Checkers in China

Yesterday, when I was having lunch with my friends in Beijing, a local man came in and said that in addition to checkers, he also teaches other mind games in elementary schools. At one point, he arranged the pieces on the checkers board in a row like the starting position of checkers and asked if I knew the game. I couldn't tell if he meant Russian or English checkers (communication was difficult with a few English and Chinese phrases), but I said that everyone in Estonia knows the game, but that I am a very weak player. With true Chinese politeness, he replied that he was even weaker and we played a game - as it turned out, Russian checkers. We were pretty much the same level of players, but since I came up with a decent and beautiful combination for myself, I managed to win. I assured him that anyone in Estonia could beat me (although I have had a couple of draws in my life, one with a 6-year-old girl and the other with Marten Meikop) and I promised him that I would lose if I ever had to play again.