Makruk: Thai Chess

About Makruk: Thai Chess

Makruk is a Thai board game related to chess. Presumably derived directly from the ancient Indian game Chaturanga, considered the ancestor of modern chess. In Thailand, the game is more popular than classical chess. Players take turns. In 1 move you can move one piece. The figures have their own pattern, described in the chapter moves of movement figures. The figures block each other's movements. If a piece is moved onto a square occupied by an opponent's piece, then the opponent's piece must be removed from the board by the player who made the move.

Piece moves:

The king moves like in European chess. There is no possibility of castling (moving the king towards the rook).
Queen - move only one point diagonally.
Rook - can move any number of squares horizontally or vertically, provided that there are no pieces in its path (same as in its European counterpart).
Bishop - move one square diagonally in any direction or one square forward vertically.
Knight - moves two cells vertically and then one cell horizontally, or vice versa, two cells horizontally and one cell vertically (same as in the European analogue).
Pawn - moves one step forward vertically, and cuts one step forward diagonally, as in European chess. A pawn can only transform into an analogue of a queen, reaching the sixth rank.

Victory Conditions: As in classical chess, the objective of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king. A stalemate brings a draw (unlike most eastern variants of chess, where a stalemate brings victory to the one who moved last).