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🏛️Official — FMJD
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A square board divided into 100 equal squares, alternately black and white (2.1); Play happens only on the dark squares, so 50 squares are active (2.2); The skewed lines of dark squares are the diagonals; there are 17 of them (2.3)
The board is placed between the players so that the long diagonal starts at each player's left-hand side; the first square at each player's left hand is then a dark square (2.4); If the board is found to be wrongly positioned during a game, the game is annulled and has to restart (5.1); The 20 bl...
Why people argue about this
People often assume that the board setup is solely about positioning it between players with the long diagonal on their left, forgetting that there's a specific square color (dark) at each player’s starting point as well. This oversight can lead to arguments over whether the initial squares align correctly or not, which could invalidate an entire game if overlooked during play.
A man moves forwards along a diagonal to an empty square of the next row (3.4); A move is finished when the player has released the piece (3.10); Touching one of your own playable pieces obliges you to play it, provided a legal move exists (3.11)
Why people argue about this
People often assume that if they touch a piece in Draughts (International), they must move it immediately, which leads to misunderstandings about when exactly they are obligated to play that piece. Actually, they only have to play the touched piece if there's an available legal move for that piece; otherwise, touching doesn't force them into moving it right away.
A game ends in one of two results: a win for one player and a loss for the other, or a draw (7.1, 7.1.1, 7.1.2); A player wins when the opponent resigns, with or without reason (7.2.1); A player wins when the opponent has the move but cannot move because all pieces are blocked (7.2.2)
Why people argue about this
People often assume that a game ends in a draw if both players are blocked, which is incorrect according to the rules; they actually specify a player wins under that scenario (7.2.2), not a draw. The confusion arises because this rule isn't explicitly stated and could be easily overlooked or misinterpreted as a draw condition.
Normal games between two opponents face to face (11.1.1); Simultaneous displays — one player facing a number of opponents at once (11.1.2); Correspondence games, the moves sent alternately (11.1.3)
Capture is possible both forwards and backwards, counts as one complete move, and you may never capture your own pieces (4.1); When a man meets an opponent's piece diagonally with a free square behind it, he is obliged to jump it and occupy that square; the jumped piece is removed (4.2); A king m...
Why people argue about this
People often assume that capturing is optional in Draughts International, forgetting that it's a compulsory move when you can jump your opponent’s piece. They misunderstand that once you have the option to capture (by jumping over an enemy piece), you must do so as part of your mandatory move, even if doing so would leave your king unprotected on the side or corner squares.
Threefold repetition — the same position occurring a third time with the same player to move is a draw (6.1); 25-move rule — if only kings move for 25 successive moves each, with no man moved and no capture, the game is drawn (6.2); 16-move endings — with three kings, two kings and a man, or one ...
A capture must be clearly indicated and executed in order; absence of clear indication is incorrect and the opponent may request rectification (4.4); The move and the removal of captured pieces must be done with one and the same hand — using two hands is incorrect (4.4); Indicate a multiple captu...
Why people argue about this
People often assume that capturing pieces in Draughts (International) can be done with either hand they choose, leading to arguments about whether it's correct to use two hands for both the move and removing captured pieces as outlined in the rule. They might also think a capture is only clear if indicated visually, forgetting that verbal confirmation or written notation counts too.
The FMJD game uses a 100-square board with 20 men a side (2.1, 2.7); English draughts and American checkers use a 64-square board with 12 men a side and are governed separately; In the international game men capture backwards (4.1); in English draughts they do not; The international king is a fly...
Why people argue about this
People often assume that capturing backwards is a universal feature of checkers/checker variants like American and English draughts, but in international Draughts (FMJD), it's actually an exception to the norm where pieces don't capture backwardly by default. This leads to misunderstandings about which games follow this rule and which do not.
On any listed irregularity the opponent chooses whether it is rectified or allowed to stand (5.4); The list covers playing two moves in a row, moving irregularly, touching one piece and moving another, taking back a move, moving the opponent's piece, and playing a quiet move when a capture was av...
A king is a man that reaches and stops on a square of the promotion line nearest the opponent, and is crowned with a man of the same colour (3.5); Either player may crown the man; if the opponent does not, crowning it is part of the mover's own move, and failing to do so is an irregular move (3.6...
