Makruk (Thai Chess)

Initial setup d1, e8: King e1, d8: Met a1, a8, h1, h8: Rook c1, c8, f1, f8: Elephant b1, b8, g1, g8: Knight a3-h3, a6-h6: Pawns

Moves at a Glance

Click on a piece below to see its moves

											Sliding capture or non-capture, can be blocked on any square along the ray
											Unblockable leap (capture or non-capture)
											Non-capture only
											Capture only

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Piece	ID	value	Moves (Betza notation)	Remarks
King	K	-	K	With Cambodian rules its first move can also be a non-capture Knight jump (mfhN)
Met	M	1.5	F	With Cambodian rules its first move can also be two steps forward (fD)
Rook	R	5	R
Elephant	S	2.5	FfW
Knight	N	3.25	N
Pawn	P	1	mfWcfF	Promotes to M on reaching last rank

Pawn peculiarities

• Pawns capture differently from how they move (straight move, diagonal capture).
• There is no initial double-push, and thus no en-passant capture.
• Pawns promote to Met when they reach the 6th rank; there is no choice.

General rules

• It is not allowed to expose your King to check.
• The game is won by checkmating the opponent's King.
• Stalemate (no legal moves, but not in check) is a draw.

Differences with FIDE

The Queen and Bishops are replaced by Ferz and Elephant. Pawns start on the third rank. Promotion happens on 6th rank. Promotion always to Met.

Strategy issues

It is not possible to force checkmate on a bare King with just a single Met, Elephant or Knight (in addition to your own King). Two Knights or two Mets cannot do it either.