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Makruk (; ; ), or Thai chess (; ; ), is a
strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "troop leadership; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " a ...
board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...
that is descended from the 6th-century
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n game of
chaturanga Chaturanga (, , ) is an Traditional games of India, ancient Indian Strategy game, strategy board game. It is first known from India around the seventh century AD. While there is some uncertainty, the prevailing view among chess historians is t ...
or a close relative thereof, and is therefore related to
chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
. It is part of the family of
chess variant A chess variant is a game related to, derived from, or inspired by chess. Such variants can differ from chess in many different ways. "International" or "Western" chess itself is one of a family of games which have related origins and could be co ...
s. In
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
, where basically the same game is played, it is known as ouk (, ) or ouk chatrang (, ).


Origin

The Persian traders came to the
Ayutthaya kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom or the Empire of Ayutthaya was a Thai people, Thai kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (city), Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. Europe ...
around the 14th century to spread their culture and to trade with the Thai kingdom. It is therefore possible that the Siamese makruk, in its present form, was directly derived from the Persian game of
shatranj Shatranj (, ; from Middle Persian ) is an old form of chess, as played in the Sasanian Empire. Its origins lie in the South Asian game of chaturanga. Modern chess gradually developed from this game, as it was introduced to Europe by contacts in ...
via the cultural exchange between the two peoples in this period. This is because the movement of makruk's queen, or the "seed" (), is essentially the same as the ferz in shatranj. However, it is more likely that the game came more directly from India given the name similarities between
chaturanga Chaturanga (, , ) is an Traditional games of India, ancient Indian Strategy game, strategy board game. It is first known from India around the seventh century AD. While there is some uncertainty, the prevailing view among chess historians is t ...
and the Cambodian name
''ouk chaktrang''
(), and the way the "nobleman" (, ) moves. In his
History of Chess The history of chess can be traced back nearly 1,500 years to its earliest known predecessor, called chaturanga, in History of India, India; its prehistory is the subject of speculation. From India it spread to Sassanian Empire, Persia, where i ...
, Murray suggests it may have followed the expansion of Buddhism in the area.


Pieces

In the starting position, cowrie are placed on the third and sixth . Seeds are placed at the right side of lords.


Rules

* The cowrie shell moves one space forward and captures one space diagonally forward. Unlike in Western chess, the cowrie cannot advance two squares on its first move; therefore, it cannot be captured ''
en passant In chess, ''en passant'' (, "in passing") describes the capture by a Pawn (chess), pawn of an enemy pawn on the same and an adjacent that has just made an initial two-square advance. This is a special case in the rules of chess. The capturi ...
''. A cowrie that reaches the sixth rank is always promoted. It becomes a "promoted pawn" (เบี้ยหงาย ''bia ngai'', in Thai, meaning overturned cowrie shell), which moves one square diagonally in any direction, like the seed. Cowrie promotion is usually denoted by flipping the piece over. * The seed moves one space diagonally, like the ferz in
shatranj Shatranj (, ; from Middle Persian ) is an old form of chess, as played in the Sasanian Empire. Its origins lie in the South Asian game of chaturanga. Modern chess gradually developed from this game, as it was introduced to Europe by contacts in ...
. It has the same move as the overturned cowrie. * The nobleman moves one space diagonally or one space forward, like the silver general in
shogi , also known as Japanese chess, is a Strategy game, strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in Japan and is in the same family of games as chess, Western chess, chaturanga, xiangqi, Indian chess, and janggi. ...
. * The horse moves two spaces orthogonally (that is, along a or ) and then one space perpendicular to that movement. It jumps over any pieces in the way, like the
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
in Western chess. * The boat moves any number of spaces orthogonally, like a rook in Western chess. * The lord moves one space in any direction, like a
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
in Western chess. The game ends when the lord is checkmated. The game ends as a draw if the lord is stalemated, like in Western chess and unlike shatranj.


