For those interested in Turkish checkers
This Nugget has been written by hawretto on 15 Jun at 1:11PM
Category: Checkers
In these days I spent some time by exploring Turkish Checkers at youtube channel "DamaOkulu". I was very glad that Turkish Checkers Federation had made publicly available some training videos, and I hope you will enjoy them, too.
The beauty of Turkish checkers consists in shots: they arise more frequently than in other checker variants, and sometimes in positions which may look perfect and sound. Let me remind jumping rules of Turkish checkers:
1) a player needs to capture maximum number of pieces;
2) each piece is removed from the board immediately after a capture, but not at the end of a move! It means that, unlike in many checker variants, there are no obstacles to reach squares which would be normally inaccessible;
3) if a player gets his or her checker crowned as king, a player is able to capture with new-crowned king only after a move.
You will see how these jumping rules are applied in games in the videos.
Some important details:
(1) Very often native Turkish players use chess-like pawns ♙ ♟ instead of checkers ⛀ ⛂. Similarly, they use chess-like queens ♕ ♛ instead of checker kings ⛁ ⛃.
(2) As there are no diagonal moves available in Turkish checkers, players need not traditional checkerboard or chessboard. Any 8x8 squared board can be used for playing Turkish checkers.
(3) Turkish checker players use alphanumeric (or chess-like) notation which makes sense, because checkers can be placed on any square on the board. For example, it is harder to memorize that white's checker is on square 49 than that it is on a2.
Beginner level shots
a) 1 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEcClABa1Bnfs00KmG0hx-SU
b) 2 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEf4HhOb2C4A1DSxfwfLIkvh
c) 3 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEepnn5Su-wda9gwtAWBmM2o
Intermediate level shots
a) 4 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEe_v3xkw2viYHGzX54CylcA
b) 5 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEeU8s6cDHLHEKeqBBwIgPBG
c) 6 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEeYjYq-Dd4xxY-lHubRCNnI
Upper intermediate level shots
a) 7 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEf_W20GdtAHPeTWWzk4HfoA
b) 8 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEeaSJ1YE0CHAmVrWEKHTTpM
Master level shots
a) 9 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEe74_e1ay9MzSp_gc4MDWPC
b) 10 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEeXR_9TjfAyLQE20qV5N50C
c) 11 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEc7Q0zlamJ92YP-vmxzKkzy
1) At the first time just watch the shots: be only an observer and enjoy the beauty of shots.
2) At the second time, make some reflections upon each shot.
Remember that any delivered shot is not something accidental or coming from nowhere: it fully depends from alignment of pieces.
Thus:
a) identify which were vulnerable squares on the board in opponent's camp (or, in other words, holes);
b) identify which structures (columns / triangles / blocks etc.) were indespensable for delivering a shot;
b) identify how opponent was forced to occupy important squares on the board before a shot was delivered;
c) identify how a winning player exploited the fact that his or her pieces were under attack or going to be captured;
d) if at the finale a flying king was made a shot, identify whole route (in other words, trajectory) of the jump: probably, it is the hardest thing, but by practice you will master it.
3) You must not remember every position by heart. However, you must remember a pattern, and for this reason you must use all of your senses. Watching is not sufficient! Put the position on real board, play it with real pieces (see section "Equipment for Turkish checkers" below, if needed), pronounce every move, keep your records. I believe that after first fifty positions you will start to notice common patterns yourself, and it is how you can become more confident for your skills.
4) Next time pause a video before shot starts, but try to do that shot yourself. Sometimes there might be cases where you can find an alternative solution: if it brings advantageous result (for example, winning a checker in different manner), it proves that you made a progress, too.
5) As for duration of training session, it should not be longer than 1 hour. Any training session is about to improve the quality of your skills, but not a quantity of exercises. If you had managed to solve only 5 puzzles in an hour, it is good. Sometimes even good players and tacticians spend more than 15 minutes for solving 1 puzzle, and you have no reason to blame yourself if you do it slower.
Equipment for Turkish checkers
You need:
a) standard chessboard or checkerboard where letters and numbers are printed on;
b) a set of 16 pieces for each player.
If you have only one standard set of checkers (12 pieces), it may be insufficient!
Among the offers available at amazon.com, you might consider one of the following options:
a) pieces or a whole set for travelling chess and checkers:
Supplier #1 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Sondergut+chess+checkers+travel+set&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Supplier #2 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Mudpuppy+checkers+chess+travel&ref=nb_sb_noss
b) pieces for International checkers (in that case, check that the set contains 20 pieces of each color, because some manufacturers mislabel standard checkers as International checkers!):
Supplier #1 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=husaria+wooden+checkers&ref=nb_sb_noss
Supplier #2 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Homyl+international+checkers&dc&ref=a9_asc_1
Supplier #3 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Dengguoli+40+x+wood+checkers&ref=nb_sb_noss
c) pieces for Canadian checkers
Supplier: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Newton%27s+Canadian+checkers&ref=nb_sb_noss
d) pieces for backgammon and checkers (in that case check that the set contains 16 pieces of each color, because it is more common to offer sets with only 15 pieces of each color!)
Supplier #1 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=baoblaze+32+x+backgammon+draughts&dc&ref=a9_sc_1
Suppier #2 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Flameer+32+x+backgammon+draughts&ref=nb_sb_noss
d) very specialized sets with 16 pieces of each color
https://www.amazon.com/RADICALn-Marble-Complete-Checker-Figures/dp/B07R6CKSJL/ref=sr_1_2
If you are deciding about a purchase, please, pay attention to size of pieces: let it match your chessboard or checkerboard!
