How to win at checkers

No. In 2007 a team led by Jonathan Schaeffer finished a computer proof that, with perfect play from both sides, checkers is a draw. So nobody wins every game against an opponent who never makes a mistake.

Nobody plays like that, though. Against real players the side that makes fewer mistakes wins nearly every time. Our Hard computer looks 6 moves ahead and Easy plays at random, and Hard won 600 games out of 600, going first or second.

Going first doesn't help. In 1,000 games between our Medium computers, the second player actually won more: 555 to 445.

A man in the middle of the board has two squares it can move to. A man on a side edge has only one, so it's easy to block. Pieces in the centre also stop your opponent's men from coming through.

So bring your pieces towards the middle early, and move them up together. A man out on its own in the centre is a target, while a group of them holds the middle.

A man becomes a king by landing on your back row, and it can't land on a square you're standing on. Every piece you keep there is one less place for your opponent to crown.

Back-row pieces are also on the edge of the board, so they can't be jumped. Keep at least two of them until the middle of the game, and move the others first. When you do need them, bring them out one at a time.

This is the trick that wins most games between beginners, and it works because jumps are forced. You offer one piece. Your opponent has to take it, and the jump lands their man on a square where you can jump it back, and then jump again.

To set one up, look at where their man would land after taking your piece. If one of yours could then jump it, and the square beyond that leads to another jump, you take two for one. Check the same thing in reverse before every move: what does their forced jump give you, and what does yours give them?

One piece up is a bigger lead the fewer pieces are left. 12 against 11 is close to even, 4 against 3 is hard to lose, and 2 against 1 usually wins.

So when you're ahead, swap one for one whenever you safely can. When you're behind, do the opposite: keep pieces on the board and look for a two-for-one to get back level.

A king moves and jumps backwards as well as forwards, so it's worth far more than a man: our computer counts a king as 160 and a man as 100. Get a king as soon as you safely can, and use it to come round behind their men, since a man can't move or jump backwards to reach it.

Two kings beat one king. Push the lone king towards a side of the board, where it has fewer squares, and trap it there with both of yours. Don't wait: on our board, 40 moves each with no capture and no man moving ends the game as a draw.

One king against one king can't be won. If you're the one with a single king against two, head for the corners and make your opponent find the win before the draw count runs out.

• Moving a piece where it can be jumped without checking the forced jump first.
• Emptying your back row early, which leaves the road open for their kings.
• Sending single men up the side edges, where one piece can hold them up.
• Trading when you're behind, which only makes their lead bigger.
• Chasing a lone king with a lone king.

Easy plays any legal move, so it's for learning the jumps. Medium scores each of its moves but doesn't look at your reply, so it walks into two-for-one shots: set them up and see. Hard looks 6 moves ahead and punishes a careless offer. The rules, kings and the draw rule are in our checkers for beginners guide.

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