Counting rules

When neither side has any cowries, the game must be completed within a certain number of moves or it is declared a draw. When a piece is captured the count restarts only if it is the last piece of a player in the game. * When neither player has any cowries left, mate must be achieved in 64 moves. The disadvantaged player counts, and may at any time choose to stop counting. If the disadvantaged player checkmates the advantage side and did not stop counting, the game is declared a draw. When the last piece (that is not the lord) of the disadvantaged player is captured, the count may be started, or restarted from the aforementioned counting, by the weaker player, and the stronger player now has a maximum number of moves based on the pieces left: * If there are two boats left: 8 moves * If there is one boat left: 16 moves * If there are no boats left, but there are two noblemen: 22 moves * If there are no boats or noblemen left, but there are two horses: 32 moves * If there are no boats left, but there is one nobleman: 44 moves * If there are no boats or noblemen left, but there is one horse: 64 moves * If there are no boats, noblemen or horses left, but only seeds: 64 moves The disadvantaged player announces the counting of his fleeing moves, starting from the number of pieces left on the board, including both lords. The winning player has to checkmate his opponent's lord before the maximum number is announced, otherwise the game is declared a draw. During this process, the count may restart if the counting player would like to stop and start counting again. For example, if White has two boats and a horse against a lone black lord, 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 boat, 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 with the lord.


Variants

There are 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. * Sut Khun สูตรขุน ("King Sutra") can be compared to the castling rule in Western chess. The rule allows the player to move the lord to a blank square on next row, like a horse, so long as the lord has not yet 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 seed and the cowrie in front of the seed at the same time. Two pieces are moved in this sutra. First, move the cowrie in front of the seed forward; then move the seed to the blank square the cowrie has just vacated, so the seed moves two squares forward. * Sut Ma สูตรม้า ("Knight Sutra") is a first free move that allows the player to move a horse and a cowrie a horse's move from that horse in the same turn. Two pieces are moved in this sutra. First, move the cowrie which is a horse's move from the horse forward; then move the horse to the blank square the cowrie has just vacated. * Takhaeng Ruea ตะแคงเรือ ("Boat Tilting, Rook Tilting") involves turning one or both boats upside down. This changes the boat to be a seed. This reduces the power of one or two boats.


Cambodian chess

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
has a variant of chess that was introduced in southeast Asia centuries ago, called ''ouk'' ( ) or ''ouk chaktrang'' ( or ), with minor differences to the Thai version of chess. In
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, ouk is called ''cờ ốc'', meaning "shell chess", as the shape of the pieces resemble shells. The main rules difference involves the first movement of the lord and seed. If no pieces have been captured, the players have these options: # On the lord's first move, and only if not in check, of moving the lord like a horse; and # On the seed's first move, of moving the seed two squares straight ahead. There is evidence that ouk has been played in Cambodia since the twelfth century, as it is depicted in several reliefs in the Angkor temples. The first nationwide ouk tournament was held 3–4 April 2008, upon the completion of a standardized rule set by the Olympic Committee of Cambodia and the Cambodian Chess Association. In a variant known as ''kar ouk'' (also known as ''ka ouk''), the first player to put the other in check wins. Another variant of Cambodian chess was described by David Pritchard in the first edition of ''The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants'', but this was later determined to have been included in error as no such game was played in Cambodia. Ouk is one of three traditional sports introduced by Cambodia at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, along with the martial arts of Bokator and Kun Khmer.


References


External links


MakrukThai AI หมากรุกไทย เอไอHow to play Thai Chess
at ''
The Chess Variant Pages ''The Chess Variant Pages'' is a non-commercial website devoted to chess variants. It was created by Hans Bodlaender in 1995. The site is "run by hobbyists for hobbyists" and is "the most wide-ranging and authoritative web site on chess variants". ...
''
Makruk: Chess in CambodiaFree makruk chess pieces (svg file format)How to Play Makruk (หมากรุก): The Chess of Thailand
{{Chess variants, state=collapsed Games related to chaturanga Thai sports and games Thai games