A Glossary of Checkers Terminology

If you wish to learn to play the game of checkers, the first thing that you ought to do is to understand the lingo of the game. The following are some of the basic terms that you'll need to know:

Blitz - Type of timed game where players are limited to one to three minutes each per game

Blockade - Position where one player's pieces cannot move

Bridge - Two checkers of the same color on king row with one empty square between them to form a bridge

Capture - Elimination of one or more of the opponent's pieces by jumping over them

Checkerboard - 64-square checkered board game

Cook - Non-book move intended to force an opponent to use a difficult line of play

Crowning - Placement of a checker on top of a piece that has reached the last rank to indicate its promotion to king.

Double Corner - Corner of the board where there are two squares each adjacent to the corner square

Double Hump - Move where two jumps are made

Dyke Square - Putting pressure on the opponent's double corner by occupying square 14 by White or 19 by Red

Draw - Situation where both players agreed that neither has enough advantage nor time to win

End Game - Portion of the game where there are 8 or fewer pieces left on the board

File - Vertical row of squares

First Position - Standard ending position that results in a win for the attacking side

"Flying" King - Kinged piece that can move any number of spaces diagonally, either way, or jump over any piece in its path provided there is at least one space between them.

Give Away - Any variation of checkers whose goal is to lose all of one's checkers first

Jump - Two-square diagonal move in which the second square is initially vacant and the intervening square is occupied by an opponent's piece, which is captured and removed from play

King - Piece that can move and capture backward and forward

King Row - First rank where the opponent forms kings

Man - Single checker piece

Mid-game - Portion of the game between the opening and endgame

Material - Advantage or disadvantage depending on the remaining pieces on the board

Move - Having "the move" means to have the opposition

Opening - First 3 or 4 moves that determines positional advantages or disadvantages

Opposition - Timing factor held by the player who has the ability to pursue the opponent

Piece - Checker piece

Pin - Situation where a piece cannot move without being captured

Pitch - Also known as a sacrifice

Position - Advantage or disadvantage not entirely based on the number of pieces on each side

Quadruple Jump - Move in which four jumps are made

Rank - Horizontal row of squares

Resign - Concede the game

Shot - Forced combination of moves in which a player sacrifices one or more pieces to capture more pieces

Single Corner - Corner of the checkers board where only the corner square is left in play

Timed Game - Game in which players are limited to a certain amount of time per move or per game

Trap - Line of play that ensnares the opponent

Triple Jump - Move where three jumps are made

Zugzwang - Position where any move a checkers player makes loses