Draughts Draughts, also known as Checkers, is a boardgame. It originated in the 12th century, probably in southern France. In the 18th century an anonymous Pole invented the variant that is played on a 10x10 board with 2x20 pieces, which has materialised as the international, and most popular, Draughts game. Pieces are moved to simply sliding it forward to an adjacent and unoccupied dark square or to jump a piece of the opposing player. Jumped pieces are moved from the board. The first player to lose all of his or her pieces or to not be able to make a move loses the game. The Fédération Mondiale du Jeu de Dames was founded in 1947. World Championship: Men Women World Team Championship European Championship: Men Women Defunct Event: World Olympiad European Team Championship