GAME OF DRAUGHTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 January 1938, Page 9

GAME OF DRAUGHTS

OLD AS THE PYRAMIDS. In the British Museum there is a carving pi a lion playing draughts with an antelope, on a twenty-iive-square boaid with live pieces a side. It dates from the year 1600 8.C., and was made in Egypt. Draughts is, therefore, probably the oldest known game in the world.

Homer, in his poem the “Odyssey” (about 1500 8.C.), says that Penelope, while waiting for her husband Ulysses to return, kept many suitors waiting tor her answer and they sat down to play draughts. But he does not describe the rules by which they played.

There is also in existence a 1900-year-okl Latin handbook of the game, written for the Emperor Nero, but it is so full of Latin technical terms that it is impossible to understand it. But it. does mention both men and officers among the pieces. This is the first known indication that kings were used in the early days of draughts. According to the old Sages, the Norsemen played draughts aboard their ships —1037 years ago. The earliest known English handbook on draughts is comparatively modern. It appeared in George Il’s time, with a preface by Dr. Johnson. Since then, at any rate, the rules’" have not changed. There was an earlier book published on draughts in London in 1694, but it was only a history; not a code of rules. In those days ' draughts was ! called “the Frencri game.” But. the French have now stopped playing by our rules. They played what is called Polish draughts with a hundred-square board and 20 pieces a side. When taking an opponent's piece any draughtsman can move forward or back', and the King shoots diagonally across the board, like- a bishop in chess. The same rules apply in Poland, Holland and Belgium.

In Italy, a king can only be captured by another king. _ In Turkey, where draughts has become the national indoor game, every piece moves one square forward .or back, left or right. The king travels the length of the board and capturing is compulsory.