- OG BRÆTSPIL, Politikens Forlag, Copenhagen. The rules of Danish checkers here are the same as those of Spanish checkers, except for the rule of king-halt: the king must stop on the square immediately behind the last captured piece.
One more difference: in Denmark the “huff” rule is still in use – a rule which was abandoned hundreds of years ago in other countries, where checkers became a competitive game played at tournaments.
The first reference to the “king-halt”-rule in Danish checkers, is probably the one in Hirschprung’s encyclopedia for children which was published in Copenhagen 1941.
Earlier Danish literature about checkers does not mention this rule, which was probably borrowed from Germany. “King-halt” was used already in German checkers (“Deutsches Damspiel”) in the early 19th century, when ARCHIV DER SPIELE was published (Berlin 1819-21, p.19).
In the early 19th c. three small booklets describing the rules of checkers appeared in Danish: Jens Møller: REGLER FOR DAM, Helsingør 1910, H. Brown: SPILLEREGLER FOR DAM, etc.”, Copenhagen 1913, and Alex. Schumacher: DAM OG DOMINO, Copenhagen 1931. It seems that the later authors knew the earlier booklets, many passages being almost identical. They all describe the rules in detail, and states that the ordinary man must capture also backwards. Schumacher names this variant the “Polish-German checkers game, differing from the usual (German) in which the pieces capture only forwards. Both Brown and Schumacher mention shortly that in France the game is played on the 10x10 board with 2x15 pieces.
Checkers is also described in two Danish game books from the early 19th c.: Anna Erslev: ILLUSTRERET LEGEBOG, Copenhagen 1904, and Fr. Knudsen and H. Lüttichau: HJEMMENES LEGEBOG, Copenhagen 1921. In these rule descriptions it is not told, if men capture backwards, or not, and none of the authors mention the “huff” rule. Only Knudsen/Lüttichau mention that captures are obligatory.
The Anglo-American game with short king is mentioned in several Danish sources from the first half of the 20th c., e.g. Carl Brorson’s article “Dam” in Salmonsen’s large encyclopedia, and it was also recommended by Sigfred Pedersen in his SPILLEBOG FOR HUS, HJEM OG KRO, Copenhagen 1948. It does not seem to have gained any greater popularity in Denmark, however.
The anonymous author of SPILLEBOG FOR BØRN, (“Game book for children”), Copenhagen 1853, states (p.32) that even if you may only move forwards, it is not uncommon to use the rule that pieces capture backwards; it is preferable that the two players agree about which rule is to be followed, before they start to play. It is allowed to capture backwards, however, when you can capture two pieces in the same move, but in this case the first must always be captured with a forward capture. This is actually the only special Danish game rule of checkers. The author also describes the losing game (“Først af brættet”).
The earliest rule description of checkers in Danish appeared in “S.A.Jørgensen” (pseudonym of Jens Kragh Høst): NYESTE DANSK SPILLEBOG, Copenhagen 1802 (also 3rd. ed. 1829). Here it is not mentioned if men capture both forwards and backwards, or only forwards. The heading: “Polsk Dam, eller det sædvanlige Damspil”, (Polish checkers, or the usual checkers) might indicate that it was played with the capture rules of the “Polish”, now international checkers game, but we cannot be sure. Only this source mentions the option that when the game board is larger, the game is played not with 2x12, but with 2x15 pieces. There is no other evidence of the larger variant being played in Denmark, except for a game board preserved at the island of Rømø, an island with many contacts with northern Holland. That the 10x10 game with 2x15 men was played in Norrland, Northern Sweden, in 1879, is known from a source in the dialect- and folklore archive of Uppsala.
Apart from this game, Høst also describes “Først af brættet” (The losing game), and “Makvær” (a variant of Frisian checkers).
To conclude this short excursus: there never was any uniform Danish checkers variant.
