Key Features of Makruk:
- AI Opponents: Test your mettle against AI opponents of varying skill levels, from beginner to expert.
- Daily Challenges: Hone your skills with a fresh challenge each day.
- Global Leaderboard: Compete with players worldwide and climb the global rankings.
- Game Sharing: Share your triumphant moves with friends and family.
- Undo & Save/Load: Correct mistakes and save your progress for later sessions.
- Timed Gameplay: Add a thrilling time element to your games.
Makruk (Thai: หมากรุก; rtgs: Mak Ruk;), or Thai chess, traces its origins back to the 6th-century Indian game of chaturanga or a close variant, establishing its connection to modern chess. It's widely considered the closest surviving relative to the common ancestor of all chess variations.
An estimated two million Thais play Makruk, compared to 5,000 chess players.
According to former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik, Makruk Thai is strategically richer than international chess, demanding meticulous planning due to its resemblance to a complex chess endgame.
Game Rules
The Pawn (เบี้ย bia): Moves and captures like a standard chess pawn but lacks the two-square initial move and en passant capture. Reaching the sixth rank results in automatic promotion to a queen (med).
The Queen (เม็ด met): The weakest piece, moving one square diagonally.
The Bishop (โคน khon): Moves one square diagonally or one square forward.
The Knight (ม้า ma): Moves like a knight in Western chess.
The Rook (เรือ ruea): Moves like a rook in Western chess.
The King (Ang): Moves like a chess king, with an optional initial "Ses" move (no longer commonly used in Thailand). Checkmate ends the game.
What's New
Bug fixes implemented.