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Deferred capture -- a revelation in checkers games

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M Winther

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May 31, 2017, 5:34:19 AM5/31/17
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The concept of 'deferred capture' has proved fruitful. In Vanguard
Draughts (http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/vanguard.htm) a Man cannot
immediately capture backwards if an enemy Man just moved there. Such a
momentarily invulnerable Man is called "vanguard". It allows
breakthroughs and attacks from behind.

It has similar effect as in Stockholm Checkers
(http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/stockholmcheckers.htm) and "Draughts with
Deferred Backwards Capture"
(http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/draughtsdeferred.htm), where a Man that stands
still can never capture backwards. This rule allows breakthroughs, but
not attacks from behind.

In "Frisian Draughts 2.0" (http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/frisian2.htm), the
concept is instead used to make the Man stronger. Unlike in traditional
Frisian Draughts (http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/frisian.htm) where orthogonal
capture is always allowed, it is not allowable for pieces that stand
still. It is kind of natural. A piece that gains momentum becomes
stronger, like a rugby or hockey player.

Also in Swedish Draughts
(http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/swedishdraughts.htm), orthogonal capture is
deferred, but only permissible in directions north, east and west (never
south). Thus, it is like Spanish checkers
(http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/spanishcheckersvariants.htm), insofar as a
piece has not gained the momentum to capture orthogonally.

English Long Checkers
(http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/englishlong.htm) introduces deferred
"leapfrog" capture. A Man can capture a distant piece, in the forward
diagonal directions, _but not from standstill_. It must always land
immediately behind the captured piece, also during sequential capture.

In Leapfrog Checkers
(http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/leapfrog.htm) a Frog (Man) and a Toad (King)
can perform this long jump _provided that the enemy piece didn't move
just before_. So this is the other form of deferral. Otherwise it's the
same as English/American checkers
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_draughts). How to get children
interested in checkers games? Let them play with long-jumping Frogs and
Toads on an 8x8 board, where the squares represent water-lily leaves. At
least on the bigger boards, it is clearly a challenging game, although
it develops faster than traditional checkers variants.

In the topmost variants the Man is somewhat weaker. In Accelerated Draughts
(http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/accelerateddraughts.htm) it is stronger.
Adding deferred leapfrog capture to International Draughts
(http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/checkersvariants.htm) makes it a remarkably
dynamic game. It is suitable for any board size. The bigger the board,
the more will the rule contribute to rapidness of play development. In
the following diagram, Black sacrifices five Men, only to capture five
enemy Men back. Since play takes place over the whole board, it makes
sense to play on such a big board (South African Dumm board, 14x14).
https://s9.postimg.org/5v5rxnsjj/accelex1.gif

Mats Winther










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