Book 1 · three school terms

One adventure, five worlds

Chippy hatches in the Grove and flies all the way to the Sky Castle. Each chapter has a story, a lesson, practice with hints, a game and a mastery check, and every world ends with a badge. Children who pass the assessments qualify for a printed TTDCA certificate, requested by their coach or school.

World 1 · chapters 1–7

The Hatching Grove

The board, men and kings, captures, the majority rule, safe moves and notation.

Eggshell Beginner

World 2 · chapters 8–14

Cliffside Climb

First shots, forcing moves, formations, temps and key squares.

Sprout Strategist

World 3 · chapters 15–26

The Island Sea

The named shots, traps, king shots, outposts, locks and a master game.

Jet Hummingbird

World 4 · chapters 27–33

The Crystal Caves

Judging a position, attacking plans, wing control and the Roozenburg attack.

Phoenix Tactician

World 5 · chapters 34–40

The Sky Castle

Defence, opposition, Keller's endgame, king against men, and the Book 1 diploma.

Cosmic King

Term 1 covers Worlds 1 and 2, Term 2 the Island Sea, and Term 3 the Crystal Caves and Sky Castle. Children who pass all 40 mastery checks and the final assessment qualify for the Book 1 diploma, issued by the TTDCA on their coach's or school's request.

Play checkers? See what is different in international draughts.

Beyond the lessons

Something new to do every day

Practice keeps going after the chapters, with rewards that grow as children improve.

Daily training

Five puzzles a day, from a warm-up to a boss puzzle, at a level from 1 to 10 that rises when children solve first time. More than 1,000 puzzles, each one checked by our engine.

Five computer opponents

From a gentle first game to a strong engine that sees deep combinations. Play White or Black, with a live count of pieces and temps.

Pico

Kiki

Coach Ibis

The Raptors

The Oilbird Elders

Badges, Feathers and fair rewards

A free badge for every world and ranks from Hatchling to Legend of the Grove that never go down. Feathers earned by learning buy new boards, pieces and Chippy accessories: looks only, never money. Weekly XP, improvement and steady practice count as much as all-time totals.

Read aloud, hints and game review

Every story, lesson and puzzle can be read aloud in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese or Dutch, slower if needed. Hints come step by step, and after a few tries Chippy shows and explains the answer. After a game, Coach Ibis points out a missed shot or a great move and links it to a lesson.

Play your class

Children in an online class can challenge classmates and play move by move on their own phones. There is no chat: only invitations and moves are sent.

English, Español, Français, Português and Nederlands

The whole course is also in Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese and Dutch. Spanish uses the draughts words of the Spanish edition of Goedemoed's course (corona, cuadro, disparo, captura mayor); French uses the words of the TTDCA French workbooks (dame, case, rafle, prise majoritaire, coup Royal). Portuguese uses the words of the Brazilian edition of Goedemoed's course (pedra, dama, casa, lance, Lei da Maioria, Golpe Real). Dutch uses the words of Goedemoed's original Dutch course, Dam Cursus (schijf, dam, veld, zet, meerslag, coup Royal), for the Netherlands, Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean. Same positions and answers; children choose their language on the first screen.

For coaches, clubs and schools

Run your classes in the app

Classes with a join code. Children type six letters and a nickname. No accounts or emails.
Live progress. XP, chapters, stars, badges, streaks and daily level for every child, ranked and updated as they play.
Homework puzzles. Choose a level and a number of puzzles; see who solved each one first time.
Class games. Optional clocks with server timing, draw offers, printable game records and PDN downloads.
Fair class lists. Sort by this week, most improved, steady practice, puzzle level or chapters, not only all-time XP.
Printed certificates. See who qualified, with a reference code, and send the TTDCA a ready-made request.

More for schools and clubs

For adult coaches

Coach Academy: the Year One coaching certificate

A free online course for adults who coach draughts, based on the TTDCA School Draughts Programme Year One coaching standard. Short lessons on the board and practice questions that show the right answer and why, then an exam for the Certificate of Coaching Competence — Year One.

ARules and calculation
BCurriculum and sessions
CCorrecting errors
DLesson planning
ETournament conduct
FTeaching practice

How it works

Take the course, free. Open the Coach Academy in the app. Lessons and practice work offline, as often as you like.
Sign up and enter a voucher. Your full name and club or school go on the certificate. Exam vouchers come from Chippy Technologies Ltd., or from your national federation where it takes part.
Sit the exam in the app. One online sitting of two hours, saved as you go. It is not supervised and anyone can take it. The result shows your marks by domain: draughts knowledge, teaching (with a practical task), and conduct.
Get your certificate. Issued jointly by the TTDCA and Chippy Technologies Ltd. or, where your national federation provides the voucher, by that federation and Chippy Technologies Ltd. It records that you passed the online examination, prints on A4 and has a code anyone can check.

