| Alquerque | |
| Italic Title: | no |
| Image Caption: | Alquerque starting position |
| Players: | 2 |
| Setup Time: | ~1 minute |
| Random Chance: | None |
| Skills: | Strategy, tactics |
| Aka: | Qirkat |
Alquerque (also known as qirkat from Arabic: القرقات) is a strategy board game that is thought to have originated in the Middle East. It is considered to be the parent of draughts (US: checkers) and Fanorona and the diagonals of its grid are the predecessor of the checkering of the draughts board.
The game first appears in literature late in the 10th century when Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani mentioned qirkat in his 24-volume work Kitab al-Aghani ("Book of Songs"). This work, however, made no direct mention of the rules of the game, most likely because it is poetry and they would have been common knowledge in the context the book originated in.
In Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations, R. C. Bell writes that "when the Moors invaded Spain they took El-quirkat with them".[1] Rules are included in Libro de los juegos ("Book of games") commissioned by Alfonso X of Castile in the 13th century.
Spanish settlers in New Mexico introduced a four-player variant of alquerque to the Zuni.
thumb|right|250px|An empty abstract alquerque boardthumb|right|upright=1.75|This board graphic displays Moorish design elements relating to the origin of Alquerque. The algebraic notation facilitates move annotation and gameplay discussion.
Before starting, each player places their twelve pieces in the two rows closest to them and in the two rightmost spaces in the center row. The game is played in turns, with one player taking white and the other black.
The goal of the game is to eliminate the opponent's pieces.
R. C. Bell developed additional rules, saying those given by Alfonso X, in his opinion, "are not sufficient to play a game".These extra rules are:
Bell also includes a scoring system for rating games.
. Robert Charles Bell . Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations, volume 1 . 1979 . . . 0-486-23855-5 . 47–48 .