Draws and endgames: the counts that end a game by themselves
Threefold repetition and the move and endgame limits of each rule set, as this site applies them, and how to make progress before the count runs out.
A game on this site can end in a draw with nobody offering one. A federation may apply some of its draw rules only when a player claims them. Here the limits below apply automatically, so the moment a count runs out the game is over, and the result line says why: "The same position came up three times", "Move limit: too long without a capture" or "Endgame rule: the stronger side did not win in the moves allowed".
Every count below is in moves of each player, so five moves means five by White and five by Black. The two Russian limits that name the stronger side count only that side's moves.
Threefold repetition
In all four rule sets, the same pieces on the same squares with the same side to move, for the third time, is a draw. The three times need not come in a row. A capture or a man move starts the matter afresh, because no earlier position can come back after either.
White is a king ahead here and throws that lead away. A repetition needs both sides back on the same squares, so the side that is ahead has a say in it.
The limits in each rule set
American checkers
Taken from the WCDF Rules of Draughts. The game is drawn when, during their own previous 40 moves, neither player has advanced a man towards the king row and no piece has been removed from the board. In practice that is 40 moves each with nothing but kings moving. A man move or a capture restarts the count. There is no shorter endgame limit.
Brazilian draughts
Taken from the CBD official rules.
- 20 moves each of king moves only, with no capture and no man moved. A man move or a capture restarts this count.
- 5 moves each in these endings: two kings against two kings, two kings against a king, two kings against a king and a man, a king against a king, and a king against a king and a man.
- 5 moves each when three kings, two kings and a man, or a king and two men face a lone king on the long diagonal, for as long as it is the only piece there. Off the diagonal only the 20-move count applies.
In the 5-move endings a man move or a capture resets nothing: there is one count over the whole run of those positions.
International draughts
Taken from the FMJD official rules for international draughts.
- 25 moves each of king moves only, with no man moved and no capture. A man move or a capture restarts this count.
- 16 moves each for three kings, two kings and a man, or a king and two men against one king. A piece taken during those 16 moves does not restart them.
- 5 moves each once the lone king in that ending is the only piece on the long diagonal.
- 5 moves each for two kings, a king and a man, or a king against one king. If a capture leads here from the 16-move ending, the earlier of the two deadlines applies.
Russian draughts
Taken from the Russian rules of 2022.
- Three kings or more, with any other pieces, against a lone king: a draw if the stronger side has not taken it by its 15th move since that balance arose.
- Three pieces, none on the long diagonal, against a lone king on it: the same, by the stronger side's 5th move.
- Both sides have kings, no capture and no promotion: 5 moves each with two or three pieces on the board, 30 with four or five, 60 with six or seven. Man moves do not restart this count.
- Only kings moved, no man moved and nothing captured: 15 moves each with four or five pieces, 25 with six or seven. This one does not apply with two or three pieces, or with eight or more.
What this means at the board
If you are ahead, the count is your opponent's best defence, so treat it as a clock.
- Do not shuffle kings. A king move that changes nothing spends the count, and the third occurrence of a position ends the game on the spot. Every move should bring a piece closer to a capture or a new king.
- Know the number before you trade down. Two kings against one king gives you five moves each in Brazilian, International and Russian draughts. If you cannot see the win in that time, keep more on the board for now.
- Spend man moves where they count. A man move restarts the king-only counts in American, Brazilian and International draughts, so a man you can still move safely is worth keeping in reserve. It does not restart the endgame counts. In Russian draughts it restarts the king-only count, but the count without a capture or promotion runs on.
- Take the long diagonal first. The 5-move counts on the long diagonal in Brazilian, International and Russian draughts need the lone king to hold it, so a king of yours already there keeps them from starting.
While that king stays on the diagonal, White keeps the full 20 moves each.
If you are behind, the same facts are your plan. In Brazilian, International and Russian draughts, head for the long diagonal, stay out of reach and let the count run. And if you do find the win at the last moment, it stands: a win is checked before any count, so taking the last piece on the final counted move beats the draw.
What is not implemented
Three parts of the Russian rules depend on a referee or on the clock, and this site does not apply them: a referee's judgement that a position is clearly drawn (6.1.8.7), an adjudication that depends on the time control (6.1.10.4), and the referee's exception to the 5-move count on the long diagonal when a winning chance arises (part of 6.1.8.5).
The lessons for each rule set have steps on repetition and the move counts. To feel the counts for yourself, play a computer opponent on the play page, and when the game reaches a king ending, count the moves you have left.