A flying king can travel any number of empty squares along an open diagonal, much like a bishop in chess. It is not limited to a single step.
What is a flying king in draughts?
Quick answer: A flying king is a long range king used in variants like international, Russian and pool checkers; it can slide any number of empty squares along a diagonal and capture a piece from a distance.
Flying kings dramatically change how the endgame feels, turning a single king into a piece that controls whole diagonals.
Long range movement
Capturing from afar
The flying king can jump an enemy piece that lies anywhere along its diagonal, as long as the squares in between are empty and there is a landing square beyond. After the capture it may land on any empty square past the captured piece.
Which games use them
- International draughts, Russian draughts, Brazilian and pool checkers use flying kings.
- American and Italian checkers use short range kings that move one square.
Ready to put it into practice?
Play international draughts