Description

Makruk: Thai Chess is a Thai board game related to chess. Presumably, it comes directly from the ancient Indian game of Chaturanga, considered the ancestor of modern chess. In Thailand, the game is more popular than classical chess. The board has the same dimensions as in classical chess: 8 × 8 squares. The initial arrangement generally coincides with the arrangement in classical chess, but has two differences: the white queen is located on the e1 square, the white king is on the d1 square (that is, each king is to the left of his queen, when viewed from the player’s side); the pawns are located on the third rank from the player (that is, white on the third, and black on the sixth). The usual moves of the king, rook and pawn are the same as chess ones: the king moves one square horizontally, vertically or diagonally, the rook moves any number of free squares vertically or horizontally, the pawn moves one square forward and attacks one square diagonally forward. The game can be played with artificial intelligence, together with another person on the same device, or with an opponent online in multiplayer mode. Piece moves: The king moves like in European chess. There is no possibility of castling (moving the king towards the rook). Queen - moves only one point diagonally. Rook - can move any number of squares horizontally or vertically, provided that there are no pieces in its path. Bishop - moves one square diagonally in any direction or one square forward vertically. Horse - moves two cells vertically and then one cell horizontally, or vice versa, two cells horizontally and one cell vertically (the same as in the European analogue). A 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 goal of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king. Pat brings a draw.