The variant on the 8x8 board with long king and men capturing both forwards and backwards, is – according to P. Waage Jensen 1977, common in Norway today, while the variant which was most popular in Denmark in the 1960s and 1970s with men capturing only forwards and kings being restricted to make the “king-halt”, and the “huff” rule being used, was also common in Finland at that time.
But I will recommend that a special Danish entry should be deleted from your scheme.
Best wishes,
Peter Michaelsen,
Denmark
Fra: bgs4...@googlegroups.com [mailto:bgs4...@googlegroups.com]
Sendt: 18. maj 2015 18:11
Til: bgs4...@googlegroups.com
Emne: Re: Checkers families and rules
updates as of 18-5-2015
updating danish (I sent an email to checkerschest to explain man jumping in last rank. If there is no reply, I will delete the danish entry)
writing who starts under pictures
adding a new web reference
Sultan Ratrout
Sultan Ratrout
[1] It is the same as English draughts with a short king
[2] A special rule dating back to the 19th century is still alive in Danish checkers [Anonymous author Copenhagen 1853, states (p.32) that even if you may only move forwards, it is not uncommon to use the rule that pieces capture backwards; it is preferable that the two players agree about which rule is to be followed, before they start to play. It is allowed to capture backwards, however, when you can capture two pieces in the same move, but in this case the first must always be captured with a forward capture. This is actually the only special Danish game rule of checkers] ß---This explains why checkerschest says "If a player can jump the opponent’s checker into the last row but there is another checker in a diagonal path away from the king row, then this must also be jumped and the move does not qualify for crowning the player’s checker because the checker piece did not end up in the king".Accepting that as an exception will be ok, but how about if the second about to be captured piece wasn’t in the last row, then that would mean one thing, Danish is best described as Pool checkers with a short king.
Conclusion :- Danish checkers is the same as English draughts with an exceptional rule in the back row.Because this exceptional rule causes confusion, it seems that the danish people have abandoned it. We don't know exactly what's being played today in Denmark. Maybe few people stick to this old rule, that's why checkerschest mentioned this exceptional rule.
Wim van Mourik
Dear Sultan,
I enjoy your mails !
In Holland the penalty by blowing ( huff) on a piece is for more then 200 years forbidden. What do we know of blowing on a piece and take it away in the rest of the world ?
Is it still existing ?
Regards,
Wim van Mourik
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Peter Michaelsen
Dear Sultan,
I do not quite agree with your summary or conclusion, but first a few supplementary pieces of information:
Draughts/checkers is also described in two Danish game books, published in Copenhagen in 1862 and 1868: DRENGENES EGEN BOG and PIGERNES EGEN BOG. (“BOY’S OWN BOOK”/GIRL’S OWN BOOK”).
Both books give the rules of what you call English checkers. This is not a surprise, as these children’s book were allegedly translated from English. Therefore they do not provide information about how the game was traditionally played in Denmark, but is of course possible that some Danish children learned the game from these books.
I have actually found one checkers problem in a Danish newspaper from October 5, 1884: Illustreret Familie-Journal. The problem was composed by Joseph Matouschek, and, in order to solve it, you must follow the “Pool checkers” rule, i.e. men capturing also backwards. This problem might suggest that at least some of the readers were familiar with this variant.
I have not found the Russian rule of “flying king” in any of the two game boxes from the 1960s I have, nor is it mentioned in P. Waage Jensen’s BRIK OG BRÆTSPIL, Copenhagen 1977, in his detailed description of “Dansk Damspil” in which he also gives a short example game (Spanish, but with “king-halt”).
