Makruk: Thai Chess

Thai Chess: A Guide to Gameplay

Thai chess, a game played on an 8x8 board, shares similarities with classical chess but features key distinctions. The initial setup mirrors classical chess, except for two crucial differences: the white queen starts on e1 and the white king on d1 (each king is to the left of its queen from the player's perspective); and pawns are positioned on the third rank (white) and sixth rank (black).


Piece Movement:

• King: Moves one square horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, as in European chess. Castling is not permitted.

• Queen: Moves only one square diagonally.

• Rook: Moves any number of unoccupied squares horizontally or vertically.

• Bishop: Moves one square diagonally in any direction or one square forward vertically.

• Horse (Knight): Moves in an "L" shape – two squares vertically then one horizontally, or vice versa (identical to European chess).

• Pawn: Moves one square forward vertically and captures one square diagonally forward, mirroring European chess rules. Pawns promote to a queen upon reaching the sixth rank.

Winning the Game:

Checkmating the opponent's king secures victory, as in classical chess. A stalemate (pat) results in a draw.

The game supports single-player mode against artificial intelligence, two-player mode on a single device, and online multiplayer.