My Newbie Questions

[Craig Michaels]

Hello everyone,

I have recently caught the checkers bug and have been doing what I can to really study this game seriously.

I have a few questions. I will probably have more so I guess I'll keep them contained in this thread.

First, I have been studying from Arthur Reisman's "Checkers Made Easy". My first bump is, I am having trouble with problems that ask you to play to a draw. It is my understanding that a draw is something that two players have to agree to and that there isn't a set of agreed upon circumstances that when specific conditions are met the game automatically ends in a draw. I might be totally wrong about that. But, when you are doing these problems on your own how do you determine how you've accomplished a draw or not?

Second, I am having some trouble with problem no. 16 titled "Mystic Maze". I am having trouble following the solution. I get stuck at the point where white has kings on 28 and 1 and red has kings on 19, 15 and 10. At this point the solution says if white goes 28-32, I follow with 19-24. It then says

Now whichever king White moves is the one you allow to jump your adjacent king which gets backing from the furthest of the three kings. i.e.| 5-1, 24-19, or 32-28, 6-10.

But I don't understand either of those two options. I'm assuming 5-1, 24-19 is the option if instead of going 28-32 white goes 1-5. But in that case I don't understand the 24-19 move because at that point red is on 19, not 24. Same with the other option, if white goes 32-28, how can red go 6-10 when it is already on 10? I feel like a step has been skipped in this explanation and that my newness to the game means I cannot see what this step is. Would anyone be able to lay out the moves of this solution for me?

[George Hay]

Hi Craig, welcome to the ACF Forum. Checkers Made Easy is one of the best places to start.
Mystic Maze is probably the hardest problem in the book, but it is a basic ending. I recently re-read that section and believe it is complete, but no checkers book is perfect. The electronic edition of CME has footnotes for corrections. The best thing to do for this problem, and studying checkers in general is to download Checkerboard from this link.
http://www.fierz.ch/checkers.htm
Just look for Get It! in the upper left hand corner, and click on the CB_setup 2.0 MB
Checkerboard is also good for playing "drawn" or "lost" positions to the bitter end, sometimes with surprises!
--George Hay

[Craig Michaels]

Thanks George! I downloaded KingsRow too and started letting the CPU play White which allowed me to see where I was making my mistakes and I was able to solve the problem finally.

I still am having trouble with draws though. Is a draw basically when you can make the same two moves over and over again without ever risking losing? It sounds obvious actually when I say it like that, ha. But is that a good indicator, if you can get to a double corner and stay there safely, you've drawn?

[MostFamousDane]

I still am having trouble with draws though. Is a draw basically when you can make the same two moves over and over again without ever risking losing? It sounds obvious actually when I say it like that, ha. But is that a good indicator, if you can get to a double corner and stay there safely, you've drawn?

The point to most drawn puzzles is that they are supposed to look like wins to begin with for instance if it says black to play and draw then typically black is a piece down and the point is to try and get the piece back. So a good starting point when looking at these puzzles is to ask yourself "why is black in trouble here" and try to find the moves that gets black out of trouble.

[Chexhero]

Craig,

Normally draws are accepted in end game situations with about 4 pieces or less for each side, when possession is even, and neither side has any good opportunities to get their opponent into a loss. Of course, sometimes you can achieve man down draws or wins as you are finding out in your book. What also happens is you could have your opponent in a critical near loss situation or vice versa. Even if perfect play results in a draw for the weaker side, the person with the strong side will want to play it out as long as possible to try and force their opponent in a loss. If the stronger side has attacked the weaker side for a long enough time, attempting all possible traps and winning moves and still can't get the win, then usually the opponent on the strong side will eventually agree to the draw. If they don't, that is when the ACF draw rules come into play as John mentioned. As far as determining if a position is a possible win or loss for one side or just an easy draw is something you will get more familiar with in knowing the more you study and play the game. There are a few basic endgame positions you will need to familiarize yourself with such as first position, second position, etc. This website has a page you can use to study some of those positions in the classroom section titled famous positions. Hope this helps!

[Ingo_Zachos]

Craig,

just do a mental trick and imagine you are not reading a book, but playing a reaL tournement game!

1. You are right. Most games are drawn because of mutual agreement. But there is also a rule requiring the so called "40 move count". If your opponent could not take a piece or make a new king within these 40 moves, you can claim a draw without the agreement of the opponent (also there is the rule of repeating the same position three times that secures a draw)

In real life, most players see that this would inevitable happen and so they don`t waste energy and call it a draw right now.

2. In a real game most games are also won by resignation, and not by blocking the opponent`s pieces or take his last pieces!

The inferior side rather decides not to ask for that part of the game to save energy as well (and she also shows that she is strong enough to know when she is lost, which is the first step to mastery )


So, in many games you are faced with the task that you can not parry the threat of your opponent, and it looks as if she can take a piece for free or block your pieces, but in these situations you are thankful that some books showed you how to escape into an unexpected draw.

And this is why these problems are worth it:

Like Houdini you can get away alive and avoid near death. Isn’t that worth it?

So read, learn and study those “escapes” like the see-saw draw with two against one king , Payne`s Draw, Howard`s Draw, and even how to hold inferior positions like the weak side of 1st position if you hold the opposition and thus a theoretical draw is there. You have to know it or find it, so get use to the art of survival.

And sometimes a draw is all you can get, so never think a draw is a result you don`t look for.

Even Marion Tinsley (you know, the best player of all times!), or World Champion Alex Moiseyev are happy to take a draw and they spent a lot of time to look for escapes, so that they can get back on their feet.

The art to draw is the art of defense. And no master can become a Champion without being a though defender.


Greetinx from snowy Dortmud,

Ingo Zachos

[tommyc]

Craig asks................how do you determine how you've accomplished a draw or not?

ANSWER..........When your opponent CANT win is the short answer.Of course yu must make sure yu dont assist him by in his endeavours.