From these and the other sparse sources which I have already mentioned, I think it possible – even if with a high degree of uncertainty – to make the following hypothesis of how checkers has been played in Denmark since c.1800:
Ca.1800-1850: 8x8 board with 2x12 men, and sometimes 10x10 with 2x15 men (the latter played as late as in 1879 in northern Sweden). We do not know if men could capture forwards only, or also backwards, but the king was long (no king-halt)
Ca.1850-1940: Now the game is only played on the 8x8 board, with men capturing sometimes only forwards, sometimes also backwards. The anonymous author of SPILLEBOG FOR BØRN, 1853, seems to have proposed some sort of comprise between the rules of Spanish and Pool Checkers, but we do not know if these compromise capturing rules gained any following by serious players. After all, they appeared in a game book for children. 1860s: The English game with short king and forward captures is also described in children’s books translated from English, but it is hard to say, how much influence they had. Several game books from c.1900-1920 mention the rules of the 8x8 game with long king without telling if men captures also backwards, or not.
If readers of the newspaper mentioned above should have a chance to solve the problem (by a foreign composer), they must have been familiar with the “Pool checkers”, i.e. the game with men capturing also backwards. This is the game variant advocated by the three Danish authors Møller, Brown and Schumacher in their books from 1910 to 1931. At least Schumacher seems to be aware that what he calls the “German” variant (i.e. Spanish checkers, but without the rule that you must capture the highest number, if there is a choice), was in fact the usual Danish variant. The fact that they published booklets about the Pool Checkers variant may indicate that there actually were some (probably very few) persons who played the game at a serious level, maybe in chess clubs, which were often open for other board games in this period.
Ca.1940-2015: To judge from a children’s encyclopedia from 1941, the rule of “king-halt” is now introduced, probably from Germany, where it was in use already around 1820. Now the “German” variant which Schumacher referred to, seems to have become dominant, but with this special restriction of the king’s capture, also known from e.g. Thai and Argentinian checkers. The rules in or on game boxes – often produced in Germany – may have caused or strengthened this process. This is the variant which is named “Dansk Damspil” by P. Waage Jensen in his excellent game book BRIK- OG BRÆTSPIL, which can still be found in most Danish folk libraries (even if it unfortunately did not sell very well). Thanks to the internet, several Danes how now been aware that many other variants are played around in the world, sometimes at a very high level as a competitive sport. The formation of a Danish Draughts Federation by Sune Thrane who - like Sigfred Pedersen did already in his game book from 1948 - tries to promote the English variant, is probably an example of this. I suppose that the English game is only played by a very small circle of serious players, while most Danes who actually know how to play draughts/checkers, do follow some of the different rules mentioned already.
I agree that it does not make sense to speak of a special Danish Checkers game, but please notice that the variant described in the children’s game book from 1853 was played with a long king, and that it is my comment (not the anonymous author’s) that this might be regarded as the only rule of checkers which is only found in a Danish description of the game. I have not seen it elsewhere, what of course do not exclude that it has been used in other countries. Danish checkers as described in the 1853 book was not English draughts with an exceptional rule in the back row, but some sort of compromise between Spanish and Pool checkers. Danish checkers from c.1880 to 1930s was Pool checkers among at least some dedicated players, but also Spanish checkers (even if without the rule of capturing the highest number of pieces, and also with the rule of huff), and from c.1940 onwards it seems to have been the latter variant, but now with the rule of “king-halt”.
Best wishes,
Peter
Fra: bgs4...@googlegroups.com [mailto:bgs4...@googlegroups.com]
Sendt: 19. maj 2015 03:21
Til: bgs4...@googlegroups.com
Emne: Re: Checkers families and rules
Summary of peter’s answer
--
Sultan Ratrout
Huffing is an old practice. Draughts players quit using it long time ago , but its alive in these continents
Asia:- Malaysian Checkers
Europe:- Slovak Checkers
Africa :- Ghanaian Checkers
Regards
Sultan Ratrout
Thanks again Peter for this informative reply. Your current reply is better than the previous one because it reflects the chronological development of Danish checkers.By this readers will easily trace the real development of Danish Checkers.
a.s...@kpnplanet.nl
----- Original Message -----
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Peter Michaelsen
Dear Sultan,
I find it very valuable to try to make a survey of the checkers variants of the world. Jean-Bernard Alemanni did that in his nice book, and Arie van der Stoep’s work from 1984 is also a very valuably work, describing quite a lot of checkers variants.
