This position comes from 9-14 23-18 14-23 27-18 12-16 21-17? 16-20
25-21 (better than 32-27) 20-27 31-24 11-16 17-14 10-17 21-14 8-11 32-27 16-20
26-23 4-8 24-19 8-12 30-26 11-16 29-25 6-9 19-15 [diagram]Return to my Checkers pages
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© Copyright 2003, Jim Loy
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In chess, it is supposedly strong to occupy the center with pawns (see chess comments below). There are plenty of exceptions, but people often ask me if there is a similar "rule" in checkers. Yes indeed there is such a "rule," and there are even more exceptions than there are in chess, rendering the "rule" of doubtful value.
On the first move, 11-15 is stronger than 11-16, and 9-14 is significantly stronger than 9-13. Later on, these moves, and their "mirror" images for White, often follow the same pattern. Also 4-8 and 8-11 are often perfectly safe, or even strong. But 8-12 or 9-13 (or 25-21 or 24-20) are often the strongest available moves. And some beautiful, massive centers, with one player occupying the entire center, are very very weak. At the very least, the opponent can usually trade off the opponent's impressive center pieces, or perhaps immobilize them. And time after time, the solid center goes away.
To occupy the center or not, what is my advice? Sometimes it is strong, sometimes it is weak. It is hard to say; it really is. It can even be difficult to distinguish a winning position from a losing position, without playing out the future moves. And it can be very helpful to look and see what the opening books say about the position. You won't find very many general rules in the books. They may be vague guidelines instead, as they have too many exceptions. Each position has its own rules and internal ideas, and it is up to us players to (try to) discover them.
This position comes from 9-14 23-18 14-23 27-18 12-16 21-17? 16-20
25-21 (better than 32-27) 20-27 31-24 11-16 17-14 10-17 21-14 8-11 32-27 16-20
26-23 4-8 24-19 8-12 30-26 11-16 29-25 6-9 19-15 [diagram]
The position is an extreme example of one player (White) occupying the center. Sometimes such extreme positions are draws or wins for the player occupying the center, but more often they are losses. Here White is in deep trouble. Red wins as follows:
16-19! 23-16 12-19 27-23 (25-21 1-6 and White will eventually have to move 27-23) 20-24 with a relatively easy RW.
Time is important. If White had had several waiting moves in reserve, the extreme center might have drawn or won.
Here is another position [from 10-14 23-19 11-15? 19-10 6-15 22-17
8-11? 17-10 7-14 25-22 2-7 22-17 7-10 17-13 1-6 26-23* 3-7 24-20 (23-19! WW C.
Cantor) 14-18 23-14 9-18 30-26]. This is published as a WW. Here is my failed
attempt to draw: 4-8 26-23 10-14 (18-22 23-18! WW PP) 28-24 18-22 23-18 14-23
27-18 6-10 (12-16 24-19! WW?) 21-17 12-16 18-14 16-19 32-28 19-23 13-9 23-26
9-6 26-30 6-2 8-12 2-6 12-16 6-2 30-26 (22-26 also loses) 24-19 WW.
In both of these positions, one might guess that the real weakness is the absence of a back row. This is part of it. The real situation is that the losing side was rapidly running out of safe moves, and that is why pieces were moved off the back row.
Chess comments:
Checkers players often claim that checkers is more subtle than chess, as it is a game that defies general rules. In chess, we learn to castle early, avoid double pawns, develop Knights before Bishops, etc. There are few similar rules in checkers (or at least the rules have more exceptions), and that seems to makes checkers more mysterious and fascinating. But chess is more mysterious than it seems, too. See Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy - by John Watson. The game of chess, as played by Grandmasters, is very much like the game of checkers, as played by Grandmasters.
Further comments:
Richard Pask mentions that you don't want a tightly packed center. You prefer to have more pieces in the center than your opponent, but as you gain what appears to be an overwhelming center (one with many pieces in the center), you may run into great difficulties. In essence, you want your center pieces to be mobile. See Mobility.