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There are two main styles of checkers played in tournaments, Go-As-You-Please (sometimes called Freestyle or Unrestricted) and 3-Move Restriction. In Go-As-You-Please, you can make any opening moves that you want. In 3-Move, the first 3 moves (Red-White-Red) are chosen at random from a list of accepted 3-Move openings. The list contains no openings that are known losses. 3-Move is more popular in serious tournaments and matches, as it decreases the number of draws. After playing a game with one of the 3-Move openings, you play a second game with the same opening, but from the other side of the board, to even out the disadvantage of having to play a weak opening (such as the Octopus or the Skull Cracker).
3-Move Openings:
9-13=Edinburgh
| 1 | 9-13 21-17 5-9 (5-9 Switcher) |
10 | 9-13 23-18 10-15 | 18A | 9-13 24-19 10-14 | |||
| 2 | 9-13 21-17 6-9 (6-9 Switcher) |
11 | 9-13 23-18 11-15 | 19 | 9-13 24-19 11-15 | |||
| 3 | 9-13 22-17 13-22 | 12 | 9-13 23-18 12-16 | 20 | 9-13 24-19 11-16 | |||
| 4 | 9-13 22-18 6-9 (Dreaded Edinburgh) |
13 | 9-13 23-19 5-9 | 21 | 9-13 24-20 5-9 | |||
| 5 | 9-13 22-18 10-15 | 14 | 9-13 23-19 6-9 | 22 | 9-13 24-20 6-9 | |||
| 6 | 9-13 22-18 11-15 | 15 | 9-13 23-19 10-14 | 23 | 9-13 24-20 10-14 | |||
| 7 | 9-13 22-18 12-16 | 16 | 9-13 23-19 11-16 | 24 | 9-13 24-20 10-15 | |||
| 8 | 9-13 23-18 5-9 | 17 | 9-13 24-19 5-9 | 25 | 9-13 24-20 11-15 (Wagram) |
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| 9 | 9-13 23-18 6-9 | 18 | 9-13 24-19 6-9 |
9-14=Double Corner
| 26 | 9-14 22-17 5-9 | 33 | 9-14 22-18 11-16 | 40 | 9-14 24-19 11-16 | |||
| 27 | 9-14 22-17 6-9 | 34 | 9-14 23-18 14-23 (Double Cross) |
41 | 9-14 24-20 5-9 | |||
| 28 | 9-14 22-17 11-15 | 35 | 9-14 23-19 5-9 | 42 | 9-14 24-20 10-15 | |||
| 29 | 9-14 22-17 11-16 | 36 | 9-14 23-19 11-16 | 43 | 9-14 24-20 11-15 | |||
| 30 | 9-14 22-18 5-9 | 37 | 9-14 23-19 14-18 | 44 | 9-14 24-20 11-16 | |||
| 31 | 9-14 22-18 10-15 | 38 | 9-14 24-19 5-9 | |||||
| 32 | 9-14 22-18 11-15 | 39 | 9-14 24-19 11-15 |
10-14=Denny
| 45 | 10-14 22-17 7-10 | 50A | 10-14 23-19 6-10 | 56 | 10-14 24-19 14-18 | |||
| 46 | 10-14 22-17 14-18 | 50B | 10-14 23-19 7-10 | 57 | 10-14 24-20 6-10 | |||
| 47 | 10-14 22-18 6-10 | 50C | 10-14 23-19 11-15 | 58 | 10-14 24-20 7-10 | |||
| 47A | 10-14 22-18 7-10 (Fraser's Inferno) |
51 | 10-14 23-19 11-16 | 59 | 10-14 24-20 11-15 | |||
| 48 | 10-14 22-18 11-15 | 52 | 10-14 23-19 14-18 | 60 | 10-14 24-20 11-16 | |||
| 49 | 10-14 22-18 11-16 | 53 | 10-14 24-19 6-10 | 61 | 10-14 24-20 14-18 | |||
| 49A | 10-14 22-18 12-16 | 54 | 10-14 24-19 7-10 | |||||