There certainly are also many useful pieces of information on the many web sites, you list in your reference list, but the problem with most of them is that they often do not tell anything about their original sources. This is also the problem with many printed books about games.
I had a quick look at the description of German checkers, including Gothic checkers at checkerschest, and found it quite unsatisfying. The anonymous author(s?) does/do not mention their sources about this game, as far as I can see. Concerning Gothic checkers they refer to some experts who regard this variant as a reconstruction, but they do not go into detail telling who these experts are, and why they think it is a reconstruction. I do not know if I am one of these “experts” they refer to, but I certainly have my reasons to believe that this variant is a reconstruction.
Yes, Jean-Bernard Alemanni mentions in his book that the most common variant in Denmark is Spanish checkers with king halt. It was I who gave him this piece of information. It only needs a little modification, as I have never – after having studied a lot of Scandinavian game books - seen any rule concerning multiple captures, telling that the players must choose the highest number of pieces if there is a choice.
I wonder, how you define the game of checkers. Jean-Bernard chose to include Zamma, even if this is not played on checkered board, but did not include Russian Column Checkers or South Italian Damone, or any of the many modern checkers inventions.
If your aim is to investigate the original way of playing checkers, I suppose that only old, traditional variants would be useful for such a research. An attempt to make such an investigation of chess was made by Alex R. Kraaijeveld in Board Games Studies 3, 2000, p.39-50: “Origin of chess – a phylogenetic perspective”.
Several information you provide in your survey sounds quite interesting, e.g. information about Persian checkers, a variant I have not seen described in games literature before. But such information Is only valuable, when the original sources are mentioned. Concerning Armenian checkers, to mention just one example, I know two quite different descriptions of this game, one by Willi Schmidt in the early 1930s and a much later one by Heinz Machatscheck. Which one is the right one, or do they simply reflect that the game was played in differing ways in different parts of Armenia, or perhaps differently in different periods? In this case it would be very useful to have an eye-witness report or, let’s say a game transcript from the national championships in Jerevan, which were held several times, according to Machatscheck.
One of the next days I may take a critical look upon some of the information you have collected, e.g. about Scandinavian checkers, one of my research fields.
Best wishes,
Peter
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Sendt: 19. maj 2015 23:40
Til: bgs4...@googlegroups.com
Emne: Re: Checkers families and rules
Thanks again Peter for this informative reply. Your current reply is better than the previous one because it reflects the chronological development of Danish checkers.By this readers will easily trace the real development of Danish Checkers.
--
Sultan Ratrout
In the absence of books, one is forced to refer to websites though some of are not accurate, and that means one need to double-check the information for accuracy before posting it to the net. I have many web references on my laptop. I am about to acquire the book,”Draughts in relations to chess and Alquerque” . I also recently acquired the Arabic book, “Dama game”. The latter book is specifically about the checkers variant played in the Arab World. I also have Alemanni’s book, “LES JEUX DE DAMES DANS LE MONDE”. I plan to acquire Gustave’s book as well as Arie’s book 1984.
Regarding Gothic checkers, there is a disagreement. Some think the game is a reconstruction. Others think the game is old. http://checkers.wikia.com/wiki/Altdeutsches_Damm-Spiel
Since you mentioned the Danish checkers , then that means it’s the same variant played in Germany ( Spanish checkers but without back capturing, any sequence of maximum capture)
My plan is to describe all checkers games in the world on a comparative approach (my current approach) and to be as comprehensive as possible. I guess knowing the original way of playing checkers contributes to the getting overall impression about the game.
Regarding Persian checkers, it’s based on the Russian author’s book, “Alexander Pavlovich 60 checkers games”. I acquired this piece of information from the websitehttp://skyruk.livejournal.com/ . You can translate the page by right click on google chrome.