Open the Coach Academy Verify a certificate

Lessons and practice are in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Dutch. For now, the exam is in English.

All about the Coach Academy

Coming soon

Course downloads

Take the course off the screen. The TTDCA School Draughts Programme will be available as separate downloads: student workbooks, coach's guides and printable practice sheets.

Each download will show its size and language before you buy it.

Tell me when downloads are ready

To order, email ttdraughts@gmail.com. We will reply with the price, the payment details (bank transfer or another method) and your download link. Bank details are never published on this website.

For parents

Safe, private and free

Children type only a first name or a nickname. There are no accounts, no email addresses and no ads.

Progress is saved on the device, with a separate player for each child on a shared school tablet. If a child joins a coach's class, the class sees only the nickname and scores (and homework, class games and certificate qualifications); a practice rating is shared only if the child turns it on.

To see how many people use the app, it sends anonymous counts: a first open, a home-screen install and one “opened today” a day, with the country (from the device's time zone), the language and the kind of device. For the daily puzzles it also sends which puzzle was tried, whether it was solved first time and the child’s puzzle rating rounded to 100, so each puzzle’s difficulty can be measured. Our database keeps no names or IDs; our hosting providers keep standard access logs, which include IP addresses, for a short time. Devices set to “do not track” send nothing.

The app works offline once it is installed, so it can be used without mobile data.

Installing downloads about 7 MB: every lesson and puzzle, so the app works offline. Spoken narration downloads clip by clip the first time it plays, at most about 35 MB for one language. In total, Chippy needs under 50 MB on the device.

Put Chippy on your phone

Open Chippy's Draughts from this page on the phone or tablet.
On iPhone or iPad: tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. On Android: tap the ⋮ menu, then Install app.
Open Chippy from the home screen. Type a first name or nickname and start the adventure.

Come and play

Tournaments near you

Upcoming draughts tournaments in Trinidad and Tobago, around the Caribbean and across the world. Come to play, or come to watch.

Running your own school or club event? Use the free Schools Tournament Director for pairings, results and standings, and the Referee Academy to learn the rules.

Trinidad and Tobago

No tournaments in Trinidad and Tobago are listed right now. TTDCA events will appear here as soon as they are announced.

The Caribbean and the Americas

20–30 Nov2026
Raj Narain Srefidensi Open Damtoernooi, 8th edition Paramaribo, Suriname · World Cup 5*
Details about Raj Narain Srefidensi Open Damtoernooi, 8th edition (opens in a new tab)

Around the world

29 Oct – 8 Nov2026
World Youth Championship Xintai, China · FMJD World Championship
Details about World Youth Championship (opens in a new tab)
9–17 Nov2026
11th Xingqiu Cup, China Open Lishui, China · World Cup 7*
Details about 11th Xingqiu Cup, China Open (opens in a new tab)
12 Nov2026
World Rapid Championship Lishui, China · FMJD World Championship
Details about World Rapid Championship (opens in a new tab)
15–23 Dec2026
International Open Ouaga 2026 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso · World Cup 5*
Details about International Open Ouaga 2026 (opens in a new tab)

International dates are from the FMJD calendar (issued 15 May 2026). Dates can change, so check with the organiser before you travel. Organising a tournament? Email ttdraughts@gmail.com to have it listed here.

For grown-ups

Support Chippy

Chippy is free. Donations keep the app running and help us build new worlds, lessons and languages for children everywhere — Chippy is a constantly evolving learning experience and we keep strengthening our courses.

Donations are made in US dollars to the Trinidad and Tobago Draughts and Checkers Administration Foundation.

Bank transfer (USD) – email us for details

Email ttdraughts@gmail.com and we will send you the bank details for a transfer in US dollars (ACH, international ACH or wire). Bank details are never published on this website.

There are no donation requests inside the children's lessons or games.

Coming soon

The Chippy Store

Chippy merchandise, so fans can take Chippy home. Every purchase helps keep the children's app free.

Tell me when it opens

Orders will be taken by email at ttdraughts@gmail.com. We will reply with the payment details (bank transfer or another method).

Ready to hatch?

Chapter 1 takes about ten minutes.

Open Chippy's Draughts

Who makes Chippy's Draughts

Chippy Technologies Ltd.

