Makruk - Thai Chess (หมากรุก) 1.40

Makruk, or Thai chess, is a board game that originated from the 6th-century Indian game of chaturanga or a closely related version, making it a distant relative to chess and one of the most similar living games to its common ancestor.

Approximately two million Thais are skilled in playing makruk, while only 5000 are proficient in chess.

According to former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik, Makruk Thai requires a higher level of strategic planning compared to international chess. Players must meticulously strategize their moves due to the nuanced gameplay resembling an anticipated endgame scenario in International Chess.

Rules:

• The Pawn: called เบี้ย bia, moves and captures similar to an international chess pawn but lacks the ability to advance two steps on the first move or be captured en passant. A pawn reaching the sixth rank is automatically promoted to a queen (med).
• The Queen: known as เม็ด met, is considered the weakest piece and can move one step in any diagonal direction, reminiscent of the fers in shatranj or a cat sword in dai shogi.
• The Bishop: referred to as โคน khon, can move one step diagonally or one step forward, similar to how the silver general moves in shogi.
• The Knight: labeled as ม้า ma, has movements resembling those of a knight in Western chess: two steps in one direction and then one step perpendicular. The knight has the ability to jump over intervening pieces.
• The Rook: known as เรือ ruea, has movement capabilities mirroring those of a rook in Western chess: any number of steps either horizontally or vertically.
• The King (Ang): moves like a king in international chess, advancing one step in any direction. It was formerly allowed to perform a Ses (knight jump) on its first move, although this special move is now obsolete in Thailand. The game concludes when the king is checkmated.