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Makruk starting position

Makruk^{[citation needed]} (Template:Lang-th; RTGS: mak ruk)^[1]pronounced [màːk rúk]^{[citation needed]}), or Thai chess, is a board game that descended from the 6th-century Indian game of chaturanga or a close relative thereof, and therefore related to chess. It is regarded as the most similar living game to this common ancestor of all chess variants.^[2]

There are around two million Thais who can play makruk, while 5000 can play chess.^[3]

According to former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik, "Makruk Thai is more strategic than international chess. You have to plan your operations with total care since Makruk Thai can be compared to an anticipated endgame of International Chess."^[4]

Rules

Pieces

The pawn (called เบี้ย bia, a cowry shell, formerly used for money) moves and captures like a pawn in international chess, but cannot move two steps on the first move and, therefore, cannot be captured en passant. A pawn that reaches the sixth rank is always promoted to a queen (med).


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	บ

The queen^[5]^[6] (called เม็ด met, seed^[5]), arguably the weakest piece, moves one step in any diagonal direction, like the fers in shatranj, or a cat sword in dai shogi.


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The bishop (called โคน khon, cone) moves one step in any diagonal direction or one step forward, like the silver general in shogi.


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The knight (called ม้า ma, horse) moves like a knight in Western chess: two steps in one direction and then one step perpendicular to that movement. It jumps over any pieces in the way.

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The rook (called เรือ ruea, boat) moves like a rook in Western chess: any number of steps horizontally or vertically.

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The king (called ขุน khun, meaning either a feudal lord or a title-holder of the lowest ranks in the ancient Thai nobility) moves like a king in international chess - one step in any direction. The game ends when the king is checkmated. Unlike shatranj, the game ends as a draw if the king is stalemated.


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English	king (1)	queen (1)	bishop (2)	knight (2)	rook (2)	pawn (8)	promoted pawn (queen)
Thai	ขุน	เม็ด	โคน	ม้า	เรือ	เบี้ย	เบี้ยหงาย
RTGS	khun	met	khon	ma	ruea	bia	bia-ngai
Meaning	feudal lord	seed	unknown (probably from คน, person)^[7]	horse	boat	cowry shell	Overturned Cowry Shell

In starting position, pawns are placed on the third and sixth ranks. Queens are placed at the right side of kings. Pawns promote (เบี้ยหงาย bia ngai, flipped cowry shell) and move like queens when they reach the sixth rank. There is no castling rule like that of international chess.

Counting rules

When neither side has any pawns, the game must be completed within a certain number of moves or it is declared a draw. When a piece is captured the count starts again from scratch only if it is the last piece of one side in the game.

When neither side has any pawns left, mate must be achieved in 64 moves. The disadvantaged player does the counting, and may at any time choose to stop counting. If the disadvantaged side checkmates the advantage side and did not stop counting, the game is declared a draw.

When the last piece (that is not the king) of the disadvantaged side is captured, the count may be started, or restarted from the aforementioned counting, by the weaker side, and the stronger side now has a maximum number of moves based on the pieces left:

If there are two rooks left: 8 moves
If there is one rook left: 16 moves
If there are no rooks left, but there are two bishops: 22 moves
If there are no rooks or bishops left, but there are two knights: 32 moves
If there are no rooks left, but there is one bishop: 44 moves
If there are no rooks or bishops left, but there is one knight: 64 moves
If there are no rooks, bishops or knights left, but only queens: 64 moves

The weaker side pronounces aloud the counting of his fleeing moves, starting from the number of pieces left on the board, including both kings. The stronger side has to checkmate his opponent's king before the maximum number is pronounced, otherwise the game is drawn. During this process, the count may restart if the counting side would like to stop and start counting again.

For example, if White has two rooks and a knight against a lone black king, he has three moves to checkmate his opponent (the given value of 8 minus the total number of pieces, 5). If Black captures a white rook, the count does not automatically restart, unless Black is willing to do so, at his own disadvantage. However, many players do not understand this and restart the counting while fleeing the king.

Variants

Here are some alternative rules, which do not apply to the standard, formal game, or have been abandoned in professional play. They are called sutras. The first free moves are similar to those in Cambodian Ouk (see below).