Chippy Technologies Ltd. makes Chippy's Draughts Learning App, working with the Trinidad and Tobago Draughts and Checkers Association to bring its School Draughts Programme to every child with a phone or tablet.

Our aim is simple: make learning feel like play, keep children's information private, and give coaches tools that save them time.

More about Chippy Technologies and what we are building next

Innovate
Educate
Elevate

Meet the Creator & Discover Chippy

Created in Trinidad & Tobago. Made for curious minds everywhere.

Nicholas Ramsundar

Creator of Chippy · Founder of Chippy Technologies · President of the Trinidad & Tobago Draughts & Checkers Association

Nicholas Ramsundar is a former Trinidad & Tobago National Junior and Senior Draughts Champion, former National Junior Coach and holder of the FMJD Candidate Master title. As a coach, he has completed more than 50 hours of training with Alexander Shvartsman, the former multiple-time World Draughts Champion.

As a player, coach and organiser, Nicholas works to bring draughts into schools and communities, giving young people opportunities to learn, compete and develop their talents. Chippy brings together his experience and his vision for making learning accessible, imaginative and enjoyable.

National Junior & Senior Champion
FMJD Candidate Master
Former National Junior Coach
TTDCA President
Trained with Alexander Shvartsman

How Chippy Began

Chippy’s journey began when young members of our draughts community chose a hummingbird as their mascot. Nicholas then created and designed Chippy the Checkered Hummingbird, giving the idea its distinctive appearance and personality.

Development was underway by May 2025. Over approximately 17 months, the project grew from character designs and story ideas into an interactive draughts learning platform.

Today, Chippy brings together stories, lessons, puzzles and a Coach Academy, welcoming children, families, teachers and coaches.

Why a Hummingbird?

Small in size but full of energy, the hummingbird captures Chippy’s spirit: curious, determined and ready to explore.

Its alertness, precise movements and ability to change direction offer a playful connection to draughts, where learners observe carefully, think ahead and adapt their plans.

In Trinidad & Tobago, the Land of the Hummingbird and the home of Carnival, its shimmering colours and graceful movements make it look almost as though a Carnival designer created it. Chippy celebrates that natural beauty through a character with a distinctly local identity.

An Adventure with a Purpose

Chippy’s journey across five worlds introduces learners to international 10×10 draughts through stories and interactive challenges. Along the way, characters inspired by Trinidad & Tobago’s birdlife connect the adventure to our country’s nature and culture.

With learning available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Dutch, Chippy aims to reach across languages and communities. Its Coach Academy supports those who want to help others learn.

Our purpose is simple: help young people practice concentration, patience, thoughtful decision making and confidence through play.

Character Ownership

Chippy the Checkered Hummingbird and the accompanying original characters and designs are copyrighted creations owned by Nicholas Ramsundar. They may not be copied, reproduced, adapted or redistributed without the owner’s prior written permission.

Thank you

Chippy was made possible by many people. We are grateful to:

Kumar SookramFor his contributions to the development of draughts in Trinidad and Tobago.

Ederson RamsundarTechnical Editor and Support.

Gobin SookramReliability Engineer III.

Everyone who tested the appFor taking the time to share feedback and advice, and for helping translate the draughts terms into Spanish, French, Portuguese and Dutch.

The many people behind the scenesWhose quiet support helped bring Chippy to life.

The FMJDFor its free learning courses, which you can find under “Learn about draughts” at the top of this page.

We are listening

Comments and suggestions

Chippy keeps growing, and your ideas help shape what comes next. Found a mistake, have an idea for a lesson, or want to tell us how your child is getting on? We read every message.

Send a comment or suggestion Please don't include a child's full name.

Sources and credits

TTDCA School Draughts ProgrammeThe course, Year One and Year Two, is built on the courses and student workbooks of the Trinidad and Tobago Draughts and Checkers Association (TTDCA). They set the order, lessons, exercises and assessments.

Tjalling GoedemoedThe teaching method of the TTDCA courses, and so of Chippy, is inspired by the late Tjalling Goedemoed and his A Course in International Draughts, which he shared freely to promote draughts around the world.

Games playedPuzzles, examples and the computer opponents' opening play are drawn from games played by draughts players, with Turbo Dambase as a source of master games.

Ed GilbertEndgame databases and driver by Ed Gilbert (Kingsrow), used with permission under the Boost Software License 1.0.

FMJDThe rules are the official FMJD rules of international draughts (10×10). The FMJD's free English courses are also a source.

Learn international draughts with Chippy, the checkered hummingbird

Try a shot from Chapter 13