Regarding the Armenian game , its based on Alemanni’s book and the web references. I know there is a second variant played with a king crowned in the last rank which reflects the Russian influence. This is mentioned in Alemanni’s book.
Regarding Scandinavian checkers, it’s based on Mat’s reconstruction of the game on his website, http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/
Finally, since you know much about checkers and since you have books, why don’t you write a book then?
Regards
Peter Michaelsen
Hello Sultan,
I find your project very interesting.
So am I right when I suppose that you are not going to discuss elementary strategy and tactics of the main variants, like Jean-Bernard Alemanni did, but rather want to collect information about the rules of all variants which have ever been played, including non-traditional variants like “Dameo”, invented by Christian Freeling in 2000?
If you want to include all newer variants of checkers, I suppose that you will also need to consult Joseph Boyer and Vernon R. Parton: Les Jeux de Dames non-orthodoxes, Paris, J. Boyer, 1956, which covers quite a lot of inventions, but of course there may be dozens of checkers variants invented after 1956. But I am not sure if you want to write some sort of Checkers Variants Encyclopedia, similar to the Encyclopedia of Chess Variants by David B. Pritchard.
You should also consult K.W. Kruijswijk: Algemene historie en bibliografie van het damspel, The Hague 1966, which is probably the most important source of Arie van der Stoep’s information about checkers variants in his book from 1984.
Concerning Gothic checkers, are you interested in arguments for or against that this game should be regarded a traditional checkers variant or a 20th c. reconstruction? Or Is this unimportant for your survey?
The rules are quite clear, but have you or your sources studied the probably oldest description of this variant? I have a copy of a game book from 1942 with a detailed description of this variant, and I should very much like to know if anyone has found an older description.
Regarding Persian checkers, I do unfortunately read Russian, and rather than rely on a Google translation, I would prefer to discuss this description with a Russian friend of mine who is an expert in board game rules.
Regarding Armenian and Scandinavian checkers, both Jean-Bernard in his book and Mats on his web site are dependent on copies from game books which I sent them.
There are several reasons why I have not written a book on checkers variants or other board games myself (Jean-Louis Cazaux asked me the same question some years ago). One is that I am afraid that it would not sell very well. I know that Jean-Bernard had difficulties finding a publisher for his nice book. I suggested that he should ask Jean-Louis, who had several of his books on chess and its variants published by several publishers. Finally Chiron published Jean-Bernard’s book in 2005, but it seems that it was not sold in as many copies as it deserved – at least this was the impression I got, when I visited Jean-Bernard in Paris in 2010. It was a pleasure for me to contribute to this book with information, and I have also contributed with information to books like Erwin Glonnegger: Das Spiele-Buch, 3rd. ed. 1999 (in which I corrected most of the mistakes concerning rules of checkers variants), to Jean—Louis Cazaux: L’Odyssée des jeux d’échecs, Praxeo editions 2010, and to David B. Pritchard: The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants, completed and edited by John Beasley, 2007.
Apart from this I have published quite a lot of articles on various types of board games, e.g. two articles in Board Games Studies.
If you are interested, I may take a critical look upon parts of your forthcoming work, like I did with some of the books mentioned above. As I have also some other projects, this will probably take me some weeks.
Best wishes,
Peter Michaelsen
Fra: bgs4...@googlegroups.com [mailto:bgs4...@googlegroups.com]
Sendt: 20. maj 2015 16:56
Til: bgs4...@googlegroups.com
Emne: Re: Checkers families and rules
Hello Peter again.
In the absence of books, one is forced to refer to websites thought some of are not accurate, and that means one need to double-check the information for accuracy before posting it to the net. I have many web references on my laptop. I am about to acquire the book,”Draughts in relations to chess and Alquerque” . I also recently acquired the Arabic book, “Dama game”. The latter book is specifically about the checkers variant played in the Arab World. I also have Alemanni’s book, “LES JEUX DE DAMES DANS LE MONDE”. I plan to acquire Gustave’s book as well as Arie’s book 1984.
