Russian checkers — shashki — is the explosive cousin in the family. It's played on the standard 8×8 board with flying kings and backward captures, but one rule all its own makes it dramatically more dynamic than any other variant: a piece can be crowned in the middle of a capture and immediately keep going. Combinations that would stall in other variants detonate in shashki.
The signature rule: promote and keep jumping
In most checkers, a man that reaches the back row mid-jump simply stops and is crowned, ending the turn. In Russian checkers, that man is promoted to a flying king the instant it lands on the back row mid-capture — and if it can keep capturing as a king, it must continue in the same turn. The result is spectacular promote-and-sweep moves: a humble man jumps onto the crown row and immediately rampages back across the board as a king, clearing several pieces in a single move. Learning to set these up (and to see them coming) is the whole flavor of the game.
A quick example
Picture a man one capture away from the back row, with an enemy piece beyond the crowning square and more pieces strung along the diagonals. The man jumps to the back row, is crowned on the spot, and as a flying king continues the capture — sweeping pieces it could never have reached as a man.
How Russian differs from the international family
It shares flying kings and backward captures with international draughts, but with two important differences:
- No maximum-capture rule. When several captures are available, you may take any of them — you're not forced to take the longest. This gives you positional freedom the international family doesn't: you can choose the capture that improves your position rather than the biggest one.
- In-move promotion (above), which the international family doesn't have.
The shared mechanics (how flying kings move and capture) work as described on the international page.
How it feels to play
Fast and sharp. The combination of in-move promotion and no max-capture rule means games swing hard on single sequences, and the freedom to choose your capture rewards positional judgment over rote "take the most" calculation. Guard your own back row carefully — your opponent is hunting the exact promote-and-sweep ideas you are.
Where it's played
Shashki is enormously popular across Russia and the former Soviet states, with a deep competitive tradition and its own body of opening theory. It's one of the most-played forms of draughts in the world.
Play Russian checkers
Play shashki here against the computer with flying kings, backward captures, and in-move promotion all enforced. New to draughts? Start with the standard rules; for the maximum-capture cousin, see international draughts. All variants.