Sut Khun สูตรขุน (King Sutra) can be compared to the castling rule in international chess. The rule allows the player to move the King to a blank square on next row, like a Knight, so long as the king has never moved.
Sut Met สูตรเม็ด (Queen Sutra) is the most popular sutra in informal rules. It is a first free move that allows the player to move the Queen and the Pawn in front of the Queen at the same time. Two pieces are moved in this sutra. First, move the Pawn in front of the Queen forward; then move the Queen to the blank square the pawn has just vacated, so the Queen moves two squares.
Sut Ma สูตรม้า (Knight Sutra) is a first free move that allows the player to move a Knight and a Pawn a Knight's move from that Knight in the same turn. Two pieces are moved in this sutra. First, move the Pawn which is a Knight's move from the Knight forward; then move the Knight to the blank square the Pawn has just vacated.
Takhaeng Ruea ตะแคงเรือ (Boat Tilting, Boat Lean) Turn one or both Boat pieces upside down. This changes the Boat to be a Bia Ngai (flipped cowry shell). This reduces the power of one or two Rooks.

Cambodian chess

The variety of chess played in Cambodia, called "Ok" (Khmer: អុក)^[8] or "Ouk Chatrang",^[9] is virtually identical to makruk, with a couple of minor differences.^[10] If no pieces have been captured, the players have the options

on the king's first move, and only if not in check, of moving the king like a knight; and
on the queen's first move, of moving the queen two squares straight ahead.^[9]

There is evidence that Ouk Chatrang has been played in Cambodia since the twelfth century, as it is depicted in several reliefs in the Angkor temples.^[10]

Ka Ok

In the variant "Ka Ok" (aka "Kar Ouk"), the first player to put the other in check wins.^[8]

Tournament

The first Ouk Chatrang tournament was held in Cambodia 3–4 April 2008, upon the completion of a standardized rule set by the Olympic Committee of Cambodia and the Cambodian Chess Association.^[11]

References

^ "หมากรุก". thai-language.com. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
^ Murray, H. J. R. (1913). A History of Chess (Reissued ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-827403-3.
^ Pritchard, D. B. (2007). Beasley, John (ed.). The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. John Beasley. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1.
^ Kramnik plays Makruk Thai by Dr. René Gralla.
^ ^a ^b How to Play Thai Chess - Makruk - Mak-rook - Makrook - Xiangqi - Shogi
^ Makruk: Thai Chess
^ ขุนก้อง. "หมากโคน". Siamsport.co.th (in Thai). Retrieved 27 February 2018.
^ ^a ^b Khmer Institute (If the link redirects to the mainpage of the Khmer Institute, click on the "culture" link, then the "chess" link)
^ ^a ^b Cambodian Chess games
^ ^a ^b Ouk Chatrang, the Cambodian Chess and Makruk, the Thai Chess
^ Cambodia to hold first ever Khmer Chess tournament

External links

[1] "หมากรุก". thai-language.com. Retrieved 13 November 2018.

[2] Murray, H. J. R. (1913). A History of Chess (Reissued ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-827403-3.

[3] Pritchard, D. B. (2007). Beasley, John (ed.). The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. John Beasley. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1.

[4] Kramnik plays Makruk Thai by Dr. René Gralla.

[ancientchess-5] How to Play Thai Chess - Makruk - Mak-rook - Makrook - Xiangqi - Shogi

[chessvariants-6] Makruk: Thai Chess

[7] ขุนก้อง. "หมากโคน". Siamsport.co.th (in Thai). Retrieved 27 February 2018.

[Khmer-8] Khmer Institute (If the link redirects to the mainpage of the Khmer Institute, click on the "culture" link, then the "chess" link)

[Ouk-9] Cambodian Chess games

[history-10] Ouk Chatrang, the Cambodian Chess and Makruk, the Thai Chess

[tournament-11] Cambodia to hold first ever Khmer Chess tournament

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-* The bishop (called โคน ''khon'') moves one step in any diagonal direction or one step forward, like the [[Shogi#Silver general|silver general]] in [[shogi]].
+* The bishop (called โคน ''khon'', cone) moves one step in any diagonal direction or one step forward, like the [[Shogi#Silver general|silver general]] in [[shogi]].
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