| 50 | 10-14 23-18 14-23 | 55 | 10-14 24-19 11-16 |
10-15=Kelso
| 62 | 10-15 21-17 6-10 | 70 | 10-15 22-17 11-16 | 78 | 10-15 23-19 6-10 | |||
| 63 | 10-15 21-17 7-10 (Octopus) |
71 | 10-15 22-17 15-19 (Skull Cracker) |
79 | 10-15 23-19 7-10 | |||
| 64 | 10-15 21-17 9-13 (Tyne) |
72 | 10-15 22-18 15-22 | 80 | 10-15 24-19 15-24 | |||
| 65 | 10-15 21-17 11-16 | 73 | 10-15 23-18 6-10 | 81 | 10-15 24-20 6-10 | |||
| 66 | 10-15 21-17 15-18 | 74 | 10-15 23-18 7-10 | 82 | 10-15 24-20 7-10 | |||
| 67 | 10-15 22-17 6-10 | 75 | 10-15 23-18 9-14 | 83 | 10-15 24-20 15-19 | |||
| 68 | 10-15 22-17 7-10 | 76 | 10-15 23-18 11-16 | |||||
| 69 | 10-15 22-17 9-13 | 77 | 10-15 23-18 12-16 |
11-15=Old Faithful
| 84 | 11-15 21-17 8-11 | 91 | 11-15 22-17 15-19 (Dyke) |
98 | 11-15 23-19 8-11 | |||
| 85 | 11-15 21-17 9-13 (Switcher) |
92 | 11-15 22-18 15-22 (Single Corner) |
99 | 11-15 23-19 9-13 (Will-o-the-Wisp) |
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| 86 | 11-15 21-17 9-14 | 93 | 11-15 23-18 8-11 (Cross) |
100 | 11-15 23-19 9-14 | |||
| 87 | 11-15 21-17 15-19 | 94 | 11-15 23-18 9-14 (Cross Choice) |
101 | 11-15 24-19 15-24 (2nd Double Corner) |
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| 88 | 11-15 22-17 8-11 | 95 | 11-15 23-18 10-14 | 102 | 11-15 24-20 8-11 (Ayrshire Lassie) |
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| 89 | 11-15 22-17 9-13 | 96 | 11-15 23-18 12-16 | 103 | 11-15 24-20 12-16 | |||
| 90 | 11-15 22-17 15-18 | 97 | 11-15 23-18 15-19 (Montrose Cross) |
104 | 11-15 24-20 15-18 |
11-16=Bristol
| 105 | 11-16 21-17 7-11 (Octopus) |
113 | 11-16 22-18 7-11 | 121 | 11-16 23-18 16-20 | |||
| 106 | 11-16 21-17 8-11 | 114 | 11-16 22-18 8-11 | 122 | 11-16 24-19 7-11 | |||
| 107 | 11-16 21-17 9-13 | 115 | 11-16 22-18 16-19 | 123 | 11-16 24-19 8-11 (Paisley) |
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| 108 | 11-16 21-17 9-14 | 116 | 11-16 22-18 16-20 | 124 | 11-16 24-19 16-20 | |||
| 109 | 11-16 21-17 16-20 | 117 | 11-16 23-18 7-11 | 124A | 11-16 24-20 7-11 | |||
| 110 | 11-16 22-17 7-11 | 118 | 11-16 23-18 8-11 | 125 | 11-16 24-20 16-19 (Bristol) |
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| 111 | 11-16 22-17 8-11 | 119 | 11-16 23-18 9-14 | |||||
| 112 | 11-16 22-17 16-20 | 120 | 11-16 23-18 10-14 |
12-16=Dundee
| 126 | 12-16 21-17 9-13 | 130 | 12-16 22-17 16-19 | 134 | 12-16 23-18 16-19 | |||
| 127 | 12-16 21-17 9-14 | 131 | 12-16 22-17 16-20 | 135 | 12-16 23-18 16-20 | |||
| 128 | 12-16 21-17 16-19 | 132 | 12-16 22-18 16-19 | 136 | 12-16 24-19 16-20 | |||
| 129 | 12-16 21-17 16-20 | 133 | 12-16 22-18 16-20 | 137 | 12-16 24-20 8-12 (Dundee) |