The beauty of Turkish checkers consists in shots: they arise more frequently than in other checker variants, and sometimes in positions which may look perfect and sound. Let me remind jumping rules of Turkish checkers:
1) a player needs to capture maximum number of pieces;
2) each piece is removed from the board immediately after a capture, but not at the end of a move! It means that, unlike in many checker variants, there are no obstacles to reach squares which would be normally inaccessible;
3) if a player gets his or her checker crowned as king, a player is able to capture with new-crowned king only after a move.
You will see how these jumping rules are applied in games in the videos.
Some important details:
(1) Very often native Turkish players use chess-like pawns ♙ ♟ instead of checkers ⛀ ⛂. Similarly, they use chess-like queens ♕ ♛ instead of checker kings ⛁ ⛃.
(2) As there are no diagonal moves available in Turkish checkers, players need not traditional checkerboard or chessboard. Any 8x8 squared board can be used for playing Turkish checkers.
(3) Turkish checker players use alphanumeric (or chess-like) notation which makes sense, because checkers can be placed on any square on the board. For example, it is harder to memorize that white's checker is on square 49 than that it is on a2.
Beginner level shots
a) 1 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEcClABa1Bnfs00KmG0hx-SU
b) 2 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEf4HhOb2C4A1DSxfwfLIkvh
c) 3 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEepnn5Su-wda9gwtAWBmM2o
Intermediate level shots
a) 4 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEe_v3xkw2viYHGzX54CylcA
b) 5 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEeU8s6cDHLHEKeqBBwIgPBG
c) 6 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEeYjYq-Dd4xxY-lHubRCNnI
Upper intermediate level shots
a) 7 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEf_W20GdtAHPeTWWzk4HfoA
b) 8 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEeaSJ1YE0CHAmVrWEKHTTpM
Master level shots
a) 9 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEe74_e1ay9MzSp_gc4MDWPC
b) 10 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEeXR_9TjfAyLQE20qV5N50C
c) 11 move shots: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ3NmA5iGkEc7Q0zlamJ92YP-vmxzKkzy
Tips & Hints for Learning Shots by Watching Video Series
1) At the first time just watch the shots: be only an observer and enjoy the beauty of shots.
2) At the second time, make some reflections upon each shot.
Remember that any delivered shot is not something accidental or coming from nowhere: it fully depends from alignment of pieces.
Thus:
a) identify which were vulnerable squares on the board in opponent's camp (or, in other words, holes);
b) identify which structures (columns / triangles / blocks etc.) were indespensable for delivering a shot;
b) identify how opponent was forced to occupy important squares on the board before a shot was delivered;
c) identify how a winning player exploited the fact that his or her pieces were under attack or going to be captured;
d) if at the finale a flying king was made a shot, identify whole route (in other words, trajectory) of the jump: probably, it is the hardest thing, but by practice you will master it.
3) You must not remember every position by heart. However, you must remember a pattern, and for this reason you must use all of your senses. Watching is not sufficient! Put the position on real board, play it with real pieces (see section "Equipment for Turkish checkers" below, if needed), pronounce every move, keep your records. I believe that after first fifty positions you will start to notice common patterns yourself, and it is how you can become more confident for your skills.
4) Next time pause a video before shot starts, but try to do that shot yourself. Sometimes there might be cases where you can find an alternative solution: if it brings advantageous result (for example, winning a checker in different manner), it proves that you made a progress, too.
5) As for duration of training session, it should not be longer than 1 hour. Any training session is about to improve the quality of your skills, but not a quantity of exercises. If you had managed to solve only 5 puzzles in an hour, it is good. Sometimes even good players and tacticians spend more than 15 minutes for solving 1 puzzle, and you have no reason to blame yourself if you do it slower.
Equipment for Turkish checkers
You need:
a) standard chessboard or checkerboard where letters and numbers are printed on;
b) a set of 16 pieces for each player.
If you have only one standard set of checkers (12 pieces), it may be insufficient!
Among the offers available at amazon.com, you might consider one of the following options:
a) pieces or a whole set for travelling chess and checkers:
Supplier #1 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Sondergut+chess+checkers+travel+set&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Supplier #2 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Mudpuppy+checkers+chess+travel&ref=nb_sb_noss
b) pieces for International checkers (in that case, check that the set contains 20 pieces of each color, because some manufacturers mislabel standard checkers as International checkers!):
Supplier #1 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=husaria+wooden+checkers&ref=nb_sb_noss
Supplier #2 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Homyl+international+checkers&dc&ref=a9_asc_1
Supplier #3 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Dengguoli+40+x+wood+checkers&ref=nb_sb_noss
c) pieces for Canadian checkers
Supplier: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Newton%27s+Canadian+checkers&ref=nb_sb_noss
d) pieces for backgammon and checkers (in that case check that the set contains 16 pieces of each color, because it is more common to offer sets with only 15 pieces of each color!)
Supplier #1 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=baoblaze+32+x+backgammon+draughts&dc&ref=a9_sc_1
Suppier #2 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Flameer+32+x+backgammon+draughts&ref=nb_sb_noss
d) very specialized sets with 16 pieces of each color
https://www.amazon.com/RADICALn-Marble-Complete-Checker-Figures/dp/B07R6CKSJL/ref=sr_1_2
If you are deciding about a purchase, please, pay attention to size of pieces: let it match your chessboard or checkerboard!
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