Makruk

Makruk: A Strategic Thai Chess Variant

Makruk, also known as Thai chess, is a captivating strategy board game sharing similarities with chess but boasting unique rules and pieces. Played on an 8x8 board, it features a king, queen, and various pawns, each with distinct movement patterns. The objective remains the same: checkmate the opponent's king. However, Makruk demands a higher level of tactical prowess and strategic foresight, contributing to its enduring popularity in Thailand.

Key Features of Makruk:

• AI Opponents: Test your skills against AI opponents ranging in difficulty from Easy to Expert.
• Daily Challenges: Sharpen your strategic thinking with a fresh challenge every day.
• Global Leaderboard: Compete with players worldwide and strive for top rankings.
• Game Sharing: Share your brilliant moves with friends and family.
• Undo & Save/Load: Correct mistakes and save your game progress for later.
• Timed Gameplay: Add an extra layer of excitement with a timer.

Makruk (Thai: หมากรุก; rtgs: Mak Ruk), or Thai chess, traces its origins back to the 6th-century Indian game of chaturanga, making it a close relative of modern chess. It's considered the closest living relative to the common ancestor of all chess variants.

While approximately two million Thais can play Makruk, a significantly smaller number (5,000) play international chess. According to former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik, Makruk is even more strategically demanding than international chess, requiring meticulous planning as it resembles a perpetual endgame in international chess.

Piece Movement Rules:

• Pawn (เบี้ย bia): Moves and captures like a chess pawn, but only one square on its first move. En passant is not allowed. Promotion to a queen occurs upon reaching the sixth rank.
• Queen (เม็ด met): Moves one square diagonally in any direction.
• Bishop (โคน khon): Moves one square diagonally or one square forward.
• Knight (ม้า ma): Moves like a chess knight: two squares in one direction, then one square perpendicular.
• Rook (เรือ ruea): Moves any number of squares horizontally or vertically.
• King (Ang): Moves one square in any direction. (Historically, a special "Ses" move – a knight's jump – was allowed on the first move, but this is no longer standard in Thailand.) Checkmate ends the game.

What's New:

Bug fixes implemented.