Makruk
From Free net encyclopedia
Makruk (thai หมากรุก) (or Thai Chess. Expressed "Makruk", with a low-"shaking" tone while saying "Mak" and a high-level tone when saying "ruk") is a board game descended from the 6th century Indian game of chaturanga or a close relative thereof, and therefore related to Western chess. It is regarded as the most similar living game to this common ancestor of all chess variants. Makruk is popular in Thailand and Cambodia.
[edit]
Rules
All pieces move the same as in chess, except
- King can jump as a knight on its first move.
- Bishop moves one step in any diagonal direction or one step forward (as silver general in Shogi).
- Queen (called met or minister) moves one step in any diagonal direction (as the Fers in Shatranj). For its first move this piece can make a double move: white e1-e3, black d8-d6.
- Pawns cannot move two on the first move.
- Pawns cannot en passant capture.
In starting position, pawns are placed on 3rd and 6th rank. Queens are placed at the right side of Kings. Pawns promote to Queens when they reach 6th rank. There is no castling.
[edit]
References
- H.J.R. Murray (1913). A History of Chess. ISBN 0936317019.
- D.B. Pritchard (1994). The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. ISBN 0952414201.
[edit]