Regarding Gothic checkers, there is a disagreement. Some think the game is a reconstruction. Others think the game is old
Since you mentioned the Danish checkers , then that means it’s the same variant played in Germany ( Spanish checkers but without back capturing, any sequence of maximum capture)
My plan is to describe all checkers games in the world on a comparative approach (my current approach) and to be as comprehensive as possible. I guess knowing the original way of playing checkers contributes to the getting overall impression about the game.
Regarding Persian checkers, it’s based on the Russian author’s book, “Alexander Pavlovich 60 checkers games”. I acquired this piece of information from the website http://skyruk.livejournal.com/ . You can translate the page by right click on google chrome.
Regarding the Armenian game , its based on Alemanni’s book and the web references. I know there is a second variant played with a king crowned in the last rank which reflects the Russian influence. This is mentioned in Alemanni’s book.
Regarding Scandinavian checkers, it’s based on Mat’s reconstruction of the game on his website, http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/
Finally, since you know much about checkers and since you have books, why don’t you write a book then?
Regards
--
Sultan Ratrout
Hello Peter
My aim is as you said to collect information about the rules of all variants which have ever been played. I have decided to be specific, that is restrict myself to traditional ones because I have found that many modern ones have been invented in the 20th century. Therefore, there is another option which is to write a similar project about the invented checkers later if I have time. Thanks a lot for the references you suggested.
As for Gothic Checkers, I know it’s under controversial opinions. I am interested in keeping it within the current classification, that is, Traditional checkers. I also like to know more about it if possible. The websites I have saved say it’s an old game, but I don’t have any book on it.There is something that puzzles me about Gothic checkers. The Russian programmer of Checkers7 says that “in original game capture is not obligatory and sequence of capturing pieces may be any.” I wonder what his source is. This means the modern rules have changed, that is, mandatory capture and sequence of maximum capture. This explains why he programmed his software with reference to the latter settings.
Regarding
Persian checkers, I sent emails to some Iranians professors, but unfortunately,
there is no reply, so my only source is the Skiryuk’s website which refers
to the book, “ Alexander Pavlovich 60 checkers games”
Now speaking of Armenian and Scandinavian checkers, yes I rely on Alemanni’s book and have found that what was traditionally written about Scandinavian checkers is not acceptable or logical in Murray’s book. I have played the game using the software zillions or WorldCheckers8. It ends in a very short period of time and it’s not acceptable or logical as Alemanni said in his book. Now thanks to Mats, we have understood how the game is played.
When I told you to publish a book that's because your knowledge is encyclopedic about board games and May God grant you more knowledge and strength. It was actually JB who gave me your email. If the book doesn't sell well, the reason has to do with finding the appropriate publisher but there is something equally important, the language issue. I guess if Alemanni’s book had been published in English, it would have gained much more popularity in the English world assuming that not all the Angl0-saxon people are proficient in French except those in Quebec, Canada. Alemanni was so generous to send me his book in the html format. I managed to google translate it and it helped me a lot in learning about checkers. My French is weak, that’s why he kindly offered me the book. Alemanni is so kind, he always replies to my emails.
A final word Peter. Since you know much about board games and since you don’t want to publish a book, you can post your copyrighted knowledge to your own website. Don’t you have a website or a Facebook page? That would be a good idea. So if we want to consult you, we will simply refer to your website or to the Journal you just recommended.
I will be glad if you provide me with any feedback on the current project.
Regards
Sultan Ratrout
bala abc
Date: Fri, 15 May 2015 14:02:45 -0700
From: bgs4...@googlegroups.com
To: bgs4...@googlegroups.com
CC: a.s...@kpnplanet.nl
Subject: Re: Checkers
