Checkers, also known as draughts, is a group of strategy board games for two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. Checkers is developed from alquerque. The term "checkers" derives from the checkered board which the game is played on, whereas "draughts" derives from the verb "to draw" or "to move".
International draughts is a strategy board game for two players, one of the variants of draughts. The gameboard comprises 10×10 squares in alternating dark and light colours, of which only the 50 dark squares are used. Each player has 20 pieces, light for one player and dark for the other, at opposite sides of the board. In conventional diagrams, the board is displayed with the light pieces at the bottom; in this orientation, the lower-left corner square must be dark.
Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk is a Russian and Swiss chess grandmaster who was the Women's World Chess Champion from 2008 to 2010 and Women's World Rapid Chess Champion in 2021. She was European women's champion in 2004 and a two-time Russian Women's Chess Champion. Kosteniuk won the team gold medal playing for Russia at the Women's Chess Olympiads of 2010, 2012 and 2014; the Women's World Team Chess Championship of 2017; and the Women's European Team Chess Championships of 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017; and the Women's Chess World Cup 2021. In 2022, due to sanctions imposed on Russian players after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she switched federations, and as of March 2023 she represents Switzerland.
Ekaterina Aleksandrovna "Kateryna" Lagno is a Russian chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, she earned the title Woman Grandmaster (WGM) at the age of 12 years, four months and two days. In 2007, she was awarded the grandmaster title.
Nadezhda Anatolyevna Kosintseva is a Russian chess grandmaster. She was a member of the gold medal-winning Russian team in the Women's Chess Olympiads of 2010 and 2012, and in the Women's European Team Chess Championships of 2007, 2009 and 2011.
The World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national teams, always including one open and one restricted to women. A parallel event for seniors was inaugurated in 2000.
The Fédération Mondiale du Jeu de Dames is the international body uniting national draughts federations. It was founded in 1947 by four Federations: France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland.
Elena Tairova was a Belarusian and Russian chess player. She was awarded the FIDE titles of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in 2006 and International Master (IM) in 2007.
Guntis Valneris is a Latvian draughts player. He was the 1994 World champion in international draughts, a two-time European champion, two-time World champion in fast draughts, three-time Junior World champion (1984–1986), and multiple-time Latvian national champion.
Darya Aleksandrovna Tkachenko is a Russian, formerly Ukrainian, draughts player holding the FMJD titles of FMJD Master (MF) and Women's International Grandmaster (GMIF). She is four-time women's world champion and twice women's European champion in international draughts. In 2016, she also won the women's world championship of Turkish draughts.
Ion Dosca is a Moldovan Brazilian draughts player, international grandmaster since 1996 and world champion in 1999. Dosca also plays other variants of draughts, such as Russian checkers and pool checkers and won numerous national championships in both variants.
Viktoriya Leontyivna Motrichko is a Ukrainian draughts player, an International Grandmaster since 2005. She was the World champion in International draughts in 2023, World champion in Brazilian draughts in 2007 and the winner of the World Mind Sports Games in Russian checkers in 2008.
Vadim Aleksandrovich Virny is a German International draughts player, an International Grandmaster. He was a European champion, World vice-champion and two-times World team champion in International draughts in the 1980s.
Yulia Vladimirovna Makarenkova is a draughts player from Ukraine and International Grand Master (GMI). She specializes in Russian checkers and Brazilian draughts played on a small board but also takes part in competitions in International draughts. Yulia Makarenkova is a three-times World champion and two-times European champion in Russian checkers, two-times national champion of the Soviet Union and multiple times Ukrainian national champion in Russian checkers and International draughts.
The first World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) were held in Beijing, China from October 3 to 18, 2008, about two months after the Olympic Games. They were sponsored and organised by the International Mind Sports Association with the General Administration of Sport of China and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sport.
The 2012 World Mind Sports Games were held in Lille, France, from 9 to 23 August 2012. The meeting started during the 2012 Summer Olympics and ending shortly before the 2012 Summer Paralympics, both in London. This was the second rendition of the World Mind Sports Games, which was inaugurated in 2008 in Beijing. The mind sport games had about 2000 players from 95 nations—down from 2,763 competitors and 143 countries at the 1st Games. More than half of the gold medals were contested at draughts and Russia, with the strongest draughts squad, won the most gold and most overall medals. China won five gold medals—all five events contested at Xiangqi. Chinese Taipei won four gold medals—four of the five events contested at go.
Anastasia Mikhailovna Bodnaruk is a Russian chess player who holds the FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She is the current women's World Rapid Chess Champion after winning the World Rapid Chess Championship 2023.
Ekaterina Bushueva was a Russian draughts player. She has won the Women's World Draughts-64 Championship two times, won Women's Draughts-64 European Championship. Many times champion of Russia, International grandmaster in Russian draughts.
Darja Fedorovich is a Belarusian draughts player, was third at the 2019 Women's World Draughts Championship, was second and third at the world championship and twice second at European championship in Russian draughts. She has become the champion of Belarus many times. Darja Fedorovich is a Women's International grandmaster (GMIF) in draughts-64 and in International draughts. Coach Anatoli Gantvarg. Her sister Olga Fedorovich is also Belarusian draughts player.
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