A man moves forwards along a diagonal to an empty square of the next row (3.4); A move is finished when the player has released the piece (3.10); Touching one of your own playable pieces obliges you to play it, provided a legal move exists (3.11)
Why people argue about this
People often assume that if a man (pawn) is touching their own board edge, they must move it immediately, which is incorrect. Actually, the rule states that you only have to play a piece when a legal move exists; if no forward move is possible, the piece remains untouched until such a move can be made.
A man that meets a further capturable piece during a capture must jump that second piece, and a third, and so on (4.5); A king may turn a corner onto a perpendicular diagonal to continue a capture, finishing on a square of choice beyond the last piece taken (4.6); It is forbidden to jump your own...
Bases — the side of the board facing each player, which are the promotion lines (2.5.1); Sides — the squares in the first and/or last column (2.5.2); Rows — horizontal lines of 5 dark squares (2.5.3)
Because the active squares are numbered 1 to 50, every move can be recorded and a whole game replayed or transcribed (8.1, 2.6); Write the starting square then the arrival square (8.2.1); Separate them with a hyphen for a simple move (8.2.2) and a cross for a capture (8.2.3)
The board is placed between the players so that the long diagonal starts at each player's left-hand side; the first square at each player's left hand is then a dark square (2.4); If the board is found to be wrongly positioned during a game, the game is annulled and has to restart (5.1)
Normal games between two opponents face to face (11.1.1); Simultaneous displays — one player facing a number of opponents at once (11.1.2); Correspondence games, the moves sent alternately (11.1.3)
A game ends in one of two results: a win for one player and a loss for the other, or a draw (7.1, 7.1.1, 7.1.2); A player wins when the opponent resigns, with or without reason (7.2.1); A player wins when the opponent has the move but cannot move because all pieces are blocked (7.2.2)
By convention the dark squares are numbered 1 to 50, without the numbers actually being written on the board (2.6); Numbering follows the rows left to right, from the first square of the top row to the last square of the bottom row (2.6); The promotion rows are numbered 1–5 and 46–50 (2.6.1)
Why people argue about this
People often assume that the numbering of squares is written directly on each square itself, leading to a misunderstanding about how they're numbered in Draughts (International). The official verdict clarifies that while numbers aren't actually inscribed on the board, players must follow the convention and order provided for accurate play.
The 20 black men occupy squares 1 to 20; the 20 white men occupy squares 31 to 50 (2.8); Squares 21 to 30 — the two middle rows — start empty (2.8); Compliance with the starting position must be checked before the game starts; an irregularity noticed later is handled under the general irregularit...
A square board divided into 100 equal squares, alternately black and white (2.1); Play happens only on the dark squares, so 50 squares are active (2.2); The skewed lines of dark squares are the diagonals; there are 17 of them (2.3)
20 white or light-coloured men and 20 black or dark-coloured men (2.7); A piece is either a man or a king, and the two move and capture differently (3.1, 3.2); A playing clock is required whenever a time control is in force (10.2.1, 10.4)
Why people argue about this
People often assume that the term "men" in Draughts (FMJD) refers to both light and dark pieces equally, but actually it specifically denotes the 20 white or light-colored men versus the 20 black or dark-colored men as outlined in rule 2.7. This leads to misunderstandings about which side's men are being referred to when discussing moves or captures.
A game may require a set number of moves in a given time, which makes a playing clock and full move-by-move transcription obligatory (10.1, 10.2.1, 10.2.2); A game may instead give each player a fixed time to the end, in which case the clock is obligatory but recording is not (10.3, 10.4); Clock ...
Why people argue about this
People often assume that a playing clock is only necessary when each player has a set number of moves within a time limit, forgetting that it's also required if players are given fixed times for their entire games, regardless of how many moves they make. This confusion stems from the rule text not clearly distinguishing between these two scenarios.
The first move of a game always belongs to the player with the white men (3.3); Players then move alternately, each with their own pieces (3.3); Any piece standing on a white square is inactive and can be brought into play only with the opponent's permission (5.3)