Checkers Diagram Maker

What this tool does

Chess players have had position editors for decades. For draughts the tooling is scattered, so this is a straightforward one: a board you click, and an image you can put in a blog post, a forum reply, a worksheet or a social post.

Nothing is stored on a server. The whole position lives in the link, which means a URL you copy today will still open the same board later, and sharing it costs nothing.

Looking for a move calculator instead?

This tool draws positions; it does not evaluate them. If what you want is the best move from a position rather than a picture of it, Checkers Arena has an analysis board and a solver that scores the candidate moves and gives the continuation, plus an endgame database.

The two work well together: set the position up here to get a clean diagram for a post or a worksheet, and take the same position there when you want to know what it is worth.

How to use it

1. Choose a piece from the palette — man or king, black or white.
2. Click the dark squares to place it. Clicking a piece of the same kind removes it.
3. Set which side is to move; the label appears under the board.
4. Optionally add a move and a caption to turn the diagram into a puzzle.
5. Export as PNG, WebP or SVG, print it, or copy the link to the position.

Puzzle diagrams

A diagram becomes a puzzle once you add a move. Turn on Build by clicking and click the squares in order — the starting square first, then every square the piece lands on. Or type the move straight into the field in the usual notation: 11-15 for a quiet move, 11x18x25 for a double jump.

The move is drawn on the board as arrows, and any piece it captures is crossed out. The Solution button plays the move out, so you can export two images from one setup: the position to solve, and the position after the answer. Add a caption such as Black to play and win and it is printed above the board — in the exported image as well, so the question travels with the picture.

Links carry all of it. Copy the link to a puzzle and it reopens with the same position, move and caption, and the preview image in chats and social posts shows that exact diagram.

Standard notation

Positions use the notation the draughts world already uses, so they travel between programs:

W:W18,24,K27:B12,16,K22

The leading letter is the side to move. W and Bintroduce each side’s pieces, listed by square number from 1 to 32, and K marks a king. Paste any position into the notation field to load it.

Which squares are numbered

Only the 32 dark squares are ever used, so those are the ones that carry numbers — 1 to 32, counted left to right and top to bottom. Turn on Square numbers to see them on the board, which is useful when writing up a position in text.

Export formats

• PNG — the safe choice for forums, documents and social media.
• WebP — noticeably smaller at the same quality, ideal for web pages.
• SVG — vector, stays sharp at any size and prints cleanly.

Printing and worksheets

The board on screen is dark because the rest of the site is. On paper that would be a waste of toner and hard to read, so Print always puts a light board on the page — white background, dark lettering — whichever way the screen is set. Everything else disappears: the navigation, the buttons, this text. You get the diagram, and nothing else.

Light board switches the editor itself, and that setting carries into every export and every link you share. Use it when the diagram is going somewhere with a white background — a worksheet, a printed handout, a document, a book.

For a set of puzzles, build the first position, print it, then switch to Solution and print that as the answer sheet.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an account? No. There is no sign-up and nothing is saved.

Can I use the images commercially? Yes — the diagrams you create are yours to use.

Does it check whether a position is legal? Only loosely. You will get a warning for more than twelve pieces a side or for a man sitting on its own king row, but deliberately impossible teaching positions are allowed.

Which rules does it assume? The 8×8 English draughts board with 12 pieces a side. Boards for international draughts (10×10) are on the list.

Want to play instead of diagram? Play checkers against the computer, print a board to play on with the printable checkers board, or read the full rules and strategy guide.